Gilad Shalit is a 24 year old Israeli. While most Israelis his age are completing university degrees, traveling the world or starting families, Gilad is being held in captivity by Hamas somewhere in the Gaza Strip. Five years ago, while serving in the Israeli Army, Gilad was captured after Palestinian militants infiltrated his army base on the border of Israel and Gaza. He has not been heard from or seen since.


Gilad's family has been working tirelessly to try and secure his freedom. Numerous world leaders have called for Gilad to be freed as soon as possible, to no avail. At times, it seemed that negotiations between Israel and Hamas were close to resulting in the freeing of Gilad, only to fall apart again.


In an effort to help the Shalit family RAISE GLOBAL AWARENESS about the plight of their son and brother, we are running the 2011 NYC Marathon in honor of Gilad Shalit with the message that Gilad's captivity has last far too long and it is time for our voices to be heard in helping return him to Israel.


Even if you cant be there on race day, you can still "attend" this event and HELP US BY joining our campaign as well as SHARING THIS EVENT with your friends.


For those of you running in the 2011 NYC Marathon, we are hoping for a critical mass of runners to join in and "Run for Gilad."


Everyone else - please start spreading the word and join us on race day - your cheers will get us to the finish line!


For runners who want to run with us on race day, or if you have any questions, comments, feedback, please contact 26forgilad@gmail.com.


***IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This is not about raising money, only awareness, which is far more important. Additionally, and without having to be said, we hope that he is out of prison long before the marathon takes place.***