Beatie Deutsch


Bracha “Beatie” Deutsch is a Haredi American-Israeli marathon runner. She has won the Tiberias Marathon and the Jerusalem Marathon, as well as the Israeli half-marathon and marathon national championships.

Background

Deutsch was born in the United States, the oldest of five siblings, grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, and emigrated to Israel in 2008. Her father is a doctor. She has a master’s degree in school counseling from Northeastern University.
A Haredi woman, Deutsch lives in Har Nof, Jerusalem, with her husband Michael, a yeshiva teacher and computer science student whom she married in 2009, and their five children. Before she put all her time into running, Deutsh worked full-time as a communication officer for an Olami international Jewish organization, which brings college students closer to religion and helps professionals get in touch with their roots by coming to Israel.

Running career

2016-17

Deutsch began running in 2016 at the age of 25. She runs in a long-sleeved top, below-the-knee skirt, and head scarf, and dedicates her runs to charitable causes.
She ran her first marathon at the Tel Aviv Marathon in 2016 after taking up running only four months earlier. Deutsch finished sixth, with a time of 3:27:26.
At the 2017 Tel Aviv Marathon, while seven months pregnant, Deutsch finished with a time of 4:08:16.

2018

In March 2018, Deutsch was the first placed Israeli in the Jerusalem Marathon with a time of 3:09:50, setting a course record for Israeli female runners. Later that year she won the Israel Half Marathon Championship in Beit She'an, with a time of 1:19:53 hours.

2019

At the Israeli National Championships Marathon in Tiberias, Deutsch won first place with a time of 2:42:18, the fifth-best result of all time for female Israeli runners.
In May, Deutsch ran her first international race, winning the Riga half marathon, in 1 hour 17 minutes and 34 seconds.
Deutsch is training for the 2020 Olympics. The Olympic marathon event she is trying to qualify for was moved to a Saturday, and since for religious reasons she will not run on Shabbat, she will forfeit the right to represent Israel in the Olympics if the situation stays the same. She is trying to appeal the decision that moved that race to Shabbat, so she can compete.