Racing for impact: Emanu El Runners group honoring HMH at Houston Marathon

JHV: CAMERON SAMUELS

Members of Emanu El Runners include Lisa Brooks, Ezra Serebrin, Heidi Kaplan, Lisseth De Masi (with her two children), Kyle Friesen, Cantor Rollin Simmons, Karen Schiff, Dee Dee Dochen and David Kaufman.

By MATT SAMUELS | JHV
Every Wednesday morning, they emerge from the shadows of Sunset Boulevard.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from preschool age to some well into their 70s.

Some run full speed, while others prefer to walk, jog or even gracefully shuffle.

Congregation Emanu El Runners come together for many individual reasons, but the group is united by one set of common goals – getting exercise, staying social and raising money and awareness for meaningful causes.

The group was formed midway through the pandemic and has been gaining lots of traction ever since. Members meet weekly to lap the trail around Rice University and they have taken on many other scenic areas around the city.

EE Runners will reach one of its highest points so far Jan. 15-16, when members raise money for Holocaust Museum Houston while taking part in the 50th-annual Chevron Houston Marathon.

“One of the best ways to see a city is to do it with your feet on the ground,” EE Runners leader David Kaufman told the JHV. “And if we can do it for a great cause, it makes it even more meaningful.”

Around 20 congregants have been a part of the group, with more than a dozen taking part in either the full Houston Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K.
Congregation Emanu El Cantor Rollin Simmons, Dee Dee Dochen, Heidi Kaplan and David Kaufman run on the Rice University trails Jan. 2.

The EE Runners group includes a mother and son, a cancer survivor and even Emanu El clergy, as Rabbi Oren Hayon and Cantor Rollin Simmons were founding members.

Rabbi Hayon will be running his first official Half Houston Marathon after running the virtual race in 2021.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, we were all looking for something to do that was productive, healthy and would get us out the house a bit,” Rabbi Hayon told the JHV.

“Our options were obviously limited. We couldn’t go to the gym or restaurants, but we had that impulse of wanting community and relationship encounters.”

It was at that point EE Runners was born.

“It is very grassroots and anyone in the group can invite anyone else,” Rabbi Hayon said. “The commitment to fitness, but also bringing attention and support to meaningful causes, is important.

“We are all inspired by the idea that we can use our miles to support HMH’s mission of ending antisemitism and bigotry in the world.”

Cantor Simmons, while not running in the Houston Marathon, co-founded the group with Rabbi Hayon and remains very active.

“It’s been a really special way to connect and stay fit,” Cantor Simmons told the JHV. “It always feels like a sacred meeting to get together this way and I’ve made some really nice connections with people.”

Everyone has their own reason for running, including Kaufman, who first started running when his father, Barry Kaufman, was diagnosed with lymphoma.

“When you have a family member that is going through something like that, you have a lot of emotions you are dealing with and you have this frustration because you often feel powerless,” Kaufman said.

“So, I started running, which was good for me emotionally. I was able to work things out and get through a tough time.”

Kaufman then started taking part in specific events to support lymphoma and leukemia awareness.

“That gave a purpose to what I was doing. It helped personally in not feeling powerless. It was a way to give back.

“When you accomplish a race, you get a sense of satisfaction, whether it is your first time or 20th time, but when you are able to assign a meaning to it, and it is something beyond yourself, it makes it that much more meaningful.”

Lisa Brooks hasn’t done a marathon in more than a decade, but will be joining her son, Ezra Serebrin.

“He said he’d do it if I did, so I will do the half and he will do the full and we will probably finish at the same time,” Brooks told the JHV. “I feel good and I’m in good shape and I’m ready to go.”

Lisseth De Masi is one of the faster endurance runners in the group. Sometimes, she is joined on shorter runs with her preschool son, Luka.

“I joined the group to have that sense of community,” De Masi told the JHV. “I love to run for wellness. I’ve done multiple half marathons and one full marathon. This time, my boys will be at the finish line cheering me on. I look forward to it.”

Another EE Runners member will be providing much-needed support during the marathon.

Dee Dee Dochen, with her band, Dee Dee & Mike and the Moondance Band, will be performing at Mile 11 of the full route – in front of West U City Hall.

“The music makes you get going and feel good,” Dochen told the JHV. “Every time we’d run past a band during a marathon, we’d pick up our pace.”

While the Houston Marathon weekend will be the high point, Kaufman said he is excited for what EE Runners can do in the future.

“The group has just kind of organically formed and taken a life of its own,” Kaufman said. “I think we are going to try and turn this into a mechanism for charity. There are a lot of directions it could take, and we are really excited to see where it goes.”

If you are registered to run in the Houston Marathon or Half Marathon and want to give more meaning to the miles you put behind you, come and join the EE Runners! For more details, contact David Kaufman at 832-646-3283 or [email protected].