Carmel-Kinneret Trail Race

The Carmel-Kinneret Trail Race links the slopes of Mount Carmel to the shores of the Sea of Galilee on foot, following the Carmel-Kinneret Trail, a route of around 100 kilometres that partly shares its line with the Israel National Trail. The race was founded in 2026 by the Gat family, together with Harel Nahmani, Yossi Yahalom and Shai Hazan, in memory of Kinneret Gat, killed on 7 October 2023 at Kibbutz Be'eri, and her daughter Carmel, abducted to Gaza and murdered after eleven months in captivity. It is run by the Association for the Legacy of Kinneret and Carmel Gat, which also runs activities along the trail throughout the year.

Every race sets off during the night or early on a Friday at the beginning of April, and all of them converge on Tzemah Beach at the southern end of the lake. The 92 km ultra starts at midnight from the Stop Market in Yagur, at the foot of the Carmel, with roughly 1,350 m of climbing and 1,570 m of descent. The same course is offered as a relay for teams of two, four or eight runners, starting at 00:30; it is split into eight legs of 6.6 to 19.7 km that teams share out as they wish. The changeover points are strung across Lower Galilee: Zbeidat, the Ma'ayan HaSusim spring, Tzippori, Beit Keshet Forest, the village of Shibli below Mount Tabor, Kfar Kisch and the Mitzpe Udi lookout.

Two shorter solo formats share the same finish. The 55 km ultra leaves at 03:45 from the cemetery at Tzippori, near the tomb of Rabbi Judah HaNasi, and totals 826 m of ascent for 1,240 m of descent. The 33 km starts at 07:00 from Shibli, next to the village school, with 447 m of climbing, and is designed as a first taste of ultra running. For these distances the organisers shuttle runners from the finish back to the start and carry their bags through to Tzemah. Three walks of 5, 10 and 15 km complete the programme between Mount Deborah, Mount Tabor and Kfar Kisch; the two longer ones climb Tabor before dropping back down on forest singletrack.

The terrain mixes farm tracks, forest paths and dirt roads through the valleys of Galilee, with an overall downhill profile towards the lake, which lies below sea level. The entry requirements set the tone: a minimum age of 18 for the ultras and the pairs relay, 16 for the four- and eight-runner relays, a medical stress test for solo runners, and a previously completed official race of at least 21 km for the 55 km, or at least 50 km for the 92 km. The finish cut-off is 14:30 for everyone. The 55 km and 33 km are UTMB Index races, in the 50K and 20K categories.

The race has a character of its own: at every aid station and changeover point, activities reflect the values behind the project, from sowing and planting to sorting farm produce for people in need, repainting a school wall, practising yoga or sharing a coffee with strangers. A separate ranking even rewards those who take part in them rather than the clock. As for kit, every runner carries at least one and a half litres of water, a charged phone with an Israeli SIM card and the Magen David Adom emergency app, plus, for night starts, a head torch with spare batteries, a flashing red rear light and a whistle.