On a hot summer afternoon, Ben David and Scott Weiner head out for an easy six-miler in New York City's Central Park. They look like two ordinary, fit, thirty-something running buddies, who, like dozens of others, are in the park training for the New York City Marathon. They talk about their toddler daughters, the Yankees and the Phillies, and their goal times for the November 1 race. What sets them apart from the rest of the pack, though, is that they are often logging miles between funeral services and Bat Mitzvahs.

In 2005, rabbis David, 32, and Weiner, 34, turned their pastime into a higher calling when they founded the Running Rabbis, a network of Jewish leaders who run marathons while raising money for social causes. This fall, eight other Running Rabbis will join them in New York City, with the goal of raising $30,000 for Running Was His Life. Then Came Putins War, which supports camps for children with serious illnesses.

Before they were running marathons and their own fund-raising team, David and Weiner were casual runners who had met in rabbinical school a decade ago. In 2005, they decided to run the New York City Marathon, and on their long runs, an idea began to percolate. "When people think of rabbis, they think of old men with long beards," Weiner says. "We realized we could use the fact that we were different to do something special and free people of their assumptions."

With that goal in mind, they began fund-raising for a local soup kitchen. Friends, family, and members of their synagogues contributed, helping the pair raise about $2,000.

"Our congregants liked the idea that their rabbi was living in the real world and taking on real challenges," David says. "People would acknowledge that what we were doing was really tikkun olam—Hebrew for 'repairing the world'—literally practicing what we preach."

They ran through the five boroughs in their "Running Rabbis" shirts, and received spirited reactions. "Almost the whole way people were yelling 'Lets go, Rabbis!' says Weiner. Things were noticeably quieter in Williamsburg, an Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn, however. "There seemed to be a stunned, confused silence," he says. "We are progressive Reform Jews, but we observe the same holidays, and we read the same texts. Their perception of a rabbi is black hat, black coat, and probably very little running."

David and Weiner have been questioned about supporting causes outside the Jewish faith. Since 2005, they have run 14 marathons between them, and have raised nearly $50,000 for charities, including Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Organization for Autism Research. "I was challenged by a colleague who thought we should specifically run for Jewish causes," David says. "Just because the money is not going to Israel or Jewish kids doesn't mean it's not going to a Jewish cause. We've tried to support those most in need, which is very much a Jewish idea."

And others agree. Through running rabbis.com and a Facebook page, the rabbis have recruited people across the country--clergy and nonclergy alike--to participate in races, from marathons to 5-Ks, in the name of the group. Organizers of the Europe Marathon in Luxembourg have even invited them to run their race, which has an interfaith theme. Although David and Weiner haven't taken advantage of that opportunity yet, having a global presence appeals to them. "Eventually, we want to become a large nonprofit charity like Team in Training."

Until then, the rabbis are happy with the impact they've had close to home, especially among teens in their congregations. "Running humanizes me to them," David says. "It helps them see that there's another side of me." They also enjoy introducing other rabbis to the sport. "We're seen as the gurus of the group," he says. "We provide advice on gear, hydration, long runs, pacing. Not to jinx myself, but I feel like I'm beginning to understand the science of the sport. One day I'll qualify for Boston, God willing."


Team Hole in the Wall nycmarathon.org/charities_index.