Overcoming obstacles for better health

Rabbi Noach Karp has found what he calls an “out of the box” way to connect with people. And he’s become a healthier person in the process. He’s even taken his family with him.

For the last year, Rabbi Karp has been training for obstacle race competitions such as the Spartan Race,  the world’s leading obstacle race series with varying distances and difficulties. The challenge appeals to him, he said. And along the way, he is exercising more and leading a healthier lifestyle. The next competition is the Blizzard Blast in Lowell, Massachusetts at the end of January. This one is special to him because the first race he ever ran was the Blizzard Blast a year ago.

He’s hoping others will join him in the training and see how much better they can be in the process.

Rabbi Karp’s journey might seem a little unusual. He is known in the Providence community for his day job as program director for Project Shoresh, the organization run by his brother Rabbi Naftali Karp. He’s married to Miriam, and they have five children.

Originally from Baltimore, he was raised in an orthodox family. He strives to make Judaism accessible to all Rhode Islanders, especially those with young families.

And in addition to Project Shoresh programming, he’s found that sharing his exercise regimen is one way to do that.

“I’m breaking unspoken barriers across the spectrum of Judaism,” he said. He has found plenty of connections and said there are Jewish lessons to be learned from all the training, including tackling obstacles and struggles, as well as what it means to be strong. People in other parts of the country are finding this as well. For example, in St. Louis you can sign up for a training class called “Torah and Turf” which infuses the importance of Torah study with the game of flag football.

Rabbi Karp said what matters is he is a 30-year-old Dad from the East Side and it is good to be in a healthy place. “It’s good for the greater you and for your family,” he said. “There are life lessons to be learned from the races.”

He got started on these competitions when a friend introduced him to the events. Now, he admits that training has become a bit of an addiction.

“My energy is at a whole different level.” And he says he’s lost about 50 pounds.

Part of training is balance – finding time to train that doesn’t interfere with his job or his family. “I speed walk the boulevard while studying. Before I never would have considered that.”

He trains at night after the children are asleep, which gives him new opportunities to be outdoors.

Spartan Races and other obstacle course races include climbing walls, carrying heavy loads and navigating different kinds of terrain and conditions like water and mud. He runs on the hills around Providence; he bought sandbags from Adler’s Hardware in Providence to prepare for the carrying portion of the race.

“We take advantage of what we have,” he said.

The community has become an important social connection. “Some of my best friends are the people I train with,” he says.

He has had to overcome a few challenges. Many of the obstacle races are held on Saturdays. Others occur on Jewish holidays. The Spartan Races, held around the world and can be expensive. But Rabbi Karp said he’s learned to keep going to master each obstacle and challenge.

Even his family has become more active. Every Sunday, the whole family participates in walking and other activities. They’ve discovered new places in Providence they might never have explored without getting out and moving more. Now his four-year-old says “Yes, I can do the monkey bars!”

In the fall, the Karp family were spectators during a race held at Fenway Park in Boston and got a chance to cheer him on.

If you are interested in training for the Blizzard Blast or one of the other obstacle races, Rabbi Karp (rnoachkarp@gmail.com) invites you to contact him.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of The Jewish Voice.