Seoul Marathon

I have now completed marathons on two continents! I ran the 2010 Seoul Marathon this morning and what an experience! I didn't have huge expectations for myself going into the race. I have been able to keep to a somewhat normal running plan since I have been here but I hadn't ran anything over 13 miles since late January. My goal was anywhere between 3:15 and 3:30 and I crossed the finish line at 3:20.51!

Running a marathon in a foreign land can be a bit intimidating. I live about 40 min outside Seoul so I had to figure out where it started and the best way to get there. Thankfully I have a great friend who came with me. Hayley and her boyfriend got up early, on a Sunday nonetheless, and came to the start line with me to make sure I knew where I was going and to see me start! It was such a relief to have a friendly face there with me. After I said good-bye to them and found my place in the start corral we had about 20 min until the start. It was very interesting to look around and see the clientele running the race. First, I was probably one of maybe 10 women in my start corral!! It was very strange to see such a large population of male runners. Second, I was surprised there weren't more foreigners running. I would say 90-95% of the runners were Asian. But one kind Korean saw me taking pictures and took my picture with the mountains and the gold statute in the background.

As the race started I tried to start slow so I didn't get to mile 18 and feel like I wanted to die!! I stayed with the 3:10 pace group for a while but I decided to slow down and really enjoy the race and my surroundings. It was hard to run and not be able to talk to the other runners. Every other marathon I have ran, I have left my headphones at home but I was very glad to have them today. Since no one spoke English, I had no one to talk to!!

Hayley and Andrew found me at about the half way point. It was so great to see a familiar face in the crowd! I stopped quick to take a picture and chat with them quick. It's amazing how much it helps to know you have someone in the crowd cheering you on.

After I found them I was keeping a pretty good pace. I stopped along the way a few times to take pictures and to go to the bathroom! They didn't have a lot of biffy set up along the way. We were running right on the road, so we used gas station bathrooms! It was a bit comical, and no, we didn't have to go to the cashier to get the key.

I felt pretty good throughout the race. Around mile 22, well I think it was mile 22, they do kilometers here so I was trying to figure that out the whole time, and I couldn't remember if a marathon was 42 or 43 km so that didn't help. Anyway, around mile 22 or 36km, I my legs really started hurting. But I just kept thinking, 'the faster I run, the faster I can be done running!'

Finally the km marker hit 40 and I knew I was close regardless if it was 42 or 43. I just turned up my music and kept going. Then I saw the "1km to go" sign and I started getting tears in my eyes. I don't know why! I think it was just the fact that I actually moved to South Korea and now I had completed the Seoul Marathon! It was a great feeling! As I turned the corner I saw the huge Olympic Stadium sign and the Olympic rings on the outside of the stadium. It was so glorious and I was so excited, but at the same time it was a little bittersweet. I wish I could have experienced it with my brothers. We have run so many marathons, half marathons, and other races together. We have run in bathrobes, run in the heat, and run with each other to qualify for Boston. Having them with me would have made it perfect and I wish I could have been running next to them as I made my way into the stadium for the final 385 yards.

Even so, it was an amazing race and I know one of these days the four of us will knock out another continent together.