Monday, March 18, 2024

Race Report: Seoul International Marathon

On March 17, I ran the Seoul International Marathon in South Korea.  This is the oldest marathon in Asia and the second oldest marathon in the world.  Only the Boston Marathon has a longer history.

This was my first trip to Asia since 2019.  Since then, Delta has added direct flights from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Incheon/Seoul.  I’ve made connections at this airport on trips to other parts of Asia, but I used to have to add an additional connection in Seattle.  Flying directly to Incheon made this trip much more appealing.

I first started looking into the details of this race last June.  Registration for the marathon wasn’t open yet, but I discovered several of the hotels were already fully booked.  I made an educated guess what days I would be there and made a hotel reservation.  I didn’t know if it would be difficult to get into the race, so I waited until I was registered before booking my flights.

In September, I was finally able to register for the race.  The website said we had to qualify by finishing another marathon in five hours or less, but we weren’t required to submit proof of a qualifying time as part of the registration process.  That would come later.

Korean residents registered through the race website, but foreign runners registered through World’s Marathons, which is a third-party website.  After I registered, I got an email saying I wouldn’t need to submit my qualifying information until later.  I was expecting to be notified by email, but I periodically checked the race website to see if there was any information about submitting qualifying times.

I didn’t see any news on the website in October or November.  After that, I got too busy.  Between the holidays, our Hawaii vacation, and Deb’s knee problems, I didn’t get around to checking the website again until January.

In January, I saw a notice on the website with information on how to submit our qualifying times.  It said we had to submit them between December 4 and December 18.  Oops.  I missed the deadline.

I sent an email to World’s Marathons asking what I should do.  I didn’t get any reply.  A few days later, I sent an email to the race organizers.  They didn’t reply to me directly, but the next day they sent an email blast to all the foreign registrants who had not yet submitted qualifying times.  They gave us a link to the website for record submission (i.e. submitting proof of a qualifying time).  They said if we didn’t submit a qualifying time by January 30, we would be seeded in the last corral.  I scanned and uploaded a finisher certification from a qualifying race.  A few days later, I was notified that my qualifying time was accepted.

A month before the race, I was surprised how little information there was on the race website.  It mostly had information about registration, record submission, and what we would get in our race packet.  There was very little information about the race itself, other than the date and where the race started and finished.

In the last few weeks before the race, they gradually posted the race details, but not all in the same place.  Some details were only found on Instagram or in emails.  I don’t have an Instagram account, and I wasn’t receiving all of the emails.  I knew the location of the expo, but it was only through a friend that I found out the hours of the expo.

When I travel, I usually use Google Maps (or the Android Maps app) for transit and walking directions.  It has served me well for figuring out how to get around in different cities around the world, but it doesn’t work in Korea.  It can give transit directions, but it won’t give walking directions.  That’s because of Korean government regulations prohibiting the storage of detailed geographical data on foreign file servers.  Instead of using Google Maps, I installed a Korean app called Naver Map.

Wednesday, March 13

I left Minneapolis at 11:00 AM on a 14-hour flight to Incheon.  I didn’t sleep at all on the flight.  That usually makes it easier to get to bed at night and start adjusting to the new time zone.

Thursday, March 14

My flight arrived in Incheon around 2:30 PM, which was an about hour ahead of schedule.  It only took about five minutes to get through the line for immigration.  Then I took a train from the airport to the main train station in Seoul.  From there, I took the subway as far as I could and then walked the rest of the way to my hotel.  The whole trip took about an hour and 45 minutes.  It would’ve been faster if I could’ve taken the express train from the airport, but the next express train was sold out.  Instead, I took a train that makes several stops.

My hotel was in Seoul’s Jongno district, near Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun Square.  By the time I got to my hotel and checked into my room, it was already 5:00 PM.

I only had four days in Seoul, and some of that time would be taken up by the expo and the race.  Seoul has good transit, but it’s a large city.  Getting to different parts of the city can take time, even by subway.  To make the most of my sightseeing time, I focused on central Seoul.

There are five grand palaces in Seoul, and my hotel was centrally located between them.  Of the five, only Deoksugung is open in the evening.  I was able to walk there from my hotel, passing through Gwanghwamun Square along the way.  There are two large statues in Gwanghwamun Square.  The first one is King Sejong the Great.  The second one is Admiral Yi Sun-Sin.


When I got to Deoksugung, I bought a combined ticket, which gave me admission to all of the grand palaces, plus the Jongmyo Shrine.  If you’re going to visit all the palaces, buying the combination ticket gives you a small cost savings.  It’s biggest advantage, however, is that allowed me to visit the other palaces without waiting in ticket lines at each palace.

I got to Deoksugung while it was still light out, but I stayed until it started getting dark, so I could see the buildings lit up for the evening.





On my way back to the hotel, I saw other downtown buildings lit up for the night.  This is city hall.

When I visit someplace new, I like to try the local pizza.  For my first meal in Korea, I went to a tap house where I was able to get a pizza with Korean barbeque and sample some Korean beers.

I don’t speak Korean, and I sometimes encountered people who didn’t speak English.  I was able to communicate with people by using the translate app on my phone.  Everyone I encountered who didn’t speak English had a phone or tablet, and they were used to communicating that way.

Most of the signs in public spaces were in both Korean and English, but I occasionally saw a sign or label that was only in Korean.  I made extensive use of the camera feature of my translate app.

I was able to get to sleep that night without any difficulty.  Staying asleep was another matter.  I wake up frequently during the night, and the first time I woke up, I couldn’t get back to sleep.  I spent the rest of the night resting in bed and trying to get back to sleep.

Friday, March 15

I got up at 6:00 AM after laying in bed for hours.  I had breakfast at the hotel and then did a workout in their fitness room.

My first sightseeing stop on Friday was Gyeongbokgung Palace.  I arrived in time to see the first changing of the guard ceremony inside Gwanghwamun Gate.



Gyeongbokgung is the largest of the grand palaces.  I passed two other gates before reaching the palace.




When I was done touring the palace, I explored some of the palace grounds.


You can get free admission to any of the grand palaces by wearing a traditional garment called a hanbok.  I saw dozens of people wearing these at Gyeongbokgung.

When I was done at Gyeongbokgung, I toured the National Folk Museum of Korea, which is on the east side of the palace grounds.  This museum has three sections.  The first is called The Beginning of K-Culture.  This exhibit shows aspects of Korean culture that set it apart from the rest of the world.  The second section is called A Year in Korea, and it depicts significant events in agricultural life as the seasons change.  The third section is Korean Life Passages.  This section shows the significant events in the life of someone growing up and living in Korea.

I spent a good portion of the morning outside, so I had to dress warm.  The clothes I was wearing would’ve been too hot for the hiking I had planned for the afternoon, so I had to stop at the hotel to change clothes before heading out again.

Next, I went to the Myeongdong neighborhood, where I had lunch and then explored the narrow streets.

From there, I walked up the hill to Namsan Park.  Namsan Park is a large city park with hiking trails.  It’s also home to Namsan Tower (a.k.a. Seoul Tower), which is the best place to get views of the city.

Namsan Tower is at the top of a hill.  Most people get there by taking a cable car.  I chose to walk up a set of steps and then hike the rest of the way.

I started my hike with the North Namsan Trail.  This trail snakes through the north side of the park.  I left the trail briefly to go up a set of steps leading to the Waryong Tomb.

As I continued along the trail, I was joined by another runner from the U.S.  He wasn’t here to run the marathon.  He’s a pilot who was in Seoul on a layover.  The two of us hiked the rest of the trail together and talked about various races.

At the west end of the park, the North Namsan Trail meets up with the South Namsan trail.  This trail follows the road that buses take to get to Namsan Tower.  From an overlook, I got a good view of the tower.

The last part of this trail gave me good views of the old city wall.  This used to be part of a defensive wall around the whole city that connected the various hills.


When I reached the tower, I explored the levels of the plaza before taking the elevator to the observation deck.  The plaza has several levels.  It’s a tourist destination all by itself.  Then I took the elevator up to the observation deck, which also has multiple levels.

From the observation deck, you can see every part of the city.  Here’s the view looking north.

I wanted to get the nighttime views too.  While I waited for the sun to set, I had dinner at a Korean grill on one of the levels of the observation tower.

As I ate dinner, the sun went down, and I gradually started to see the lights of the city.  By the time I finished eating, it was dark.  I went back to the observation level to see the city at night.





After taking the elevator back down to ground level, the quickest way back into town was to take a bus.  While I was waiting for the bus, I had this view of the tower from the bus stop.

I slept better that night.  I woke up a few times, but each time I eventually got back to sleep.

Saturday, March 16

Packet pickup was on Saturday.  I wanted to get there early in the day, so I could have time later for sightseeing.  The expo didn’t start until 10:00 AM, so I had time for a leisurely breakfast at my hotel.

The expo was held at the Jamsil Sports Complex, which is south of the Han River in the Songpa district.  It took about 45 minutes to get there by subway.

Race packets for Korean residents were sent by mail, so the only runners picking up race packets were other foreign runners.

Besides my race bib, the race packet included two T-shirts, energy gels, drink mix powders, a race program, and a plastic bag for gear check.  One of the shirts says “Finisher” on the back.  I found it odd that they gave us this before the race, but I’m sure that makes things easier.

Outside, I saw runners in long lines to buy merchandise or get product samples from the vendors who were there.  I decided to skip the lines and head back to the hotel to drop off my race packet before heading out again.

I didn’t want to have a heavy lunch, so I ate some pastries I bought from a street vendor as I headed back out to do some sightseeing.  My first stop was Changgyeonggung Palace.




Next, I toured Changdeokgung Palace, which is just a short distance away.





After touring the buildings on my own, I had a guided tour of the secret gardens.  Sadly, the Buyongji Pond, which is considered the most beautiful part of the gardens, was being dredged.  I had bad timing.


Next, I went to the Jongmyo Shrine.  I also had bad timing here.  The main hall is currently being restored.




For dinner, I went to a place called Brew 3.14 Pi.  It’s a little hole in the wall that’s located on a narrow alley, but they have good pizza and craft beer.  Besides, I couldn’t resist the name.

I got to sleep earlier that night.  I slept well for about five hours.  Then I starting thinking about the race, and I had trouble getting back to sleep.

Sunday, March 17

Sunday was race day.  The start area was in Gwanghwamun Square, which was only a few blocks from my hotel.  The race started at 8:00 AM, but I made a point of arriving much earlier to give myself time to get into my start corral.

I was planning to eat a light breakfast at the hotel.  It wasn’t until race day that I discovered that the hotel breakfast starts later on weekends.  I made a cup of tea in my room and ate the gels from my race packet.  That’s all I had, but it was better than starting the race on an empty stomach.

The temperature at the start was in the upper 40s, and I expected it to get into the low 50s by the time I finished.  They had a gear check, but I decided I didn’t need to check a gear bag.  I wore a light jacket to the start and tied it around my waist before I started running.  I didn’t think I’d need any other warm clothes at the finish, and not checking a gear bag saved me time both before and after the race.

When I left the hotel, I noticed the streets were wet.  I felt a fine mist in the air.  I saw other runners wearing plastic rain ponchos, and I wondered if I should go back to my room to get one.  First, I doublechecked the weather app on my phone.  It didn’t show any rain in the forecast, so I assumed the moisture in the air would burn off.

This is a large race, and I didn’t know how long it would take to get into the start corral.  I’ve done some races where it can take a long time.  I arrived in the start area around 7:10.  There was a huge crush of runners heading to the gear check trucks, but it was fairly easy to get to the corrals.

I regretted leaving the hotel as early as I did.  I used the bathroom before leaving my room, but I wanted to make another bathroom stop before the race.  The lines for the portable bathrooms were insanely long, and I didn’t think I had time to get through the line and still get to my start corral on time.

After looking around for a while, I found a building with bathrooms.  The lines there weren’t as long, and I got in and out quickly.  Then I headed to the corrals.

There were nine start corrals.  The first one was for elite athletes.  The second one was identified as “Hall of Fame.”  I’m not sure, but that might have been for legacy runners.  The next six corrals, labeled A-F, were assigned according to our qualifying times.  Finally, corral G was for runners who didn’t submit a qualifying time.  Those runners started in the back.  That’s significant, since the race had a five-hour time limit.

I was assigned to corral B.  All the runners in this corral submitted qualifying times between 3:20 and 3:40.  As a hedge against starting too fast, I lined up near the back of the corral.

A runner next to me asked me in English how many I had done.  I told him how many marathons I had run, but that wasn’t what he meant.  He said, “No. No. How many countries?”  He had noticed that I was wearing a Marathon Globetrotters hat.  I told him this would be my 47th country.  He was from Denmark, and he has also run marathons in several different countries.  We talked until the race started.

As I started running, there was enough congestion in front of me to hold me back a little.  It took less than a minute for that to clear up.  As everyone from my corral found their pace, I was able to run mine without being held up.  Then I found the pace to be a little tiring.  I wouldn’t know for sure, however, until I got a split from my watch.

The course was marked in kilometers, but I’m used to pacing myself by miles.  My watch is configured for miles, so I used the watch for pacing, but I still appreciated see the more frequent kilometer signs, so I could see my progress on the course.

We ran south from Gwanghwamun Square until we reached Sungnyemun Gate.  We made a sharp turn there and followed the road back Eulji-ro, which is a wide east-west avenue.  Then we began an out-and-back section that was about 3K in each direction.

My goal for this race was to break 3:50, which is the Boston qualifying standard for my age group.  To do that, I need an average pace of 8:47 per mile.  My fastest recent race that wasn’t downhill was an average pace of 8:28 per mile.  I was hoping to keep my pace in the 8:30s or 8:40s.  The first mile felt like it was too fast, so I was surprised to see that I ran it in 8:36.  That was within my target range, so it should’ve felt more manageable.

Early in the second mile, I noticed a pace group in front of me.  The pace makers could be identified by large gray balloons that were tied to their clothing by long narrow ribbons.  They also wore signs on their backs that read, “Pace Maker.”  This was the 3:40 group.  I saw two 3:40 pace makers in my corral.  This one must have lined up in the very back of the corral, and had only recently passed me.

In the next mile, I found myself inadvertently following the 3:40 group.  That led me to run that mile much too fast.  When I saw that I ran an 8:13 mile, I realized I needed to slow down.  In a large race, I have a tendency to run at the pace of the runners around me.  To slow down to a more reasonable pace, I needed to unhitch myself from the runners around me and drift back until I found a pace that was sustainable.

By now, I was starting to see the elite athletes coming back on the opposite side of the street.  I saw a few leaders, then a chase group, then another chase group.  What started as a trickle would eventually turn into a stampede by the time I reached the turnaround myself.

We turned around by making a loop around the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, which is a distinctive round building.  After a full loop around the plaza, we were on the opposite side of the street.

Running in this direction, I started to notice a cold wind.  We had the wind at our back going out, but now we had a headwind.

When I finished the third mile, I saw that I had slowed down, but not enough.  I was still going faster than my target range.

At 5K, we reached an aid station.  I saw several tables with water, but no sports drinks.  I reluctantly drank a cup of water.  Eventually, I started to see tables with their sports drink.  I didn’t want to drink another cup already, so I waited until the next aid station.  I made a mental note to run past all the water tables and keep going until I saw a table with blue cups.

When I finished that mile, it was slower than my target range.  I had a wide range, but I couldn’t seem to hit it.  Three of the first four miles were either too fast or too slow.  I should have attributed the slow mile to time lost because of slowing down at the aid station.  Instead, I picked up my pace and started keeping up with the runners around me.

Before the race, I looked at the course map to see where the aid stations would be.  The map showed water stations every 5K and stations in between with sponges.  I was hoping the sponge stations would also have water and sports drink, but I wouldn’t know until I got there.

When I reached the aid station at 7.5K, I saw a table covered with white sponges.  Then I saw another table with sponges.  There was a wide spacing between tables.  As I passed more and more sponge tables, I kept hoping I would eventually see a table with cups.  Nope.  I counted nine or ten table with sponges, but that was it.  Now I knew for sure.  I would only get fluids every five kilometers.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a hot day.

By the end of this out-and-back section, I started to recognize things.  I saw an entrance for a subway station that was familiar.  I knew I was close to a neighborhood that I had explored on Friday.  I also started to see road signs identifying places that were familiar to me.  We were back in a familiar part of the city.

We turned right, ran two blocks, and then turned right again.  Now we were starting a longer out-and-back section.  Now we were on Cheonggyecheon-ro, which is a divided street.  There was a stream in between the two sides of the road.  That made it harder to see runners coming back on the other side of the street.

After one mile in the 8:50s, the next two were in the 8:20s.  Running with the pack was still leading me to go too fast.  I had to unhitch myself again.

Running in this direction, I had the wind at my back.  I felt warmer, so I took my gloves off and put them in my fanny pack.

At 10K, there was another aid station.  I finally had another opportunity to try the sports drink instead of water.  The sports drink at this race was called Pocari Sweat.  Aside from sounding unappetizing, that name led me to believe it was an electrolyte drink.  I didn’t know if it also had sugar until I tried it.  It tasted sweet.  That was a relief.  I was really counting on that, so I could take in some calories during the race.

The first cup I grabbed wasn’t very full.  After drinking that, I went to the next table and drank another cup.  With fluid stations 5K apart, I needed to make sure I drank enough at each one.

In that mile, I slowed into the 8:40s.  It was only the second time in seven miles that I hit my target range.  It probably would have been too fast if not for slowing down to drink twice at the aid station.

At about 12K, I was passed by a runner with a thin ribbon attached to his shirt.  At first, I thought he was a pace maker, and I wondered what his target time was.  When his balloon came into sight, I saw that it wasn’t gray like the balloons of the pace makers.  His was white with a red cross symbol.  He had a small pack on his upper back.  I assume that was a first aid kit.  Most large races will have medical personnel at the aid stations, but this was the first time I ever saw a medic who was running the course.

After running one mile that was slower than the others, I started to follow the pack again.  I sped up to 8:17.  I just couldn’t get it right.  Of the first eight miles, five were too fast, one was too slow, and only two were at a pace that seemed reasonable.

At around 14K, we turned to cross a bridge over the stream.  Then we started coming back on the other side.  As I was making that turn, I was passed by a faster runner who was frantically weaving around the other runners.  One of her feet hooked one of my feet, but I was able to keep my balance.  That was about the fifth time that one of my feet was impacted by another runner.  I was being careful to avoid the runners around me, but I couldn’t easily avoid a runner who was coming up fast from behind and weaving around people.  It was annoying, but I always kept my feet under me.

As we started heading west again, I felt the headwind again.  Before it felt cold.  Now it felt somewhat tiring.  I had to fight this wind for the next few miles, but I took consolation in knowing that we would soon start a much longer section with the wind at our backs.

My pace settled down now.  For the next two miles, I had splits in the 8:30s or 8:40s.

As we reached the end of this out-and-back section, I once again saw an entrance for a familiar subway station.  I also started to see road signs identifying familiar sites.  We were coming back into central Seoul for the last time.

We made two quick turns and then started running east again.  This section was about 10 kilometers long, and we would have the wind at our backs the whole way.

My pace continued to be erratic.  In one mile I’d go too fast, and in the next mile I would slow down into my target range.  When I reached the halfway mark, I fully expected my time to be unreasonably fast.  It was 1:52:46, putting me on pace for a time between 3:45 and 3:46.  That actually seemed quite reasonable.  Maybe my target range was too slow.

At the halfway point, they had gels.  I don’t usually eat gels during a race, but I was worried about taking in enough calories.  I’m used to brands of gels that are thick and sticky, and need to be washing down with water.  The gels on the course were the same brand as the ones in my race packet.  Having tried two of these gels before the race, I knew that they weren’t that thick.  I could easily eat one without following it with water, so I had one.

With the race half over, and the wind at my back for another five miles, I felt more confident.  I was more willing to run with the pack and have mile splits in the 8:20s.  My next few miles were all between 8:20 and 8:30, but I was OK with that.

Between 25K and 26K, we went through a short tunnel.  We went down a ramp going into the tunnel, so I knew it would be slightly uphill coming out of the tunnel.  This is a fairly flat course.  Up until now, we hadn’t run anything that looked or felt like a hill.  I knew from looking at the elevation profile that there weren’t any big hills.  The largest rise is about 20 meters.

Most of the aid stations were pretty close to a multiple of 5K.  The “25K” aid station was an exception.  It actually came after the 26K sign.  This was another aid station where I had to drink two cups of Pocari Sweat, because the first cup wasn’t full enough.

As I slowed down at that aid station, I was passed by a runner with a gray balloon.  I knew he was a pace maker, but I didn’t know what his target time was.  I was curious, so I picked up my pace to catch up to him.  It wasn’t easy.  He was clearly going at a pace that wasn’t comfortable for me, and I had to get close before I could read the time written on his balloon.  He was another 3:40 pace maker.

I can only assume that there were two 3:40 groups.  One started in corral B, and the other started in corral C.  3:40 was the dividing line between those two corrals.  The start times of the corrals were staggered, so he probably started two minutes after I did.  It took 26K for him to catch up to me.  Once I knew what pace he was running, I stopped trying to keep up with him.

Between 27K and 28K, I saw another gradual hill ahead.  This time, we were coming up to a bridge.  When I saw we were crossing a river, I initially through it was the Han River, which is the major river dividing northern and southern Seoul.  Then I realized it couldn’t be the Han.  My recollection from the course map was that we wouldn’t cross that river until we were close to finishing.  I also realized that this river wasn’t nearly wide enough to be the Han.  It was actually the Jungnangcheon, which is a stream that feeds the Han.

Shortly after crossing the bridge, we turned more to the south.  Then we turned to run west.  I had to fight a headwind again, and it was stronger now.  When I got to the aid station at 30K, cups were blowing off the tables.

After all the fluid tables, I saw tables with bananas that were cut in half.  I already drank a cup of Pocari Sweat, but I decided to eat half a banana too.  I was still concerned about taking in enough calories, and a banana was something else I could eat without having to wash it down.  I quickly removed the peel and tossed it all the way to the curb, so nobody would step on it and slip.  Banana peels at an aid station can be dangerous. 

We ran into the wind for about two kilometers.  I picked up my effort to keep from slowing down on this section.  I started to pass other runners for the first time in the race.  I could still see the 3:40 pace maker, and for about a mile I wasn’t falling any farther behind him.

Between 32K and 33K, we turned, and we were out of the wind.  I was working harder and harder to keep up my pace, so I was disappointed when I realized that I had failed to notice when my watch recorded a split for 20 miles.  I really wanted to know if I was keeping up the same pace.

After about a kilometer, we turned again.  Presumably we had a tailwind, but I really didn’t notice.  Now I was just trying to grind it out.  Mile 21 was barely within my target range,  It was my second slowest mile so far, which made me wonder what my pace was in mile 20.

In the next two miles, I got my pace back down into the 8:30s, but I had to work harder and harder to keep up the pace.  I only had a few miles to go now, so I fought for it.

Next, we turned and started climbing up to another bridge.  As I got closer, I could see that this was a long bridge.  We were crossing the Han.

It was slightly uphill coming up to the bridge, but the bridge itself was flat.  It was also long.  The river is about a kilometer wide.

As I was crossing the bridge, my watch recorded a split for mile 24, but I never noticed the vibration from my watch.  That was disappointing.  I really wanted to know if I was slowing down.

Shortly after that, I saw the 39K sign, and I realized I had almost exactly two miles to go.  I looked at my watch to see how much time I had to break 3:50.  It was immediately obvious that I would break 3:50 by a comfortable margin.  It seemed unlikely, however, that I could run negative splits.

Even though a BQ was in the bag, and running negative splits seemed out of reach, I continued to fight.  I was determined not to slow down in these last two miles.  It was a matter of pride.

When I eventually got off the bridge, there was a nice downhill section.  I raced the downhill to the best of my ability.

As I reached the bottom of the hill, I saw a tall building ahead on my left.  It was the Lotte World Mall.  This is a major tourist attraction, but I never took the time to go there.  It’s not a big draw for me, and getting to this part of town and back would take too long.

At we reached Lotte World, we turned right, and I saw the 40K sign.  About the same time, my watch recorded a split for mile 25.  I sped up to 7:57.  That was by far my fastest mile of the race.  It included the ramp down from the bridge, but I was still surprised to have run it that fast.

After the turn, I felt a headwind again.  I realized I would be running into this wind all the way to the Jamsil Sports Complex.  I was still determined to finish strong, so I fought hard to keep up the same pace.

When I reached the 41K sign, I told myself I just had 1200 meters to go.  That’s like three laps around a track.  200 meters later, I saw a “1 KM to go” sign.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a race before.

I kept fighting and before I knew it, by watch was recording a split for mile 26.  It was 8:09.  That wasn’t as fast as the previous mile, but it was still my second fastest mile of the race.

I could see that I still had much more than two tenths of a mile to go.  My watch was reading high.  I could not yet see the last turn that comes before the finish line.

I kept going, and I saw a sign indicating we were approaching a right turn.  I looked ahead, and I could see the turn.  Having seen a map of the finish area, I knew that this was the last turn, and I would be able to see the finish line as soon as I turned the corner.

I turned the corner, saw the finish line, and sprinted for it.  I probably ran faster here than anywhere else on the course.  It helped that I was no longer fighting a headwind.

I finished the race in 3:44:33.  I was shocked to see that I ran negative splits after all.  I never imagined I would run the last two miles that fast.

After crossing the line, we had to keep moving forward and turn a corner.  They had provided us with a detailed map of the finish area, so I knew the medals and post-race food were around the corner.

As I moved through the finisher chute, I drank a cup of Pocari Sweat.  There were volunteers handing out water bottles, but I skipped those, knowing there were more beverages ahead.

Most of the post-race snacks were in a pre-assembled snack bag.  Then we got three bottles of an oat-based protein drink called Oatside.  Each bottle was a different flavor.  I drank one bottle right away and put the other two in my snack bag.

As I was leaving the finisher chute, I realized I didn’t have a medal yet.  I looked around to see if other runners had their medals.  I saw a runner wearing a medal and asked him where he got it.  There were volunteers with medals just past the post-race food.

I walked back to the food area.  I saw runners coming out of that area wearing medals, but I also saw runners who weren’t wearing medals.  I understood the disparity when I finally found one of the volunteers handing out medals.  They weren’t putting them around our necks.  The medals were handed to us in small plastic bags.  Some runners were opening the bags and putting on the medals.  Others just carried them.

After getting my medal, I put on my gloves and jacket and hurried to the subway station.  I wanted to get indoors before I got too cold.  I was comfortable while I was running, but my hands started getting cold as soon as I stopped.

It took about 45 minutes to get back to my hotel.  I had enough post-race snacks that I didn’t need to eat lunch.  Instead, I spent the whole afternoon relaxing and recovering in my hotel room.

For most of the afternoon, I could hear chanting that I assume was coming from a Buddhist temple near the hotel.  It was surprisingly loud.  With my windows open, I could hear it all the way up on the 17th floor.

I had dinner with another runner from the U.S., who I met before the race.  We went to the same restaurant where I had dinner on Thursday.  It was the only restaurant I knew where I could get a pizza with Korean BBQ to celebrate my Korean BQ.

I always sleep best after an exhausting race.  That night, I slept well all night.

Monday, March 18

I flew home on Monday, but my flight wasn’t until later in the day, so I still had time to do more sightseeing.

After breakfast, I did a workout at the hotel.  Then I did a self-guided walking tour of the Bukchon hanok village.



Now I’m at the airport getting ready to fly home.  In this direction, the flight isn’t quite as long, but it’s still more than 12 hours.  This time, I’m going to try to sleep on the flight.


Race statistics:
Distance:  42.2 kilometers
Time:  3:44:33
Average Pace:  5:19 per kilometer (8:34 per mile)
First Half:  1:52:46
Second Half:  1:51:47
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  508
Boston Qualifiers:  163
Countries:  47

Monday, March 4, 2024

Race Report: 2024 Little Rock Marathon

On March 3, I ran the Little Rock Marathon.  I’ve done this race three times before.  It’s the largest marathon in Arkansas, and it’s popular among runners who want to run marathons in every state.

A signature feature of this race is their huge finisher medal.  I saw a preview of this year’s medal last November at the expo for the Route 66 Marathon.  It’s roughly the size of a dinner plate.

There aren’t any direct flights from Minneapolis to Little Rock.  On Delta, I would have to change planes in Atlanta.  It’s easier to fly to Memphis and then drive from there.

Deb has never been to Memphis before, so we decided to make this a two-part vacation.  We spent two nights in Memphis, followed by two nights in Little Rock.

Thursday, February 29

We arrived in Memphis in the early afternoon.  We stayed at a downtown hotel, so we would be close to Beale Street and all the good restaurants.

After getting settled into our hotel, we went over to MaggieMoo’s for a snack.  Then we strolled down Beale Street.


Later, we went over to the Peabody Hotel to watch the afternoon duck march.  The ducks swim in the fountain all afternoon.  Then, at 5:00 PM, the Duckmaster leads them from the fountain to the elevator, so they can go up to their overnight home on the hotel roof.




After the duck march, we went to Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous for dinner.  Memphis is known for barbeque, and there no better place for barbeque than Rendezvous.

Friday, March 1

After breakfast, I went for a run along the riverfront, while Deb did a workout in the hotel’s fitness room.  Later in the morning, we went back to the Peabody to watch the ducks again.  This was their morning duck march, when they leave the roof to take the elevator down to the lobby and walk to the fountain.  Deb and I arrived at the Peabody just as the Duckmaster was going up to the roof to prepare the ducks.  We were able to go up to the roof with him and see the ducks as he was feeding them.

We spent most of the afternoon touring the Graceland Mansion, as well as Elvis’ cars, planes, and various memorabilia.

We were originally planning to have dinner somewhere on Beale Street.  It was a chilly day, and we had already spent quite a bit of time outdoors, so we stayed close to our hotel for dinner.

Saturday, March 2

We drove to Little Rock on Saturday, but we didn’t need to be in any rush.  We could have slept in, but we woke up early anyway.  We had breakfast and did workouts at the hotel before getting on the road for the two-hour drive.

We arrived in Little Rock before noon.  We stayed at the Doubletree which is two blocks from the start, finish, and expo.  It was too early to check into our room, so while we waited, we went to the expo at the Statehouse Convention Center.

Our timing couldn’t have been worse.  The Saturday running events were still in progress, and the finish area was inside the convention center.  We were trying to get into the building at the same time that hundreds of runners who had just finished were streaming out.

After packet pickup, we explored the River Market District.  Then we went to the sculpture garden next to the river.  We were expecting about a dozen sculptures.  There must have been at least 50.



When we got back to the hotel, we were able to check in.  Out room had a view of the Broadway Street Bridge.  This bridge is part of the marathon route.

We were both pretty tired, so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the hotel.  We had an early dinner and went to bed early, in anticipation of getting up early.

Sunday, March 3

Sunday was race day.  The race was originally scheduled to start at 8:00 AM.  Four days before the race, I was notified by email and text message that the start time was changed to 6:00 AM to avoid excessive heat in the afternoon.  At the time of the announcement, the forecast high for Sunday was 80 degrees.

Weather forecasting isn’t an exact science.  By race day, the forecast high was only 77 degrees.  I’m sure the race director will be criticized for changing the start time, but she was acting on the information she had at the time.  Having an earlier start is better than cancelling the race, and a change to the race day schedule can’t be done at the last minute.

I had to get up earlier than I originally planned, but our hotel was close to starting line.   Because of the earlier start time, the temperature was in the low 50s when we started.  I expected to be more than half done before the temperature even got into the 60s.

The starting line was behind the convention center.  We were able to come into the convention center before the race to stay warm and use the bathrooms.  They also had a gear check there.  We could go out a back door to get to the start corrals.

I lined up with the 3:50 pace group.  This isn’t an easy course, so that seemed like an ambitious pace.  The early miles aren’t too tough, so I decided to start with the group and see how it went.

In the first mile, I stayed close to the pace leaders.  The pace felt fast, but as it turns out, we were only five seconds ahead of our target pace for the first mile.

Next, we crossed the bridge into North Little Rock.  There was an earlier start at 5:30 for people who needed extra time to finish.  As I was crossing the bridge, I saw runners who took the early start already coming back across the bridge.  I expected to see at least two runners I know in that group, so I moved toward the center of the bridge to look for them.

I spotted my friend Charlotte wearing a T-Rex costume.  Charlotte wears a different costume for every race.  This race had a dinosaur theme, so her costume was on point, as usual.  Later in the race, I often saw volunteers wearing inflatable T-Rex costumes.

Coming off the bridge, it was downhill, and I found myself getting ahead of the group.  When I finished the second mile, I saw that I ran it about 15 seconds too fast.  I continued running on my own through North Little Rock.  I knew I would probably slow down coming back up to the bridge.  I assumed the pace group would catch up to me on the bridge.

Right at the 3-mile mark, I started up the ramp to the bridge.  It’s enough of a climb that I slowed down, rather than tire myself out.  As I expected, the 3:50 group caught up to me just as I was reaching the center of the bridge.

On the downhill side of the bridge, I sped up again, and I got ahead of the pace group.  For the next few miles, I was running ahead of them, but I could hear them behind me.  As long as I could hear the pace leaders talking to the group, I knew I wasn’t getting too far ahead of them.

During those next few miles, I started to catch up to runners who had taken the 5:30 start.  Most of them were with pace groups.  I passed the 8:00 group, the 7:30 group, the 7:00 group, the 6:30 group, and the 6:15 group.  I also saw two more friends who had taken the early start.

In mile six, we started an out-and-back section.  There was a half marathon that started at the same time as the marathon.  The half marathon turned around before the marathon did.  Then the only runners around me were other marathon runners.

Because so many of the runners around me were slower runners from the early start, I had to be careful not to let them influence my pace.  I made a point of following runners that I knew started when I did.  I was far enough ahead of the 3:50 group that I no longer heard them behind me.

Eventually, we turned around too.  Just before the turnaround, I reached an aid station.  The 6:00 pace group from the early start got there just before me.  That was a large pace group, and they were all heading toward the aid station tables, making it hard for me to get through them to get to the tables.  I lost several seconds at that aid station, but I didn’t worry too much, because I was still ahead of the 3:50 group.

As I made the turn, I was able to see where the 3:50 group was.  They were farther back than I expected.

On my way back from the turnaround, I reached the seven-mile sign.  Mile seven was a little slow, in part because of the time I took at the aid station.  I was still ahead of the group, though, so I didn’t worry about it.

When we reached the spot where the half marathon turned around, we merged in with them again.  Those runners had not run as far, so their average pace was slower.  The half marathon runners outnumbered the marathon runners, so I had to be careful not to let them influence my pace.  I looked for runners who I had seen ahead of me before the merge point.  I made a point of keeping up with them.

Mile eight felt tiring.  I wondered if I had sped up in that mile.  When I finally saw my time for that mile, I saw that I ran it at exactly the right pace.  Instead of worrying that I was going too fast, I worried that it felt more tiring than it should.

At about nine miles, I reached a section with a few rolling hills.  I wanted to ease up on the hills, but the 3:50 group caught up to me.  I didn’t want to fall behind, so I worked to keep up with them on the hills.  Over the next few miles, I began to doubt whether I could keep up this pace for the whole race.  What concerned me most was knowing there was a tough uphill section in the second half.  If I was struggling with the pace now, how would I keep up with the group on a hill that’s almost three miles long?

The temperature was still comfortable, but the humidity was high, and I expected it to get warmer in the second half of the race.  I felt it was important to stay hydrated, so I drank Gatorade at every aid station.

Over the next few miles, I started to see unofficial aid stations.  There were spectators offering water, but I skipped those water stops.

Some spectators were offering beverages other than water.  I saw a beer stop.  Then I saw a mimosa stop.  Then I saw one called Communion on the Run.  I skipped all of those stations.  I was sticking to Gatorade.

I kept up with the group, but always felt like I was working too hard.  There were times when I wondered if I would have to drop back and run at a pace that felt sustainable.  I took it one mile at a time.  I was determined to stay with them at least until the long hill.

At 12 miles, I started to feel some light drizzle.  I wasn’t enough to make my clothes feel wet, but it ensured I wouldn’t get too hot.

In the 13th mile, I crossed a freeway and saw the state capitol to my left.  I knew soon we would run in front of the capitol.  I also knew the uphill section I feared would start about a mile later.

I hit the halfway mark in 1:55:00.  I was exactly on pace for a 3:50 finish.  If I wanted to break 3:50, I would have to run faster in the second half.

As I turned and ran toward the capitol, the only runners in front of me were other marathon runners.  Everyone doing the half marathon had already turned the other direction to run toward the finish.

Mile 14 was slightly downhill, and I started to pull away from the pace group.  The “14” sign was right in front of the capitol.  As I started the next mile, I was still going slightly downhill, but not for too much longer.

Halfway through mile 15, the road turned uphill.  Immediately, my legs felt heavy.  I knew the next few miles would be tough.

I managed to stay ahead of the 3:50 group until the “15” sign.  Then I slowed down to drink at an aid station, and they caught up to me.  The next mile was all uphill.  It wasn’t steep, but the hill was gradually wearing me down.  I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up with the group going uphill.  I started to fall behind them.

Rather than fight hard to keep up with the group, I chose to run at the best pace I could manage without wearing myself out.  My goal now was to stay close to them.

At 16, the course leveled out.  We weren’t done with the hill.  This was just a false summit before the last part of the climb.  I used this level section to catch up to the group.  Then I moved ahead of them.

Eventually, the road turned uphill again.  There was a tough section leading up to the 17-mile sign, but I managed to stay just in front of the group all the way to the top.  As I got there, I could hear one of the pace leaders telling the group we were right on pace.

Now the road turned downhill, and I raced ahead of the group.  There was still one more short uphill section.  I slowed down there, but when the road turned downhill again, I took off.

The rest of mile 18 was all downhill.  One section was so steep that I had to shorten my stride and pick up my cadence as much as I could.  That section was uncomfortable.  After that, there was still much more downhill.

In mile 18, I sped up to 8:08.  That was my fastest mile of the race, and it put me about 40 seconds ahead of schedule.  Mile 19 was also mostly downhill, allowing me to gain more time.  I wondered what my legs would feel like when the road finally leveled off.

That mile included one uphill section.  We had to climb up to a bridge.  It wasn’t a long climb, but it was steeper than any previous hill.  I had to slow down coming up to the bridge, but I used the downhill side to get back into a fast rhythm.

Just before finishing mile 19, we turned onto Riverside Drive to begin a long out-and-back section.  I knew this section would be mostly flat.  Mile 19 was another fast mile.  It wasn’t as fast as mile 18, but I was now more than a minute ahead of schedule.

I had left the 3:50 group behind.  I wouldn’t see them again.  To keep up my pace, I started gradually reeling in and passing the runners ahead of me.  For the next two miles, my average pace was 8:30.

When I got to the “21” sign, I could see the turnaround.  When I got there, I only had five miles to go, and I was about a minute and a half ahead of schedule.

I made the turn from the road to a bike path going the opposite direction.  For the rest of the race, I would be running back toward downtown and the finish line.  That was the good news.  There was also bad news.

After turning around, I immediately notice a headwind.  Miles 20 and 21 had felt deceptively easy, because the wind was at my back.  Now, I was fighting the wind, and I would be running in this direction for the rest of the race.

I was no longer feeling any drizzle.  Now the wind was keeping me cool.  Getting too hot was not going to be an issue.

Running into the wind was more tiring.  Mile 22 wasn’t as fast, but it was still fast enough.  I actually gained another eight seconds.  I couldn’t keep it up, however.

In mile 23, I was no longer able to catch up to any of the runners ahead of me.  I had to settle for keeping pace with them.  At the end of that mile, there was a small hill.  Going up that hill, my calves felt sore and stiff.

Mile 23 was a little slower, but I only gave away four seconds.  My target pace was 8:47, and I ran that mile in 8:51.

With three miles to go, I skipped an aid station.  I no longer felt the need to drink at all of them.  I also didn’t feel like I could afford to slow down, even briefly.  I needed to keep moving with a consistent rhythm.

I continued to battle the wind all through the next mile.  In a lapse of concentration, I forgot to look at my watch, so I didn’t know my pace for that mile.  With 2.2 miles to go, I was no longer sure what kind of cushion I had.  I just had to bear down and keep running.  I told myself I had to fight the wind for another 20 minutes.

I slowed down for one last drink of Gatorade.  Then I committed to skipping the aid stations for the rest of the race.

There were still two hills ahead of me.  The first one started at about 24.5 miles.  It was the climb up to a bridge.  As I started the climb, my calves felt sore and tight.  As I continued up the hill, my quads started to feel like cement.  Then I felt soreness in my glutes.  I can’t remember that last time I had so many muscle groups all complaining at the same time.

I think it was between that hill and the next one that I passed an unofficial aid station.  I heard them offering water, Gatorade, cold beer, and Fireball.  I wasn’t stopping or slowing down for any of those.

At the “25” sign, I saw that I had 12 minutes left to finish within 3:50.  I only needed an average pace of 10 minutes per mile.  My slowest mile so far was 9:01, and that was an uphill mile.  I knew I would break 3:50, and in all likelihood, I would break 3:49.

There was one more hill.  Knowing it was the last hill made it easier to lift my effort.  I was passing other runners going up this last hill.

After a slight bend to the left, I saw more of the downtown buildings.  I immediately recognized the Doubletree Hotel.  It was still a few blocks away, but it gave me something to run towards.  I knew the finish line was just two blocks past the hotel.

Just before getting to Doubletree, I ran under a bridge.  Underneath the bridge, I saw the lipstick station.  This is a unique feature of this race.  One of the sponsors is L’Oreal.  They always set up under this bridge to offer the female runners a chance to touch up their lipstick to look good in finish line photos.

The “26” banner was directly below out hotel room.  When I got there, I saw that I sped up to 8:28 in mile 26.  I already knew I would break 3:49, but now I realized I could break 3:48.

Deb was watching the race from our hotel room.  Three times during the race I ran within sight of our hotel window.  At the end of mile one, I waved in Deb’s direction just before crossing the Broadway Street Bridge.  Deb was watching, but she couldn’t pick me out of the crowd.  She thought she saw me when I crossed the bridge again two miles later, but she couldn’t be sure.  The last time was at the 26-mile mark.  She spotted me there and took this picture.

From there, I could see the finish line.  I crossed the line in 3:47:59.  Then I continued walking toward the finish area, which was inside the convention center.

I knew the finisher medal was big, but I was still surprised how heavy it was when they put it around my neck.  My best guess is that it weighs three pounds.

The lower level of the convention center was a warm dry place to recover after the race.  They had lots of food, including warm pasta.  They also had a variety of beverages, including beer and chocolate milk.  In the next room, there were tables and chairs, so we could sit down to eat.

I finished my pasta and beer, but I put everything else in a plastic bag to carry back to the hotel.  I wanted to walk the rest of the way to the hotel before my legs got too stiff.  Outside, it was drizzling again.  It was more noticeable now than it was during the race.

When I got back, it was only 60 degrees.   Later, the sun came out and it started to warm up.  At noon, it was 63 degrees.  It got warmer later, but only runners who took seven hours or longer were likely to get hot.

I left my phone at the hotel.  When I checked my phone, I saw a text with my official result.  I placed second in my age group.  My award will be mailed to me.

Long after I was done running, we could still hear cheers from behind the hotel.  We occasionally looked out the window and saw runners still finishing.

In the afternoon, Deb and I went shopping.  We started with a flea market that was outside of town.  Then we went to an antique store and a store with jewelry made from beads.  When we were done shopping, we had an early dinner at a burger and malt shop on the west end of town.

Monday, March 4

Before we could fly home, we had to drive back to Memphis.  That meant one more day of getting up early, so we could be packed and ready to go when breakfast started.

We got to the airport plenty early.  When it was time for boarding to start, we found out that our flight was delayed because of a mechanical problem.  Then they told us there weren’t any mechanics available.  It was 45 minutes before a mechanic arrived.  Then it was another 15 minutes to fix the problem.  Thankfully, we had a direct flight, so we didn’t have to worry about missing a connection.

Arkansas was another of the states I needed for my fifth round of marathons or ultras in every state.  Now I just need West Virginia, Wyoming, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Ohio and Vermont.


Race statistics:
Distance:  26.2 miles
Time:  3:47:59
Average Pace:  8:42
First Half:  1:55:00
Second Half:  1:52:59
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  507
Boston Qualifiers:  162
Arkansas Marathons:  5