Thursday, March 28, 2024

Appalachian Series, Day 7

After running the sixth race of the Appalachian Series on Wednesday, I returned to run the seventh race of the series today.  Today’s course was the same as yesterday’s course.  It straddles the Virginia/West Virginia border, so runners can count it for West Virginia one day and count it for Virginia the next day.

I ran yesterday’s race because I needed one more marathon in West Virginia.  I ran today’s race because I was already here.  After traveling this far, why not do an extra race before going home?

Yesterday, I arrived early and made a last-minute decision to take the 6:30 early start instead of the 7:30 regular start.  Now that I know that most runners take the early start, I decided to do the same thing again.  I already had my race packet, so I didn’t need to allow as much time to get ready for the race.

Today’s weather was colder.  When I arrived in the start area, it was 39 degrees, but the temperature was still dropping.  It was forecast to reach a low of 36 before starting to rise again.

I wore my warmest tights.  Those are the cheetah tights.  I also wore the cheetah shirt and hat.  I didn’t think to bring arm warmers, so I wore a long sleeve polypro shirt under my T-shirt.  I risked being overdressed, but I could always take walking breaks if I was too hot.

I wore extra layers before the race, but I took them off before they started the pre-race announcements.  In retrospect, I should’ve kept my jacket on until we started running.

Pre-race announcements took much longer than I thought.  There were several runners reaching big milestones today, and we took the time to recognize each one of them.  Then the whole group sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which has been somewhat of a theme song for our two days in Bluefield.

The irony is that we weren’t actually in West Virginia during pre-race announcements, or for much of the race.  Our starting line was in West Virginia, but once we entered Virginia, we never went back to West Virginia.

By the time pre-race announcements were over, I was freezing.  I was wearing gloves, but my hands were particularly cold.  I felt like I was dressed adequately for running in this weather, but I wasn’t dressed warm enough for standing around for so long.

For the second straight day, I started the race with Tim.  Tim started at a surprisingly fast pace, and I had to work to keep up with him.  I asked him why he was running so fast and he said he needed to run fast to get warm.

When we reached the first hill, we took a walking break.  Yesterday, we didn’t walk any of the hills until the second lap.  On average, our pace for the first lap was about the same as yesterday.  That’s where the similarity ended.

Our course was inside a valley.  The wind was blowing through the valley.  The way the course is laid out, we were usually running through the valley.  We rarely ran across the valley for very long.  As a result, we were usually had either a headwind or a tailwind.

After the first lap, Tim made a bathroom stop.  Ordinarily, I would’ve walked until he caught up to me, but we had a headwind at the beginning of the lap.  It wasn’t a strong wind, but it was cold, and if I walked this part of the course, I would get too cold.  I kept running until I reached the hilly part of the course.  Then I walked the hills until Tim caught up to me.  It didn’t take long.

Tim was motivated to run faster today.  It was the last day of the series, and he was planning to start driving home right after the race.  The sooner he finished, the sooner he could get on the road.

Yesterday, we slowed to a more relaxed pace in the second lap, and we also starting walking up all of the hills.  Today, we didn’t slow down, and we only walked a few of the hills.  I would’ve been content to go at a slower pace, but Tim was motivated, and I was trying to keep up with him.

After the last hill, there’s a long flat section that leads us back to the start/finish area.  Tim accelerated through this section.  I was starting to find the pace to be tiring, so I allowed myself to drift behind him.

I was hoping Tim would make another bathroom stop.  That would give me time to catch up.  Tim drinks a lot of coffee before the race, so he usually makes a few bathroom stops early in the race.  Today he didn’t.

When Tim didn’t stop after the second lap, I realized I would need to put in extra effort to catch up to him.  I managed to catch up to him before we reached the hills again, but I was working much harder than yesterday.  By the end of our third lap, I noticed that we were already about three minutes faster than yesterday.

By now, I was finally starting to warm up, but only when we had the wind at our backs.  As soon as we turned around and headed into the wind, I would get cold again.  That pattern persisted throughout the race.

Early in the race, it was cloudy.  During our fifth lap, I saw the sun for the first time.  I was hoping it would feel warmer now.  Unfortunately, the wind got stronger.  The colder breeze easily cancelled out the warmth of the sun.

The last day of a series is hot dog day.  It’s a tradition to have hot dogs at the aid station.  They usually have some type of hot food other days as well.  Yesterday, I didn’t eat any hot food during the race, but today I had a hot dog after the fifth lap.  Tim also stopped to eat a hot dog, so I didn’t have to worry about falling behind again.

When we finished our sixth lap, we were half done with the marathon.  My time for the first half was 10 minutes faster than yesterday.  I expected Tim to go even faster in the second half.  I didn’t know how much faster I could run.

I had to refill my bottle after that lap, so I fell behind.  I had to work hard again to catch up to Tim, but I was able to do it.

For a few laps, I had wanted to make a bathroom stop, but then I would fall even farther behind.  I had doubts about whether I could catch up to Tim again if I got too far behind.  During our seventh lap, Tim mentioned that he was going to make a bathroom stop at the end of the lap.  I thought this was my chance to make a bathroom stop without losing time.  It didn’t work out that way.

Tim was done in the bathroom quickly.  I took much longer.  By the time I started my next lap, Tim had a sizable lead.  I decided to pick up my pace and see if I could catch him.  That was a mistake.

In the early part of the lap, which is through a parking lot, I accelerated.  I wasn’t sure if I was gaining any ground.  It looked like I would have to run all the hills to catch up to him.

When I got within sight of the first hill, Tim was already on the hill.  He was running it!  That was the steepest hill.  If he ran that one, he would almost certainly run all the other hills as well.

I ran all the hills, but I didn’t gain any ground by doing it.  On the flatter sections in between, I picked up my pace.  I still didn’t seem to be gaining any ground.

As I approached the turnaround, Tim was already coming back.  Another runner said, “You can still catch him.”  He was wrong.  By the time I made the turn, Tim had already disappeared over the next hill.

I continued to push the pace, but I wasn’t getting any closer.  I eventually realized that I was falling farther behind.  Tim had kicked it into another gear, and I didn’t have that gear today.  By the end of that lap, it was obvious that I would never catch him.  I had to accept that I would be running the rest of the race by myself.

Trying to catch up with Tim took way too much out of me.  That lap wore me out, and I was never the same after that.

I still had four laps to go.  That’s almost nine miles.  I had to conserve energy, so I could finish the race.  For the rest of the race, I ran at a much more relaxed pace.  I also walked most of the hills.  It was still a struggle.

In the lap where I was chasing Tim, I got hot and sweaty.  Earlier, I was either comfortable or cold, but never hot.  For one lap, I was overheating.  That probably contributed to my fatigue in the laps that followed.

After slowing down, I went back to being cold, but only when I was running into the wind.  When the wind was at my back, I would get hot again.  It was amazing how different the weather felt when I was running in different directions.

When I finished my tenth lap, I had another hot dog.  I still had two laps to go, and each one was difficult now.

When I finally reached my last lap, I took some satisfaction in knowing that each time I ran one of the hills, I was running it for the last time.

Yesterday, I raced through the last part of my final lap.  Today, I dragged myself through it.  I finished the race in 4:54:19.  My time was similar to yesterday, but my splits were a mirror image.  Yesterday, I was much faster in the second half of the race.  Today, my second half was much slower.

After finishing, I got a Virginia medal to add to my chain.

Before leaving, I ate another hot dog, and I drank two glasses of chocolate milk.  I didn’t spend much time in the finish area, because I knew I would quickly get cold.  It had warmed up a little, but it was still in the low 40s, and there was still a cold wind.

Tim wasn’t the only runner who was going home today.  Several other runners had the same idea.  Everyone wanted to get home.  I’m waiting until tomorrow.  I felt like a train wreck after the race, and I needed the rest of the day to recover.  Besides, I’m going to need a full day to travel home.  Before I can fly home, I have to drive back to Charlotte, and that’s a three hour drive.  I’ll start that drive tomorrow after breakfast.


Race statistics:
Distance:  26.2 miles
Time:  4:54:19
Average Pace:  11:14 per mile
First Half:  2:23:30
Second Half:  2:30:49
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  510

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Appalachian Series: Day 6

On March 27, I ran the sixth race of the Mainly Marathons Appalachian Series.  The Appalachian Series is a seven day series, with marathons in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.

I’m not doing the entire series.  I’m just doing the last two races, which are both run on the same course, making it possible for me to stay in the same hotel for both races.  These two races are held in Bluefield, which straddles the border between Virginia and West Virginia.  The course starts in West Virginia and finishes in Virginia.

By the rules of the 50 States Marathon Club, when a race starts and finishes in different states, you can choose which state it counts toward.  I’m counting today’s race as a West Virginia race, because I need one more West Virginia race to finish my fifth circuit of marathons in every state.  Since I’m already here, I’ll stay to run tomorrow’s race as well.

There aren’t any large airports close to Bluefield.  The closest airport that I could reach with a direct flight was Charlotte, NC.  When I left Minneapolis, it was snowing heavily.  Most airports would have shut down.  Thankfully, the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport is well-equipped to handle snowstorms.  They had to de-ice the plane, but they were able to keep the runways open, so we left with only a short delay.

From Charlotte, I had to drive 180 miles to get to my hotel in West Virginia.  Rather than staying in Bluefield, I’m staying in Princeton, WV, which has more lodging options.  Princeton is about 15 miles away from the race venue.

After the drive, my legs were feeling kind of stiff.  I did a workout in the hotel’s fitness room, and then I felt better.

I skipped lunch, so I had an early dinner.  Then I got to bed early, in anticipation of getting up early on race day.

The race started at 7:30 AM, but I had to get there early to pick up my race packet.  People who were doing the whole series already had their race bibs, but I had to pick up mine before the race.  I also had to allow about 25 minutes for the drive.

As is often the case with early races, I left the hotel before they started their breakfast service.  I had a cup of tea and some cookies before leaving the hotel.  If necessary, I could eat more food during the race.

They offered an early start at 6:30 for runners who wanted extra time.  When I arrived in the start area, they were doing pre-race announcements for the 6:30 group.  I was only expecting to see six to eight runners doing the early start.  I was surprised to see dozens of runners gathered around the starting line.  All the friends I was expecting to see at this race were doing the early start.  That made me wonder if I should do the early start too.

One of the runners in the early start was Tim Mahler.  Tim is usually one of the faster runners.  Sometimes, he’s the only runner starting at the same pace that I run.  I had been hoping to run a few laps with Tim at the beginning of the race.  To do that, I would need to do the early start.

I had another reason to consider starting early.  There was a chance of a passing shower later in the morning.  The earlier I started, the more likely it was that I could finish running before the rain started.

I decided to do the early start, but I only had about eight minutes to get ready.  I had to pick up my race packet, pin my race bib to my T-shirt, take off my warm-up pants and put them in the car.  Fill my bottle with Gatorade, and put it on one of the tables at the aid station, put my drop bag in the designated spot, make a bathroom stop, and put my gloves on.  Ideally, I would’ve taken off my jacket, but I didn’t have enough time.

The temperature at the start was in the mid-40s, but I expected it to warm into the low 50s by the time I finished.  I was comfortable starting the race with my jacket, but I knew I would need to take it off at some point.  I could find time for that later.

The course was 12 laps of an out-and-back route through Litito City Park.  It’s a hilly route.  I’ve run it before when I was in better shape, and I had to work hard to break four hours.  This year, I decided to run at a conservative pace, partly because it’s a challenging course, but mostly because I have to run the same course again tomorrow.

There was one aid station, which was in the start/finish area.  We would go by it after every lap.  In addition to water and Gatorade, they had a variety of food.  It was more like the aid stations in a trail race than what you typically see at a marathon.

The start/finish area was in a parking lot next to the park.  We started by running along two sides of the parking lot.  This part of the course was flat.  Next, we entered the park and ran a loop that went almost all the way around the park.  Just before completing this loop, we had to turn around and go back the way we came.  Going around this loop, we went up and down several small hills.  Four of them were steep enough to be tiring.  After turning around, we had to run the same hills in the opposite direction.  Here’s the elevation profile that my watch measured during the race.

The first lap was different from the others.  Our start/finish area was in Virginia.  Litito City Park is also in Virginia.  In order to start the race in West Virginia, we had to start behind this row of traffic cones, which were set up along the state line.  Oddly, the state line cuts right through the parking lot.

That made the first lap longer than all the others.  To compensate for that, the last lap had a different finish line, making it a little bit shorter.

I started the race with Tim.  We ran the first lap at a relaxed pace.  Our average pace for that lap was about 10 minutes per mile.  On a flat course, I would find that pace comfortable for the whole race.  On this course, I knew it would get tiring.

I was comfortable running with my jacket on for one lap, but then I had to take it off and tie it around my waist.  Running up and down these hills was making me too hot.

In our second lap, as we started up the first hill, I noticed we were slowing down almost to a walking pace.  I suggested to Tim that we might as well walk up the hill to conserve energy.  Tim was in full agreement.  I had fresh legs today, but Tim is doing the entire series.  He also did another series before this one, so this was his 11th consecutive day running a marathon.

From that point on, we started walking up all the hills.  We ran the downhills and the flatter sections.  Now, our average pace was much slower.

Normally, I don’t eat any solid food during a race.  I’m usually content to just drink Gatorade.  When I’m racing on consecutive days, I’m more apt to eat during the race.  I want to make sure I’m not going to finish the race depleted.  I’m already thinking about the next day.

My plan was to eat candy and other sugary foods in the first half of the race, but switch to sandwiches or other more substantial food later in the race.  After each of my first six laps, I drank Gatorade, but also ate something sweet.

After three laps, I noticed we were just barely on pace to finish the race in five hours.  That include one lap that was faster.  Now that we were walking all the hills, we weren’t going to keep up the same average pace.

After two laps of walking the hills, I wasn’t feeling as warm.  My arms were starting to get cold, so I had to put my jacket on again.

Tim drinks coffee before the race, and inevitably has to make a few bathroom stops in the early laps.  After each of our first three laps, Tim made a bathroom stop.  Each time, I walked until he caught up to me.  That made these laps a little slower.

By the end of our fifth lap, the sun was coming out, and it felt much warmer.  Now the jacket had to come off again.  I also took off my gloves.  I was happy to see the sun.  The likelihood of rain during the race was going way down.

By the end of our sixth lap, it was my turn to take a bathroom stop.  I told Tim to go ahead, and I would eventually catch up to him.

When I finished my sixth lap, I was half done with the race.  I was no longer on pace to break five hours.  I was on pace for a time closer to 5:07.  Tim finished that lap about a minute ahead of me, but he was also no longer on pace to break five hours.

To catch up to Tim, I had to run the hills.  I had to work much harder in that lap.  I caught up to him about halfway through that lap.  Now we could both walk the hills again, but our average pace was faster than before.  Tim later commented to me that I was running faster after catching up to him, and that caused him to run faster too.

I was planning to eat more substantial food in the second half of the race, but I did the opposite.  On most laps, I just drank Gatorade.  If I stopped to eat something, I would fall behind Tim, and I didn’t want to have to work harder to catch up to him again.

With four laps to go, we were about a minute and a half behind schedule for a five hour finish.  Tim had made up a minute over the previous two laps.  I had made up two minutes.

Tim said he was conflicted about whether to try to break five hours.  It was tempting, but it might be smarter to conserve energy and not worry about our time.  I told him I felt the same way.

In the last few laps, we didn’t walk all of the hills.  We walked about half of them.  We were more willing to run the hills that weren’t as steep.  Our average pace improved.

With three laps to go, I noticed we were continuing to make up time.  As we started our final lap, I saw that we were once again on pace to break five hours.

By now, we were not only running more of the hills, but we were running at a faster pace everywhere else too.  I could feel the difference.  Earlier, our pace felt relaxed.  Now, there was a little bit of urgency in our pace.

I checked our time at the halfway point of our last lap.  To be on pace for five hours, we needed to get there by 4:47:30.  We got there in less than 4:46.  We had 14 minutes to run a distance that I knew wouldn’t take more than 12:30.

We continued to speed up.  Coming back, we walked briefly on a couple of hills, but ran faster everywhere else.  After running down the last hill, I carried some momentum into the long flat section that followed.  I raced around the parking lot and finished in 4:55:33.  Tim finished a few minutes behind me.

The medals for a series like this come in pieces that link together to form a chain.  The top and bottom pieces go to anyone who did at least one race of this series.  In between them is the medal for today’s race, which is in the shape of West Virginia.

By the time we finished, the sun was shining bright, and it felt much warmer.  I put on my jacket, but I really didn’t need it.  I didn’t bother to put on my gloves.  I stayed in the finish area for at least half an hour, talking to other runners.

I had some food after finishing, but I still felt hungry when I left.  To make sure I was eating enough to fuel for tomorrow’s race, I stopped for a fast food lunch on my way back to my hotel.

Hilly races can be hard on your Achilles tendons.  After the race, mine were feeling a little tight.  When I got back to the hotel, I took a long hot bath and did some stretches.  I paid particular attention to stretching my calves and Achilles tendons.

I’m done with this race, but I need to prepare for tomorrow, when I’ll be doing the same thing again.

To be continued …


Race statistics:
Distance:  26.2 miles
Time:  4:55:33
Average Pace:  11:16 per mile
First Half:  2:33:20
Second Half:  2:22:13
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  509
West Virginia Marathons:  5

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