70 YEARS AND STILL COUNTING
Chuncheon Marathon is no ordinary marathon. It is a seventy-year-old marathon. This marathon represented the fiery spirit and patriotism of Korea. We refreshed ourselves with the history of the marathon. In 1936, fellow marathoner Sohn Kee-Chung set a world record at the Olympic Games in Berlin becoming the first ever Asian athlete to win a marathon. To his dismay, he was forced to represent Japan instead of his rightful motherland Korea since Korea was under the ruling of Japan. At the medal ceremony, Sohn had to painfully watch the Japanese flag raised up. He registered a silent protest by bowing his head. When he was interviewed by foreign journalists, Sohn proclaimed he was from Korea. As a punishment, Sohn was banned by the Japanese government from ever participating in marathons. You can imagine the amount of pain, especially to a man whose special talent was running. This woke a fiery dragon in the hearts of Koreans. To Koreans, the name “Sohn Kee-Chung” was the flag, the very beacon of Korea’s pride and hope. To quote Sohn Kee-Chung, “The human body can only do so much, and then the heart and spirit must take over”.
READY, SET, FLAG-OFF
It was a windy October day in central Chuncheon, the temperature is cooling, 13 degrees Celsius to be exact. Fifty thousand people comprising of marathoners, supporters, spectators and volunteers came to join the 70th Chuncheon International Marathon and sets the event ablaze with heat and excitement.
Before we proceed to the race itself, heads up, history buffs! Not far from Gongjicheon Bridge–the starting point of the marathon—there’s a Memorial Hall for Ethiopian Veterans in the Korean War with some flags from different countries placed on the top. This is one-of-a-kind memorial that chronicles the history of participation of Ethiopian Soldiers in the UN-forces during the Korean War.
At the sound of the pistol, 24,000 marathoners from different countries ran alongside Uiam Lake circulation course with blue lake view and maple tree leaves fell across. This iconic marathon takes you to relish the astonishing lake scenery and picturesque autumn sights as you run near the city centre at Hoban Street proximate to Gongjicheon Park and heads south following the waterfront.
The course turns northward at 8km mark as it reaches the city suburbs and ran along the length of Uiam lake at 10km. Traces along the west side of the river and Shinmai Bridge was a 20km stretch. The course then will have a small U-turn on an island that heads back towards the finishing point in downtown Chuncheon. For 30km mark your foot will be on pacing along Chuncheon Dam, 12 km more and you’ll reach the finish line.
The marathon is open for everyone. The course overall is beautiful as it is wrapped around the reservoir and combined with the mid-Autumn season which adds to the feel of the run. Also, cultural drum show and traditional music and cheerleading were present to add energy and make the event lively.
For runners from other countries especially Malaysians, through the organizing committee of Chuncheon Marathon, a travel agent who specializes in marathon packages will soon be available to take care of your registration, transportation, accommodation and tour while you are at the Chuncheon Marathon.
