Taroko Gorge Marathon, Taiwan 2012

       There are many kinds of races you can run. Among them are flat road races where you push your limits for a speedy time, trail races where you challenge yourself with the terrain as you careen up and down steep dirt paths, and there are adventure races where you run for the scenery or just to experience being someplace totally new and totally different. Nov. 3rd was definitely an adventure race, following the winding road up Taroko Gorge, Taiwan.

       It was an adventure from registration day forward. The race is limited to 10,000 people because of the venue and it sold out in a few hours. Thanks to wonderful people, I had the help I needed to navigate the website (which was all in Chinese) and get my information in. After that it was settling plane tickets, hotel rooms, and trains. Fortunately, Taiwan is a WONDERFUL place where all the signs are in English, everything is well marked, nearly everyone speaks English, and they are more than willing to help a lost traveler.

Sam and Nancy, without whom
 I would never have arrived at the start gate

       After about 12 hours of bus/plane/bus/train/train, I finally arrived in Hualien, Taiwan where my friend Sam walked me to my hotel and helped me order the best Chinese take-out I’ve ever had (that cost about $1.35 US!) I reorganized my bags and laid out my clothes for the morning when I would meet a group of young runners in the lobby to share cabs to the shuttle busses that would take us to the race start. Needless to say, I wasn’t exactly fresh and bouncy at the start line, but I was excited and ready to roll.

Bus drop off



Nifty red check bags



Miranda, who helped me get

 from the hotel to the shuttles



   

    The race start was a mad house! After being dropped off near the start arch, we had to walk about half a mile up hill to check our bags and then back down again. By this time the sun had come up, the day was looking fantastic, and the sea of 10,000 runners, plus spectators was roiling with anticipation.

 

Sea of runners headed back to the start arch



    

  

      The first 5K was flat and along the coast to give the crowd a chance to thin out before we funneled onto the road up the gorge.

       Like other big races I’ve been in, twists and turns in the road revealed an endless stream of runners pushing up the gentle grade. I had expected a wicked steep climb, but it was actually quite a gentle slope up the gorge since we stayed low, between the towering mountains. It was one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen! No pictures can ever begin to do justice to this place, but I did my best, stopping to snap shots that were dimished the minute they were framed in a viewfinder!



A well lit tunnel, not all were





Runner as far as the eye could see

       As we climbed higher and finally came into the sun, the potential heat was mitigated by a cool breeze that wafted out of the gorge like a welcome blast of air conditioning on a summer day.



The road still thick with runners





Tired smile



       Everyone was having such a good time! Nearly all the runners had cameras out and did not hesitate to stop and take pictures. Every time I stopped for a snap shot, another runner would stop next to me for the same shot, then ask me to take their picture with the background, then offer to take my picture with the background, then grab a third person to take our picture together with the background. Needless to say, it took a lot longer to get up the road than it should have! I didn’t care though. Speeding through a race like this would be like rapidly inhaling a gourmet meal, it would simply be a waste.



Cheering in the native costumes of Taiwan



 



Hard hats in case of falling rocks. Hikers were wearing them, but only one or two runners availed themsleves of the service. Good thing we didn't really need them since there would never have been enough for all the runners



       I was also a bit of a novelty on the course. There were very few Westerners present, fewer of them women, and I could probably count on one hand the number of blondes. Many people welcomed me to Taiwan as we ran and asked me loads of questions. It was so much fun! Once or twice they would run past me very close and then lean in to look inspect my face (or maybe it was the blue eyes they wanted to see up close.) It is an odd feeling when someone invades your space like that, but I’ve gotten pretty used to it and just smile. One of these days I should paint a third eye on my forehead, LOL.

           One thing that really surprised me was the number of barefoot runners! I think there were more people in minimal shoes than traditional trainers and I've never seen so many vibrams. Someone was even in "Invisible Shoes!" In this race though, there were many people with skin on pavement. It made me fell very overdressed in my Merrells. I considered taking them off, but I didn't want to carry them and, in races like this, I tend to get caught up in the scenery and don't watch where I am stepping, so the shoes stayed on.



Where's the runner?



       Since my Garmin didn’t work in the gorge I had my max split times printed and taped to my water bottle. As long as I managed to stay ahead of those times, I knew I could finish before the 6 hour cut off. I watched them closely, particularly with all the lengthy photo stops, and managed to keep ahead of the red zone all the way to the turnaround at the peak at 25K.

I've never had so many pictures of ME on my camera, LOL

A closed off section of road

       When we reached the summit, crowds were taking pictures with the marker sign, excitement mounting as we turned back towards the finish, ready to enjoy the easy downhill roll.

       In an out and back race, you can’t help but look to see who is behind you after the turn around. I was shocked at the number of people that were still struggling up the gorge. In Korea I am generally at the very back, even when I am moving much faster, but I had hundreds behind me this time. All were in good spirits though and excited to be in there.

       Not long after the turn around my left knee started niggling. Usually it my right knee that complains first so I was a little worried, especially since I had about 15K of downhill left to cover. I stopped and stretched my hip adductors and that seemed to take care of it since it never bothered me again. I think perhaps running uphill tightens them so I need to get in the habit of stopping for a quick stretch at the top of hills.

       The 30K mark was deep in a tunnel, again with crowds of people stopping for pictures. Some Army kids I had been running alongside asked if I would join them for a picture so we waited our turn for a quick snap before continuing on.

     

  Shortly before we reached the “Last 5K” sign the clouds rolled in, creeping down the mountain faces, and bringing with them a light drizzle of rain. It was still warm though so we didn’t mind. I was very glad I had gotten all the pictures I wanted early on. By now I had met up with Miranda and Sam, who were down to walking. My body was pretty beat up from traveling and carrying bags so, with nothing to prove on the clock and plenty of time to finish, I enjoyed strolling along for the last couple of kilometers listening to Sam’s stories about the other runners around us. In Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the running bug is just as strong as it is in Korea. Everyone runs so many races that they seem to all know each other and every third or fourth person we saw greeted Sam or Miranda.



So cool that the medal includes a map of the course!



       When we emerged from the last long tunnel, the finish arch was ticking away the seconds. YAY! Done! Most people that visit places like this, take a bus or taxi, stopping at key points to soak up the view, but when you cover the whole course on foot, twice, you see it all. You absorb your surroundings in a way you never could in a tour group or from a car window. Even on a bicycle, it would all zip by far too quickly. Saying good-bye to the Gorge after such a satisfying and fulfilling day spent with it was easy, like pushing away the clean plate after a wonderful, fulfilling meal. I’ve done it, I’ve lived it, I’ve seen it, I’ve breathed it, I’ve tasted it, I’ve felt it in my soul and it will never leave me.

Gapyeong Marathon

Dancing Gangnam Style to warm up

      

       I believe that once in a while we should set high goals, something that is beyond what we really believe we can do. We need pipe dreams, goals that stretch our wings and cause us to take a leap of faith. This summer I set one of these goals when I registered for 4 marathons in a month’s time. Part of me didn’t truly believe it was possible, but the stubborn kid in me was determined to prove naysayers wrong. There are so many reasons to take on a challenge like this. I learned a tremendous amount about myself, my mind, my body, and my abilities. I experienced so much more than I would have otherwise and at the end of life that is the only thing that can’t be taken away from you.

       Gapyeong was shaping up to be a tough race. The course is known for steep hills and, as if having run 3 marathon in the previous 4 weekends wasn’t enough, the night before was the Air Force Ball. I had a grand time at the ball, but didn’t stay for dancing since I needed fresh legs in the morning. Other than not partaking of alcohol, my other concession to the race was to wear flats with my gown. At least being floor length hid my feet. Despite my caution, I ended up only getting about 5 fitful hours of sleep and had over eaten so I wasn’t in the best shape for a race on Sunday morning!

Ugly elevation profile, it felt as bad as it looks!

       The area the race was being held in is a resort town up in the mountains Northeast of Seoul. It is stunningly beautiful and the course followed a lake with water-skiers zipping by, making me jealous of the cool water they were enjoying. Although not as hot as the race in August, it was still upwards of 80 degrees and skin-crispingly sunny, (as attested to by the spots that I didn’t quite reach with sunscreen.) The first part of the course, which was quite steep, was at least shady. A large part of the second half, which consisted of a cement bike path on the river bank, was unprotected and the aid stations were about 4k apart. It was flatter, but much hotter and lonelier.

I was holding up well on the course, pushing on the uphills and taking it easy on the down hills, to protect my knees. I intended to take the whole 6 hours by adding in lots of walk breaks, feeling no need to push my pace, preferring to finish feeling good despite the late night and long month. It was another one of those races with out-and-backs in opposite directions (with a little short one at the start) and after the first big turnaround I felt pretty good about the number of people behind me and my pace.

Mr. Kim far left

       Ever Faithful Mr. Kim had found me with my club and even snuck into our group photo! He paced with me for the first half of the race, but somewhere in the second half I announced that I was taking advantage of the 6 hour cut off and he left me in his dust. I must have sorely disappointed him because I didn’t see him at the finish.

Once I hit the 20 mile turn around I was happy. I could walk the rest of the way and still finish before the course closed so I relaxed a bit and took some long walk breaks to let my body cool down. We at least had a nice breeze, but the sauna at the gym has been broken for weeks and I haven’t been doing my heat training. I could really feel the difference! The temperature should not have bothered me as badly as it did, but I wasn’t alone. The Sweeper van (in this case, an ambulance) was very busy picking up overheated runners and shuttling them back. I wondered if the 6 hour cut off had lured an extra dose of beginners into a tough race. I realized after the turnaround that this time, there weren’t many people behind me and the ones left on the course were in really rough shape. One woman stopped and sat on a low wall a mile or so before the turn and she was still there when I came back around. I tried to encourage another runner to step it back up when I passed him and he waved me off saying, “I cannot!” With about 4 miles to go I passed a runner for the last time as he climbed into the ambulance. At the time I was enjoying a nice walk break in a rare shady spot and the ambulance driver yelled at me to get in. I waved him off with a stern “NO!” and picked back up to a run. It was a gentle downhill at this point so if I needed to keep running to not be caught by the sweeper, so be it. I wondered more than once if I had misread the website and the course actually closed in 5 hours. I didn’t care though, I know they always list finish times for almost an hour after course close and I had my Garmin so I could trace my route back to the finish if the volunteers at the turns had gone home. Fortunately, they were all in place, as were the traffic cones that separated me from the cars on the last stretch through town.

About this time I realized the police car that had been patrolling up and down the course was now just following me. Oops? Was I really in last place? I sure was! The police car was great because it kept motorists from coming too close to me, but it was more than a little nerve wracking to know that everyone was now waiting on ME to finish the race! The aid stations were still open, but obviously almost done cleaning up and anxious to be finished. The ubiquitous teenage girls were mobbing me with cups and cheers, glad to see their good deed for the day was nearly over. At the turns, the officers directing traffic and runners had lost a bit of their enthusiasm in the pounding sun, but they stopped the cars and waved me through with smiles.

         As I climbed the last hill up to the track where the start/finish gate was placed, the police car zipped around me and turned on the lights and sirens to announce the final runner. I ran through the arch, grinning from ear to ear because I had done it! The strangers around me had no idea how much this finish meant to me or what had been accomplished at that moment, so much more than a mere marathon finish. They cheered excitedly anyway, the photographer were snapping pictures, and the volunteers ran up to me with a double dose of snacks and my medal. Even my checked bag had been moved up to the finish! Someone very official looking stopped me for a photo. I have no idea if he was the race director or the Mayor of the town, but he congratulated me and we smiled for the camera before he went on his way.

       While I was resting and stretching to prepare for the long drive home, they were dropping the awnings and packing up. The runners that were still hanging around were giving me fist pumps and congratulations, friendly and supportive as always even for the last bedraggled runner. Later, on Facebook, one of my club members posted very excitedly that I had finished second in my age group. I laughed that it was second out of 2 and she didn’t believe me because there were so many runners. There were lots of men on the course, but as usual, very few women. As a woman, you can finish last and still be in the top 3 for 40-something!

       How did my body hold up through 4 marathons? I must say that it surprised me. There were definitely times when I hurt, either generally or acutely in one joint or another. I did not want to talk about the issues I had going into my last race because I knew people would give me a bad time for continuing on my journey and I didn’t want to hear the negative talk. After the Ansan race the week before, my left foot was very tender and I was afraid for the first day or two that I had another stress fracture. The rest of the week I wore my old Brooks trainers so that my arch would be propped up and could totally rest. I also taped it to get through the classes I taught during the week. I was worried equally about my knee. It never totally recovered from tweaking it in the first race and I was very afraid of the hills for this last course. I treated both my foot and my knee with KT Tape and prayed. The first half of the race was really rough. Every joint felt tight and my knees forced me to a walk on several downhills, but walking was fine and my foot seemed to be okay. By the second half, the pain had evaporated. I don’t know if it works this way for everyone, or if it is a symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Perhaps the pain I feel in my joints would indicate injury on someone else, but is just my body overreacting. Another person running through the pain I feel might end up in surgery, where I end up finally lubricating my joints with the motion and getting them past an attack by RA. If I had truly injured my knee or my foot, and done actual mechanical damage, there is no way I could have finished all four races. Either way, no one would have faulted me for quitting at any point, no one would have cared if I didn’t meet my goal, and no one would have given it another thought but me. For myself and everyone else with this stupid disease, I had to do it to beat RA, I had to prove to myself that it cannot rob me of my life unless I let it. I expected the day after the race to be very painful with foot and knee pain, but I actually didn’t hurt at all! It was really weird that I would actually hurt less the day after a marathon than the day before! Sort of like deafening silence when a loud noise you have become accustomed to suddenly stops. I was healed by the last marathon, not torn down more.

       Nutrition: From the Marathon Maniacs page, I learned that one of the keys to multiple marathons is nutrition. Not only do you need to replace the carbs, but you need to recover fast and that means protein, fluids, and nutrient filled foods so your body can rebuild. Immediately after a race I can usually only get down a drink, banana, and maybe some fruit or a roll, but once I have cooled down and my stomach is settled, I need quality protein and I have found having a couple of boiled eggs stashed in my gear hits the spot exceptionally well. They are easy to digest and are lovely dipped in salt! Getting enough to eat right after a race to bring your blood sugar back up to normal is also very important if you need to have your wits about you to drive home. This requires enough glucose for your brain to function so handy carbs are important. They need to be quality carbs though, not chips or junk, something that will get into your system quickly and not put you on a blood sugar rollercoaster. Healthy fats help too. I’m still experimenting with what does this best and travels well.

       Between races: When you only have a week to recover before another full marathon, you have to be very careful with your mind and body. It made a big difference to have my life in order for the first couple of days so I didn’t have to think. Food was shopped for and set up, work was planned out, and lists were made so that I didn’t have to think much. By the end of the week I was ready to set up for the following week, creating a sustainable pattern for race-rest-race-rest-race. I made sure I got plenty of muscle rebuilding protein through the week, plenty of rest, and didn’t set myself up with much in the way of outside obligations. All the races were on Sunday so Monday was a pajama day with lots of stretching and foam rolling. My workouts between the last three races included very little running, but lots of core work and large range of motion exercises like squats. I taught my regular exercise classes, rode my bike home from work, and went through the warm up and skills for CrossFit on Monday and Friday, but only did a full WOD on Wednesday. It felt great to move and this pattern allowed me to push a little without overdoing it.

      Despite attaining my goal, and enjoying a beautiful day on the course, the best was yet to come. One of my favorite things about running is the people I meet and my travel companion for the 4 hour drive home was a lovely young woman who is a South African Zulu. Her English is fantastic and we talked the whole way home about world travel, life, and she even spoke a little Zulu for me, what a beautiful language! When I think of what I would have missed if I hadn’t taken up running, it makes me realize what an incredible blessing it is and how much richer it has made my life!

Lessons learned:

1. Heat training is never wasted time, I wish I could have done more of it.

2. There is nothing wrong with slowing down and enjoying the beauty of the course.

3. Finishing last is still a finish!

4. Once again, I am far stronger than I think I am!

5. After 3 marathons in quick succession, it starts getting easier.

6. Our bodies can adapt amazingly to extreme situations!

7. Protein is the most important thing to take in for recovery from very long runs.

8. Stretching is the second most important part of recovery.

9. You don’t always have to run to stay in running condition. When you are building up to a distance, it is important, but once you are there and consistently able to cover it, you can back off your mileage as long as you are working equally intensely at your cross training.

Ansan Seawall Marathon

The race course

       My second race for September was on the Ansan Seawall. The weather was going to be nice, 70’s with a breeze and a little cloud cover and the course promised to be pancake flat, it sounded great! Needless to say, I was a bit tired starting this race and more than a little worried about the overuse injuries that are creeping up. I decided to give KT Tape a try on my knee since it is so in vogue. Probably 30% of the Korean runners had KT Tape somewhere on their body, thighs, calves, knees, ankles, shins, necks, etc. I’ve also noticed big circular bruises and finally figured out they are from a practice called “Cupping.” I can’t say for sure if the KT Tape made any difference at all, but it is comforting, like a security blanket for a baby, to feel the contact of the tape on the problem area.

Sporting my KT Tape

       This was definitely my toughest race on the mental aspect. The last two races have been in lovely places with constantly changing scenery. Ansan is pleasant enough to look at, but the view never changes. You can see aid stations half an hour before you get to them so it never seems like they get any closer, and for most of the race we could see the tents at the start/finish. I’m also finding that flat races beat me up way worse than hilly races. With hills, the muscles you use and the way you use your joints changes constantly as does the range of motion used with your joints. Sometimes your quads work harder, sometimes your hamstrings, more hip or more butt, lean forward then lean back. It is always changing and giving a reprieve to the parts that worked hardest a few minutes ago. Throughout the Ansan race, I never felt any acute or specific pain, I was just tight, tired, and week everywhere. I also spent the day in bed with a headache on Saturday. My husband and daughter have both been sick, but I’m guessing I have had it before because my glands were a bit swollen like I was fighting something, but I never came down with it. Knowing I wasn’t up to my best running condition, I planned from the start to take the full 5 hours to finish.

       After about 10 miles, I felt like I had been running forever. The thought of 16 more miles made me feel totally defeated. I kept thinking, “I can’t do this, I can’t keep going for over 3 more hours!” Our course was like starting at the bottom of a “Y” with two turn around points and an opportunity to bail out and skip the second part of the course. It was incredibly tempting! My thoughts were turning into a song from Annie Get Your Gun, “no you can’t, yes I can, no you can’t, yes I can, YES I CAN!” It was brutal and I didn’t think it would get worse, then we turned into the wind.

      About this time I was approached by a runner that I had talked to at the race in Cheorwon the week before. Since less than 10% of the runners at any given race are women, and there are probably 3 of us that are blond, I’m not hard to spot so I constantly get waves and cheers from people that remember me from previous races, I wish I was equally good at recognizing them! This particular runner, Mr. Kim, (not the same Mr. Kim from Yanggu, Kim is like Smith over here, but worse,) was so excited to see me again that he decided to be my pacer. As we passed people, or were passed, he would shout to them that he was my pacer and I had run Cheorwon last week, which would be answered with cheers and encouragement. As lovely as this sounds, I really needed to be in my head for this race. I had forgotten my MP3 player and was bored to death, but didn’t have the mental capacity to both run and try to decipher an extremely heavy Korean accent at the same time. Most of the things he told me had to be repeated 4 or 5 times and I still only caught a few points. I did get that he is 65, but I think he was trying to shame me out of my walking break, LOL.

My elf-appointed "Pace maker"

       Around 16 miles, I told him to go ahead, which got me repeated utterings of, “5 hours in, no out! 5 hours IN, NO OUT!” Okay, okay, I got it, the course closes in 5 hours, (although I know for a fact that the gate is kept open longer because every race has times recorded for at least 45 minutes past the official close time.) He finally went on ahead, which gave me immediate relief from the zipper tabs on his fanny pack that had been keeping up a steady rhythm like a drum beat on the front of my skull. Really, he was so sweet and so interested in making sure I finished the race on time that I can’t hold anything against him, but MERCY he was driving me out of my ever loving mind!

       I managed to keep plodding along up the second leg of the “Y”. Not cutting the course and going back to my car was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done! Not jumping in one of the sweep vans as they passed was only slightly less difficult. There are always a few runners that stand out, the guy with the full beard, the one with the red and blue fake fur headband, or the guy with a Troll wig. I look for them at the turn arounds to see how far I have fallen behind. At one point I passed the guy with the beard as he leaned on a sweep car to finish puking before getting in. I felt bad for him because I can only imagine how hard it is to quit in this high pressure culture.

       Even though it was a very temperate day, I still felt hot and was sucking down a lot of water. The wind was keeping us from being soaked with sweat, but it also carried away a lot more moisture than I realized. My mind doesn’t work all that well when I’m pushing so hard so it takes a while for all the clues to gel into a thought. I was drinking tons of water, but I was so thirsty I felt like I hadn’t had a sip in days. Then I noticed my fingers were swelling. DING DING DING, I needed salt! I took one salt capsule and gave it some time to sink in. My fingers started shrinking and my thirst seemed less intense. A second salt capsule about a mile later brought my fingers back to normal and I finally felt like I was getting fluids where I needed them. It is so odd to think that salt can make you less thirsty, but when your body is shoving fluids into your tissues in order to conserve electrolytes, you can’t use them. Salt allows your body to use the fluids properly.

Race swag!! A huge box of locally
grown grapes that tasted very different,
had skins too thick to chew, and tons of seeds,
but still hit the spot after the race

       The last turn around was at about the 20 mile mark. In my first couple of marathons, hitting 20 miles was where my heart sank. I felt like I could never eek out 6 more miles when I had only gone to 20 on training runs, but now it is totally different. If I can get to 20, I am home free! Just a 10K back to the car and I have another finish. With this in mind, I stubbornly ground out the last few miles to the turn. Just before the turn, I saw an excited Mr. Kim waving at me and pointing at his watch. I’m pretty sure he thought I had thrown in the towel when I sent him ahead so he was shocked to see I was not far behind him. In his enthusiasm to see me finish, he WAITED FOR ME to catch up to him again and we resumed our pattern of running with him telling me to slow down and walking with him telling me “5 hours in, no out.” Now, as we approached each water stop, he would ask, “Rest one minute?” I would say yes and he was run ahead of me to procure a bottle of water to fill my hand bottle so I would keep moving, LOL. There were times that I could hear, from his breathing, that my 10 mpm pace in the last few miles was not easy on him though. I worried that he had lost too much by waiting for me and waiting on me, but I didn’t ask for it.

       3 Kilometers from the finish I passed the 5:00 pacers. I knew as long as I kept them behind me, I was okay! Mr. Kim was happy about passing them too. With 1500 m left I took one last walk break. Finishing 4:55 or 4:57 made no difference to me, if I needed to walk, there was no reason not to. Mr. Kim had had it with my walk breaks though, and went on ahead with a wave. I crossed the line about 30 second behind him and he was waiting there to shake my hand and say, “See you next week in Gapyeon!” I think Korea doesn’t have a Marathon Maniacs club because they expect marathoners to run marathons all the time. It isn’t a weird group of crazies like it is in the US. Korea has a HUGE “100 Marathons” club and it isn’t unusual to meet someone who has run 200 or 300 full marathons. I think they get a kick out of the American woman toeing the line with them over and over.

On to Gapyeon!

Cute medals showing the dutch influence in this lowland area

More race swag, full marathoners
got 10 kilos of rice, half marathoers got
5 kilos, and 5 K runners got a box of seaweed

The rice was delivered to our club ahead
 of time, poor Sun had to keep
 it until each runner could pick it up!

9th Cheorwon DMZ International Peace Marathon

How often do you get to play on tanks!

The newest tank in our showroom....

         Sunday, September 9th, I found myself loading up on the Seoul Flyers bus once again to head to the DMZ for a race. This time we were running in the Cheorwon area, which I have visited before to see the various tourist sites associated with the Demilitarized Zone. On a typical tour, you visit one of the infiltration tunnels, the Join Security Area (JSA), and an observation platform where you can look at the mountains and an industrial complex in North Korea.

       Despite the very informative tour I took last year, I have learned far more about the DMZ from running in it. In Cheorwon, the rice fields are rich and productive, the farmers that lived in that area when the boundaries were drawn certainly did not want to give up their land that had been passed down for generations. In response to this, a system was set up allowing some people to live inside the DMZ to farm. They live under different rules, with curfews and tax breaks, and under threat since incidences of abduction by the North Koreans have happened. (DMZ Abductions) It seems to be worth it though, since the fields were bursting with heavy heads of rice.

       The usual daytime fireworks announced the start of the Full Marathon. It was a gorgeous day, cool and clear with a light cloud cover, and everyone was in a great mood. The late pack runners trotted on our way as the front runners tore off at a blistering pace. The scenery was typical for Korea, rice fields, small towns and businesses, but ss we approached the imposing gate that marked the entrance to the DMZ, a gutted shell of a large square, ugly building was pointed out to me by a runner keeping pace with me. The building had been the offices for the Communist Party before the war, and now stands gaunt and silent as a reminder of the ugliness that area endured.

There always has to be
 something that is not quite right, LOL

       Cherwon is not as secluded as the area we ran in for Yanggu, it is open to farmers and tourists by permit, but all are carefully watched and accounted for. As we ran through the gate, there were several soldiers with clipboards checking off our numbers as we entered. Their counter parts would later be standing at the exit gate with similar clipboards, making sure no one was left unaccounted for! The small bridges we crossed where what really told you this is the DMZ, high cement fortifications with gun slits and catwalks lined every bridge over even the smallest creek.

Photo by Kerrie Matthee

       Inside the DMZ the rice fields were a beautiful lemon yellow with the heavy heads of ripening rice bowing as they turn from vivid green to a rich gold. It was beautiful in a totally different way from the forest road we race two weeks ago. The beauty, diversity, and vibrant life inside the DMZ never cease to amaze me! Our running route took us through the parking lots of the places I had visited on our group tour the year before, but we passed quickly without stops to spy on North Korea or shop in the souvenir stores. Although the DMZ is brutal and ugly in the dead of winter, this time of year it is a cheerful place and a very fun aspect of this race is the groups of 30-50 young soldiers that would come out to line the road on both sides and loudly cheer for the runners. We could run down the line and get Hi-5s and bright smiles from the boys in uniform. In South Korea, every young man must serve at least 2 years in the military, so the ranks are packed with 18-20 old boys that hardly need to shave yet. As I raced by, slapping outstretched hands, it occurred to me that I am likely the same age as most of their mothers.

       Race support was wonderful, as always, with plenty of water stops full of smiling, giggling, and cheering teenage girls who elbow and tease each other over their attempts to practice English with the winded runners stopping to gulp the drinks being offered. Shouts of, “Where are you from,” rung out at nearly every aid station. I usually answer with California because they all know where that is and many have been there, this is followed by whoops and gales of laughter.

        My race this time was a constant head game. It seemed like every 10 kilometers something different hurt. It started with my knee smarting in the first few miles. Immediately I was panicked knowing if it hurt already, I would never make it to the finish line. I quietly prayed, thanking God for allowing me to come so far, knowing that every mile is a gift and that it was not the end of the world if I had to quit the race. Amazingly, as I approached the 10K mark, it stopped bothering me. Shortly after that, I felt a sharp pain in my left foot. ARG! Another conversation with God, more walking breaks, a stop to stretch, and a salt capsule because it felt like a tiny muscle in my arch might be cramping. Although it stayed a bit tender for the remainder of the run, by the halfway mark, the pain had resolved and I was able to keep running. Next, my hamstring started to feel very tight and hurt, “really?” I also felt way too tired, having stayed up too late the night before and not eaten as well as I should. My heart rate was fine though, so I knew it was mostly in my head and I just needed to find my mojo and get back to business.



You can tell I'm tired, my arms aren't all the way up!
Photo by Carrie Matthee



       The last 10K my spirits rose measurably, but my body slowed. The whole race had been a mental battle, and it wasn’t over yet. Glancing at my Garmin I realized my pace was about a minute per mile slower than it felt. At the start, the pacers were all hanging out together, and as they spread out I started to pace with the 4:40 balloons. Realizing what I was doing, I reminded myself that I needed to run my own race and if my body was up to a 4:40 finish I would catch them later. As long as I stayed ahead of the 5:00 balloon, I would be fine (5 hours being the cut off). Around the half way mark I caught up to the 4:40 pacers at an aid station just past the observation platform. There were three of them and the last one was kidding with me, admonishing me to stay ahead of him, which didn’t look too tough since he didn’t look like he was going to finish 4:40 either. I was trying to work my way ahead of them a bit, which resulted in me being hit in the face several times by the balloon, so I finally gave up and just let them go while I took my time at a water stop that was serving Gatorade.

       We had been running up a gentle grade for quite a while, one of those never ending hills that looks bad from a distance, but is actually very runnable once you get on it. I was worried about going downhill, since that was my undoing at Yanggu, but it was just as gentle as well. My splits are pretty funny, even when mashed up by looking at each quarter of the race or every two miles. I had a rough patch around mile 20, but picked it up form some excellent splits in the last few miles even though, by then, I felt like I was running through tar!

      As I rounded the last corner, about 100 feet from the finish line, I passed the 4:40! Well, at least 2 of them, the guy that had been ribbing me to stay ahead of him was way back in the pack now. I think he was training to be a pacer, since he didn’t have a balloon, and it was harder than he expected.

       After the race we collected our snacks and made one last stop to play on the tanks. Korea race swag rocks! Instead of another race shirt to cram in my drawer, I got a box of energy drinks and 3 kilos of rice grown in the area. I had some for dinner last night and it was very good!



Awesome race swag!





Post race collapse



       My official finish time was 4:36:57! A new PR to be sure, but I feel like Yanggu was still a much better effort since it was hotter and steeper. I have no intention of maintaining this streak through my next two marathons. I need to save my energy next weekend on the Seawall for the following weekend which will be a very mountainous race, but then, I never expected to either of my last two races so fast either!

Maps and full Garmin Connect report

A view of North Korea from across the river