The March First National Marathon
Written and photographed by Lee Suk Pei
When I had just arrived in Gwangju, the weather was still quite suitable for running, and there were a number of marathon events coming up, but I did not enroll myself in any as I had yet to adapt well to the place. After being here for more than six months, and with winter quickly passing, now is the best time to pick up one of my favorite activities again – running. I started to look for marathon events around Gwangju and found the upcoming 53rd Kwangju Ilbo 3.1 Marathon taking place on March 4, 2018. Unfortunately, having found out so late about the event and due to the short time available for training, I decided I would just go to the event as an observer to find out more about how a marathon is done here in Gwangju.
A Little Introduction to the Event
The 3.1 National Marathon, which is nicknamed “The Core of the Honam Marathons,” is in its 53th edition this year. It is mainly hosted by the Kwangju Ilbo (Gwangju Daily News) and the Asia Culture Center, and is jointly hosted by the Gwangju Athletics Federation and Marathon World. In addition, it is sponsored by Gwangju City, Jeollanam-do Province, the Gwangju Regional Veterans Administration, and the Gwangju City Election Management Committee.
The event is organized every year to commemorate the March First Movement (also known as the Sam-il Independence Movement), which was a mass demonstration organized in Seoul on March 1, 1919, to proclaim independence from Japanese rule. According to the event website, other than commemorating the independence movement, the event also serves to deepen the meaning of democratizing efforts among civilians. The organizers also hope that the event will help participants to adopt a healthy lifestyle and enable marathon enthusiasts to celebrate their friendship. The length of the race is limited only to the full course (42.197 kilometers) and the half course (21.0975 kilometers).
D-Day
When it comes to outdoor running, weather matters a lot, especially in a country with four seasons. This is also why checking my weather app regularly has become a habit after coming to South Korea, as it is a matter of life and death for me. It turned out that March 4, 2018, would be a cloudy but pretty warm day at 19 degrees Celsius, which made it pretty good conditions for running. Rising early and getting prepared as if I were running in the marathon, I then took a bus and arrived at the starting point of the marathon, which was at the 5.18 Democracy Square in front of the Asia Cultural Center.
Arriving around forty-five minutes earlier than the event’s first starting time (8:30 a.m.), I managed to walk around the venue to see how the event was arranged and organized. Many booths were set up on the site ranging from beverage booths, personal items storage booths, changing rooms, sponsors’ booths, and even a massage station! Participants were seen unloading their personal items at the storage booths, taking photos at the starting gate, and of course, warming up. I felt so excited for the participants that I almost wanted to join them on their run. Around half an hour before starting time, local VIPs were invited on stage to give a speech to welcome the participants and cheer them on for the race.
A few minutes before starting time, participants for the full course gathered at the gate and got ready for flag off. I could see from their facial expressions that they were really excited to start the race. At 8:30 a.m. sharp, the full-course participants ran past the gate marking the start of the race. Flag off for the half-course participants followed five minutes later. The venue was left empty with only booths and organizers remaining to move the booths to the end point of the course. Being a curious person, I then took the subway to the end point to follow the race. Around half an hour later, I ended up in the Sangmu area and decided to take a break while waiting for the participants to complete their race.
Finishing
Checking the time again and thinking that it should be about time for participants to be arriving at the finish line, I walked to the endpoint, which was set at Sangmu Citizen’s Park. With the efficient work of the organizers, participants’ personal items had already been moved from the starting point to the personal items storage booth in Sangmu. There again were the food and snack booths for the participants, a medal booth, changing rooms, and the massaging booths, too! Participants had also already been spotted running past the finishing line one by one, with the majority of them being half-course runners, but a few of them were full-course participants. Some people were also seen cheering the participants at the finish line.
I was so shocked looking at the finishing times of the participants, especially for the full-course marathoners. At two hours and forty minutes into the race, there were already three full-course runners who had completed the race! I guessed that the food and the weather really did have an effect on the participants achieving such amazing time records! Participants were seen doing some cooling down exercises, eating, and congratulating each other after completing the race. After some waiting, it was time for the awards ceremony. The event ended after the last awards had been given out.
Winners for the full-course (42.195 kilometers) men’s category:
First place: Kim Bo-keon (Time: 2:30:35)
Second place: Kwon Ki-hyeok (Time: 2:37:27)
Third place: Park Chang-ha (Time: 2:38:42)
Winners for the full-course (42.195 kilometers) women’s category:
First place: Lee Jeong-suk (Time: 2:57:59)
Second place: Lee Seon-yeong (Time: 2:58:30)
Third place: Kwon Sun-hwi (Time: 2:59:08)
Winners for the half-course (21.0975 kilometers) men’s category:
First place: Ma Seong-min (Time: 1:13:52)
Second place: Lee Jae-sik (Time: 1:14:18)
Third place: Jo Woo-won (Time: 1:14:22)
Winners for the half-course (21.0975 kilometers) women’s category:
First place: Liu Seung-hwa (Time: 1:25:19)
Second place: Hwang Sun-ok (Time: 1:25:51)
Third place: Lee Yeon-suk (Time: 1:29:37)
Some Post-Event Thoughts
Comparing marathon events organized in my country, Malaysia, our flag-off times are pretty early. Races in the full-marathon category are usually begun in the pitch-black hours as early as 4:00 a.m., while the half-marathon category will normally flag off half an hour later in order to prevent the effect of hot weather on the participants. However, here in Gwangju, the race flagged off as late as 8:30 a.m. This delay may benefit participants who are without their own transport, as they are able to take public transport to the venue as well as catch some extra shut-eye before the race.
On the other hand, I am not sure if this event that I attended was a relatively small-scale event. Running events in Malaysia, while still quite a recent development, see a sea of participants dressed in the same running tees provided by the organizers. Potential participants need to hurry to register themselves for the race, as available spaces fill up fast. Nevertheless, the event here in Gwangju was organized pretty well, and I am sure 52 years of experience has equipped the organizers with good skills in managing the participants and the crowd. I will definitely enroll myself in the next running event and train hard for it.
Upcoming Running Events Around Gwangju
March 24 = Gwangju Mudeungsan Trail Run
(20 km, 12 km)
April 22 = The 15th Honam International Marathon
(42 km, 21 km, 10 km, 5 km)
May 12 = The 18th 5.18 Marathon
(30 km, 21 km, 10 km, 5.18 km)
June 9 = The 16th Gwangju Ultra-Marathon
(100 km, 50.18 km)
THE AUTHOR
Suk Pei is from Malaysia and is currently doing a master’s program in NGOs at Chonnam National University. She likes hiking and running, as well as eating in order to gain the required energy to continue hiking and running.