Gwangju Reunification Marathon Run

Not many things cause my left nipple to bleed, especially without me realizing it; but the Gwangju Reunification Race made that predicament a reality. The Sunday morning sun was rising up to reveal a beautiful, slightly foggy landscape of rice fields and mountains out in the distance by the Gwangju Airport. Racers warmed up around the starting line as the races prepared to set off in rapid succession; the half-marathon, the ten kilometer and then the five kilometer.

For me, it was all about the 10K.

I’ve had a recent resurgence in my love of running. In high school I took running very seriously. All through the four years I did the trio of cross-country, indoor and outdoor track every year. I paid attention to my times and I was competitive, but then I left for college and the competitive edge slowly eroded away. I stopped keeping track of times and soon I was just running to keep in shape.

This year the four year dry spell has come to an end and I’ve felt the competitive edge coming back. The Gwangju Reunification came to my attention at just the right time. It gave me something to train for and a place where I could set a new benchmark time.

Approaching the starting-line I felt a few butterflies but with weather as beautiful as it was and with such beautiful scenery to run through, I was more anxious to get out and run it. Running is beautiful in its simplicity, especially cross-country running; literally just a person and their shoes out in the world finding rhythms and working towards some kind of enlightenment. The half-marathon set out and ten minutes later, after checking with a gentleman next to me, the 10K was getting ready to go.

In an instant we were running.

The air was just starting to take on that crisp, fresh bite of autumn but with the sun shining so brightly, the temperature balanced out nicely. The runners of the 10K stretched out almost immediately. The race was an out and back route, not a loop. Usually this isn’t my kind of route as it can sometimes pose a mental hurdle to know exactly where you are and how much longer there is left to run; but as the road meandered longer and longer along the river, I found myself actually wanting to run it again. A great location to a run can really make all the mental difference between strenuous work and enjoyment.

The whole run was one great panoramic view of mountains, and the riverbed and the airport seemed to shrink the 10K distance. Before I knew it we had hit the 5K turn-around and I felt really good. The competitive edge came back again, but only to make sure I got a good time. It is hard to want to pass people under such great conditions. You kind of want everyone to do well as corny as that sounds.

The last kilometer of the race followed the main road and it really snapped me out of the natural meditation I found myself in for most of the race. With cars going the opposite way and crowds of people watching and walking by, I started to notice who I was running with and I enjoyed the feeling of having some energy left to finish the race strong. The race ended abruptly and while I was still stumbling around after crossing the finish line I was handed a donut and a medal as I was shuffled into a line for kimchi and makgeolli; definitely the most unique way I have every finished a race. As I stood in line some friends of mine asked if my nipple was bleeding, I looked down and realized it was indeed. What a day.