Pears on the Podium

It was a bittersweet day in the realm of Korean races.

Yesterday we bussed to a town west of Busan called Jinju.
The trip got us there around 3:30 (1 hour subway plus 1.5 hour bus ride) and we promptly checked into our love motel, 'The Movie Motel' ( thank you, Lonely Planet! ).

After dropping off our things, we took a walk along the Jinju river to check out the lay of the land, and to find the race start.  During our promenade we found a last renting bikes for 3000won an hour and took her up on the offer. 

Jinju, a city of about 300,000 (small by Korean standards) is a gorgeous place, separated by a medium sized river, with all the amenities a city needs but not so much of the big city population, skyscrapers or all-around vastness. Walking and biking along the river gave me a very 'home' feeling and reminded me a lot of spending time along the St. John river in Fredericton.

We returned our bikes ( which we rented by giving nothing but a phone number... the trust of Koreans!) then strolled around Jinju's downtown looking, unsuccessfully, for a McDonalds but settling for a Pizza Hut. 


Our friend Matt, who was also running, came into town and we spent the evening with him before having a good ol' love motel sleep and waking up for the race in the morning. 


We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.  The sun was shining, a lovely 18-20ish degrees with a slight breeze.  Ian and Kylene ran the 10km event while Matt ran the 1/2 marathon.  

10km start

We ran into another crew of Waeguks from Daejon (The DIABLOS!) who generously shared their tent space with us.  One of the members of the group had sandals straight from Barefoot Ted, of Tarahumara-related fame. We were pretty blown away that he was about to run a full marathon with nothing but a cm of rubber on his feet. 

By the time the race start rolled around, I nearly missed the gun but managed to shove my way up to the front of the start line and headed off with the aim of placing at least top 3.  


After the first mile or so, I passed the lady ( who was likely 60 years old ) in third, and proceeded to keep my eye on the only other female I saw, about 500m ahead.  The race course was nearly all flat and I went through my first km in about 3:58 but slowed down for the next 2, clocking in at 4:00 and 4:03.  After the turn-around, female number 1 was within sight and I made the conscious decision to pump it up and not let this race get away from me.  At km 4, I put it up one more half gear and passed the first place female (a woman who has repeatedly beat me at other 10km events) and then left her in the dust after a fortunately placed short downhill. 


My happiness was short-lived when I heard my watch beep for 5km and the finish line was nowhere in sight.  Tim, however, was in sight.  Caught up in the anger about another too-long course, I actually ' shhhhhed' Tim when he cheered me on.  Worst girlfriend/sport of the year!


Though I was hurting, I pushed for the extra 500m which translated into an extra 2 minutes of running and made for a poor 5km finish time (21:40).  My actual 5km time was 19:40, which is not an amazing time, but is a decent PB for me -  I think would have been faster had I had the finish line in sight..but who knows?


Overall, a great race.  I am really happy with the time, placing and strategizing I was able to do.  


Ian came in shortly after from the 10km with a time that placed him 3rd among the males. A great job by Mr Doyle for his last race in Korea.  

congrats Ian!

Kylene came in shortly after, exasperated with the race course congestion caused by the hoards of people walking the course. 

power duo.

Matt rolled right by us - he wasn't wearing his blue shirt uniform, so we missed him - after finishing his 2nd half marathon in Korea. 

Great job Mr Collins!

The race ceremony was pretty typically Korean, but I am happy to say that I received my favorite prize yet:  a 30lbs box of asian pears!! The giant box made for an awkward hand off on the podium, but what a treasure!

oh thank you!

Following the awards, we relaxed in the sun beside the beautiful river, sharing pears and sipping on beer and makgoli with the Daejon group. 

new friends!

Ian the ajumma and Tim the tank carried our combined 60lbs of pears a ways before we loaded ourselves back onto the bus to Busan and finished off another wonderful weekend at the happiest place on earth: McDonalds. 

t tank and i ajumma.

note the pure bliss.