Seoul Half Marathon… all things you need to know if you’re a foreigner in Korea..

For those of you interested in finding half marathons, particularly overseas in Korea, this post will help you somewhat decipher how to find races in the Far East.  This section of “aloha brigitte” will be dedicated to my half marathon training and races because I’ve found that sometimes it’s actually hard to find detailed information about a race; some of the boutique ones don’t have a lot of information out there and when I’m in a pinch needing to sign up for a race to fit my schedule, I end up finding those smaller races to join.  So I’m hoping this is helpful to many of you inquisitive runners!

I just completed my 11^th half marathon on Sunday (April 30, 2017) for the Fila sponsored Seoul Half Marathon.  All the major sports brands have their own version of a race and signing up for them can be tricky because the websites are mainly in Korean.  Some of the bigger races will have a “foreigner” section where parts are in English to get you by with at least signing yourself up.  It’s not the same as in the United States, where you sign up and pay with a credit card like normal regardless of where you are from.  Here, you typically have an account with a password and then separately pay with a “bank transfer”.  That’s where it gets tricky for foreigners.  I can usually sign myself up without any issues, but I don’t have a Korean bank account and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to pay for things online because Korea has 45,402,452 weird firewalls along with ONLY using Internet Explorer on a PC (non-Apple) type of device.  tf?

{the flatlay.. read on for details about what I wore}

 

 

First, finding a race.  You google “half marathon Seoul” and you may get a few out of date websites –  before moving, I legit thought Koreans didn’t run in any races because I couldn’t find any information.  My secret is I joined an English speaking, established facebook group where they post about the various races coming up.  They don’t always list them all, but once I started seeing a pattern or race chatter, you can start to figure out the race schedule this way.  There is a website dedicated to various race distances in Korea.. but..  it’s.. in.. Korean, so even with google, it won’t pop up.  So find a facebook group and that will open up some doors, I imagine in any country you’re in.

Second, registration.  You can usually finagle your way through the site with the little English to sign up with your details, minus the address.. be sure someone double checks your address because your race packet gets sent to your Korean address vice attending an expo.  Then it comes time to pay.  At this point, I message a friend who can read Korean with a Korean bank account to go to the website, give them my username/password, and they complete the registration process for me.  Kind of annoying, but the only easy way to get it to work for foreigners such as myself.  The good thing is races in Korea are way cheaper than in the US (but it makes sense based on the medal, event itself, etc.).  This race cost 40,000 Korean Won, equivalent to about $35.

Third, race day.  Show up like normal and get into your corral/wave/section.  There’s still not a lot of English spoken, but usually signs will have enough English for you to figure out where you need to be.  Also, I don’t show up more than 30-45 minutes before a race in Seoul because bathrooms have all surprisingly been easy to access with little wait time, unlike the US where the port-o-potties lines have made me miss gun time.  Nothing makes me more angry than missing the gun.

So hopefully that helped you with being able to find and sign up for races.  All things I had to figure out myself because it’s actually extremely hard to find people to run half marathons with you.. weird.  Ok, so the 2017 Seoul Half Marathon.  The starting line was at Gwanghumun Plaza where a statue of King Sejong the Great, creator of Hangul (Korean) chills.  The air quality that day, was pret-ty crappy.. like, disgusting but it made for a really pretty skyline.. go figure.  Gun time was at 8AM starting with the 10K runners followed by the half marathoners.  No full for this race.  The cut-off attendance was 10,000 athletes and I was number 9176.  Guess who signed up last minute.  Don’t do that though, because the larger races will sell out faster..

{race beginnings}

 

 

What’s really *cute* in Korea is before the race starts, there are group exercises.. everyone does the same exercise as directed by fitness (I’m guessing instructors) to help loosen up their bones.  I never take part in this.  Either I’m too late and catch the end of it, or I’m insta-storying the glory of it all.  Also, the race shirts sent in your packet – everyone wears these shirts on race day, so the color is unified and people here like conformity, in this case it was baby blue.  I usually don’t wear the race shirts (although very nice), but without training in new gear, I get weird and don’t want to wear something I’ve never run in before.. chafing sucks.

I must say that after doing my fourth race within Seoul, this was my favorite course!  We got to cross over two bridges (Mapo and Yangwha) which also included running through the streets of Seoul.  If you know the population and traffic here, it’s pretty terrible, so with the streets being blocked off, made the run epic.  Which brings me to another point, this race (as most do) had a strict 2 hour and 30 minute cut off time.  If you aren’t at a certain point by then, a van will pick you up and shuttle you away.  So the type of people running are going to be more quality runners (no walkers) that can finish within the given time.

 

 

Also on this run were the random music stations every 3km or so.  This is not a normal race set up here (maybe because it had such large sponsors – besides Fila, it was also Samsung, Paris Baguette, Chosun Sun, and some others).  But I welcome it.  I get motivation when I see people lining the streets handing out high-fives and blasting music.  The dancers were a fun sight to see too.. I don’t think I ever smiled so much at a race before with all the perks I wasn’t used to seeing in past races (in Korea).  Then halfway through the miles was a long tunnel with a DJ!!  I got so freaking happy at this point.. the DJ’s speakers fed through the tunnel and they set up all these club lights so it was ridiculously fun for a good few minutes before heading back into the sun (which it’s starting to get warmer in Seoul so I was sweating a good amount).  My handana came in handy.. if you don’t know what that is, I recommend grabbing one for those runs where sweat is inevitable.. prevents the sting of sweat in your eyes.  Greatest invention ever.

 

 

The 10K runners broke away and that’s when I knew I was almost halfway through.  Still feeling pretty good at this point.  It wasn’t until I got to mile 10..

Mile 10: Oh runners are starting to come in the opposite direction.. ok, there’s a turn around.

Mile 11: WTF, how long is this turn around? I should have looked at the map closer.

Mile 11.5: This is serious and I need water stat.. I see it on the OTHER side.

Mile 11.8: I think I finally see the end of this stupid turn around.

Mile 12.5: Water, water, water…

Mile 13: OMG I think that’s the end of the race.. pull yourself together and look effing normal to get a good photo finish (legit pull my hair down from an aunty bun to a ponytail at this point.. no lie)

Mile 13.1: Where’s my metal.. and water?

 

 

Nobody hands you a finishers medal in Korea, instead you get a bag full of coffee, bread, choco pies, random health stuff, and your medal in a plastic bag.  I rip that thing open and immediately put it on and wear that sucker with pride. If I’m honest, I’m in it for the bling.  That’s what makes me feel like I officially crossed the line and accomplished a race.  Stupid, but along with knowing my time, I need that medal to be around my neck like a badge of damn honor.  Finished in 2:08.43.. which is my sweet spot.. didn’t PR, so I’ll just have to try again..

 

 

Since this post has already gotten far too long, in a future post I’m going to give more details about how I prepare pre-race, my training program, and what I do during the race.. you’ll want to stay tuned for that future post because I’m psycho and trick my mind into thinking it’s not 13.1 miles or 21.0975 kilometers.  You don’t have to wait too long because I already signed up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon going down on May 21^st!

 

 

If you have any questions at all, please leave a comment, and I’ll be more than happy to help my fellow runners out there, especially if you are interested in running in Korea… the good, bad, and annoying!  If you want to stalk my previous races on IG and want to know more, use hashtag #brigitterunsahalf

{The gear details}

Shoes: Adidas (Adizero Boston Boost)

Compression Calf Sleeves: CEB 

Socks, shorts, tank: Graced by Grit (this company is fabulous and their gear is super universal to take you from the land to the sea – legit from running to stand up paddling)

Long Sleeve Tech Shirt: Adidas (similar)

Sports Bra: Adidas

Handana: here.. you’ll thank me later..

Ipod: Apple Shuffle.. because.. Apple

Waist Belt: Fitletic

Watch: Nike+ powered by Tom Tom

Gels: GU