Runners Get Ready

Lee took his job as race photographer seriously, so we'll be posting pictures of Yesan, both the town and the race, for days. We had one of those trips where everything just falls neatly into place: arrive at the bus stop, a bus is leaving in 15 minutes; look for a hotel, a cheap and clean room is available across the street from the stadium; crave spaghetti for a pre-race meal, a pizza/pasta restaurant is a ten-minute walk away.
The race was fun and well-organized. There was a 5 km, a 10 km, and a half marathon. The people of the town lined the streets, every couple of kilometers a traditional Korean band played drums and sang, and volunteers staffed aid stations at every kilometer, complete with bananas, water, sports drink, energy bars and cold sponges. In Seoul I run on the perfectly flat river path, so a vague sense of panic set in as the bus drove into town and we were climbing up the side of a mountain. Indeed, the race course was hilly, but mostly consisted of gentle rolling hills, with a big monstrous one from the 18th to 20th kilometer. My time was 2:02:58.
Look closely in the middle foreground and you can see me at the start line - I'm the one wearing a pink shirt.