Office worker Mok Young-ju (41) started running in 2009. She started running at the recommendation of a friend to join her in a 10km race. She didn’t immediately fall in love with marathons. She ran once or twice a week for health and occasionally participated in 10km races. Then, in 2016, she completed the 42.195km full marathon course for the first time. It was all thanks to her husband, Lee Byeong-do (40), whom she met at a marathon club and married in 2017.
“When I was dating my husband, he always ran full-course races and placed high. So I thought, ‘What must it be like to run like that?’ and ran. My husband was my pacemaker. I ran in the 3:47 range on my first attempt. I didn’t know it, but other people ran well. From then on, I ran to shorten my full-course record.”
![[양종구의 100세 시대 건강법]“I met my husband through running, and we built a strong bond as a couple by running together.”](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/09/19/130063935.1.jpg "[양종구의 100세 시대 건강법]“I met my husband through running, and we built a strong bond as a couple by running together.”")
She set her sights on the Boston Marathon, the dream stage for masters marathoners. The Boston Marathon has eligibility criteria. For women in their 30s, she had to complete the full course within 3 hours and 35 minutes. She used to run 5-8 km a day, an average of 100 km a month, but she doubled her running distance to an average of 200 km a month. That’s 50 km a week. She ran after work more than 5 days a week. She said, “I had a fear of ‘whether I could actually do it’ about completing the full course. However, I gained confidence after completing it with a good record.” She completed the Seoul Marathon and Dong-A Marathon in 2017 in 3 hours and 40 minutes, and qualified for the Boston Marathon in November of that year with a record of 3 hours and 27 minutes. In 2019, she participated in the Boston Marathon with her husband, enjoyed herself wearing a modified hanbok, and finished in 4 hours and 59 minutes. She also ran the London Marathon with her husband in 2018. She followed him and cheered him on when he ran the Berlin Marathon last year.
In 2020, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there were no competitions, so things slowed down a bit. I ran in a club called ‘The New Run’ that I joined in 2019, and I also started trail running in the mountains. Although there were no competitions, there was no problem running on roads and in the mountains. As COVID-19 calmed down somewhat and competitions began to be held again, I challenged myself to break my personal best. And last year, I recorded 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 56 seconds at the Seoul Marathon and Dong-A Marathon. He said, “I ran 400-500 km a month. It was difficult to run over 100 km per week, but I was so happy to have achieved my personal best.”
“I’ve now reduced my monthly mileage back to 200km. About 10 years ago, I injured my knee ligaments while doing weight training, and when I overdid it, it started to hurt. So now I’m focusing on running for fun.”
Mr. Mok likes to run with people. He runs with his husband, but he also runs with a club. The New Run meets at the Seongnam Tancheon Stadium in Gyeonggi Province and runs twice a week. He said, “If you run on the track, you can run consistently with the right posture.” He also participates in the ‘7979 Seoul Running Crew’ that runs in downtown Seoul every Thursday evening.
My husband and I usually participate in local competitions together. Local competitions often include festivals, so there are lots to see and eat. We also ran together at a trail running competition held in Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do last month. He said, “It’s hot in the summer, so we mostly run in the mountains.”
My husband, who started running when he was 20, is a well-known figure in the masters marathon world. In 2017, he took 3rd place in the Seoul Marathon and Dong-A Marathon men’s full course (2 hours 32 minutes 12 seconds) and 4th place in the Gyeongju International Marathon men’s full course (2 hours 38 minutes 16 seconds), and was selected as the Dong-A Marathon Athlete of the Year for that year. In March of this year, my husband took 4th place with a personal best of 2 hours 28 minutes 22 seconds in the Seoul Marathon and Dong-A Marathon, making it his 3rd consecutive medal in this competition.
Ms. Mok also took first place in the GTNS Trail Running 5.5km held on the 1st, and third place in the Cheorwon DMZ Marathon 5km held on the 8th, and is currently ranked high in various short marathons. Recently, she has been participating in short marathons rather than full courses. It is partly to prevent injuries, but also to run fast and cheer on her husband. In the 10km Marathon on Ocean Day held in May last year, she and her husband won together. Ms. Mok said with a smile, “Now, when I participate in a competition, many people recognize me. I am happy that I am building health and love at the same time by running with my husband.”
Yang Jong-gu, Sports Department Deputy Director [email protected]
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2024-09-20 08:55:42