A Perfect Day for a Gyeongju Marathon

The 2006 Dong-A Ilbo Gyeongju Open Marathon will be held on October 29, where marathoners will fully enjoy running under the autumn sky with a historic significance of the millennium-old city.

Korea’s First Masters’ Competition –

The marathon this year is the 13th since the first one in 1994. Only 172 citizen marathoners joined in the first competition, but now the number exceeded 10,000 to make the event Korea’s epochal marathon festival. The course, starting from the Hwangseong Park Stadium and turning around the Bomun Lake Resort, is said to be the optimal course among marathoners. The Meteorological Office forecasts that on October 29, Gyeongju’s temperature range will be from eight degrees to 20 degrees Celsius with slight clouds – the optimal climate for a marathon.

In the Morning of the Day –

Participants are to gather in the Hwangseong Park Stadium by as late as 7:00 a.m. They are to move to the starting point under guidance after wearing their uniform. They are to start at 8:00 a.m. sharp in the order of the full course, half-course and 10-kilometer short course. The timing is recorded from the moment they step on the mat in the starting point, so participants may start easy with no need to hurry.

Traffic Control and Free Beverages –

In this competition, where marathoners will pass through downtown Gyeongju, the time constraints during the competition are strictly applied to minimize inconveniences for the citizens. That is, five hours for the full course, two and a half hours for the half course and one and a half hours for the 10-kilometer short course. Traffic control is lifted after the constrained time for each designated distance, so marathoners are required to ride on the pick-up cars along according to the staffs’ instructions. Bottled water and sports drinks are provided at every five kilometer spot and the finishing spot. The water sponges are to be prepared in every five kilometers from 7.5 kilometers.

More Focus on Health than the Records –

Recently, there have been an increasing number of injuries in various marathons. Participants are required to check their health status. The head office for the competition is to have all participants covered with personal accident insurances in cases of emergency and have ambulances near the courses and the finishing spot. However, each participant has to keep an eye on his or her own health.

This is especially more so in autumn, with stark temperature differences between morning and afternoon. In the morning as it is rather cold, the likelihood of injuries is higher. Participants need to do some warming-up exercise and stretching before they start. After 2:00 p.m., their temperature drops and all their energy is all consumed, so they might possibly be at a risk of having hypothermia. They need to drink sports drinks every 30 minutes, and eat energy bars every one hour.

jaeyuna@donga.com