“ I Run, Therefore I Am.”

Yoon Yong-woon (62. President of the Seoul DN International).

He is known as a “God-like runner in Masters Marathons.” Over 60, he set the record of Sub-3 - finishing a full course within 3 hours - at the 2004 Seoul International Marathon and the 75th Donga Marathon on March 14th last year, a feat even for healthy runners in their 20s.

His record was 2 hours 59 minutes 51 seconds at the time. For the 2005 Seoul International Marathon on March 13th, he aims for a time of 2 hours 54 minutes.

He ran 620 km last month alone, or an average of 20 km a day. Recently, he successfully went through interval training in which he ran 1 km 10 times with a time of 3 minutes 20 seconds. He develops his athletic power through weight training and does 800 repetitions of abdominal exercises daily. Yong-woon makes it a rule to run 40 km once or twice each month. He sometime runs around the Yeouido waterside or on the treadmill in a gym.

Yong-woon asserts, “Running is good because I can absorb. I don’t think about anything when I run. It’s like I’m in another world.” Yoon emphasizes the process of achieving records, believing that a better record only comes from the process. He now devotes himself more to marathons than to his business.

He first started running in marathons because of his health. Following a cerebral infarction in 1997, he realized the importance of good health. A heavy work schedule made him neglect his health and allowed him to weigh 97 kg, well above a healthy weight. To maintain his health, he began alpine climbing and then joined a marathon race at the end of 2000 with some alpine club members. As a result of that one race, he became interested in marathons and is now immersed in the marathon world.

Yong-woon’s average running distance is 350-450 km a month. Running has become a part of his life and he currently weights a healthy 64 kg. He runs a full marathon course only three times a year but claims that “The number of times running a full course doesn’t matter. What matters is that I feel myself, running. Run a full course.”

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com