A “Race of Hope” for 20,000 Runners

“Run in Seoul and Feel the Warmth of Spring.”

In the 2005 Seoul International Marathon, also titled the 76th Dong-A Marathon (co-sponsored by the Dong-a Ilbo, the Seoul Metropolitan City, the Korea Athletic Federation and the Dona-A Ggumnamu Marathon Foundation), Kenya’s William Kipsang (28 years old) won his first gold.

On March 13, the participants left Sejong Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul at eight in the morning. Their finish line was at Jamsil Main Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul. In the 42.195km full-course category for men, Kipsang defeated Gert Thys (34 years old, 2:11:19) of the Republic of South Africa, who had hoped to win his third consecutive marathon, by being the first to cross the finish line with a time of 2:08:53. Kipsang’s result ranks second in the world for this year after Toshinari Takaoka’s (35 years old, Japan) 2:07:41 in the Tokyo International Marathon held on February 13.

In the women’s race, China’s Chun-xiu Zhou (26 years old) finished first with a time of 2:23:24. The record was second only to Jelena Prokopcuka’s (29 years old, Latvia) 2:22:56 in the Osaka Marathon this season in world marathon competition.

As for Korean athletes, Sin Jeong-hun (23 years old, Gumi City Hall, 2:19:12) finished 11th in the men’s race, and Oh Jeong-hee (27 years old, Samsung Electronics, 2:31:41) finished sixth in the women’s race.

A total of 21,067 marathoners, the largest number in the history of the event, showed up for the race. A variety of cultural events were offered by citizens along the entire course to encourage runners. The marathon also served as a festival for Seoul residents.