Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Me on Mt. Egmont (Taranaki)

I took the scenery from the peak of Mt. Egmont which I climbed in March 2006

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

韓国での大会

韓国では、9月3日と10日で、10キロの大会に出ました。3日のは、ソウルのジャムシル競技場でスタートしました。大変厚いなけで、一キロ4分ペースで良いと思いました。40:08で、総合三位でゴールして、300$の商品をあたった!嬉しかった!
10日の大会は国境の近くのDMZで行われました。朝3時40で起きて、ソウル駅まで5キロ走りました。バスは30分遅れて、5時半で出発して、7時に会場に到着。また、スタートまで、1時間45分。。。寒い中で待って、やっと走り出した。39:24はマアマアな結果でした。仲間は300$と100$のをもらいましたことは、唯一の嬉しいことでした。帰りのバスは、渋滞の為に、3時間以上かかってしまいました!それで、冷房は効き過ぎたせいで、今までのどがいったい…
それにもかかわらず、韓国のマラソンは楽しい!仲間も、とても良いヤツで、是非行ってみてください!くわしくは:www.seoulflyers.com.

Running in Korea

This time, I ran two 10k races in Korea, the first was on Sep. 3. at Jamsil Stadium. It was extremely hot, so I was not expecting too much in terms of time. I had a very good start, and kept the leaders in sight for quite a while, then settled in fourth position. As there were no age-groups, my only hope was to score in the over-all. I managed to keep a 4min./k pace, which I considered reasonable, as it was about 30 degrees. When I got to the finish, I found out that I actually finished third, obviously, one of the runners ahead had not finished! So I ended up with 300$ worth of Hummel (sponsor) goods, which I yet have to receive. Biggest price I ever got in a race, so I was happy!

The second race was in the DMZ near the border to North Korea. I had to get up at 3:40am to get to Seoul Station before 5, when our bus was supposed to leave! I made it, running the 5k, just to find out the bus was not going to leave for another 30min.!
When we got to the venue at 7am, we had to wait for another 1h45 before the start of the 10k, and it was surprisingly cold, with no place to sit comfortably.
I finished the 10k in 39:24, noit bad, as I had slight problems with my digestion. Best was that two clubmates received prices, 300 and 100$ in cash respectively!
But then the waiting started again, as our bus home left at 3pm! And the bus-ride took more than 3h this time, as roads were extremely conjested. But worst was the aircon! The driver must have been from Greenland! I was happy to get off that bus and take a nap at my hostel.

Except the bus-rides I enjoyed both races, but would recommend the first one more, if you ever have the chance to run in Korea.
If you want to know more, have a look at: www.seoulflyers.com