With the race starting at 0800 and the bag drops closing at 0730 today was going to be an early start. I had set the alarm for 0530 (yes, surprisingly I do this voluntarily) but woke up around 0500 and didn't have the guts to go back to sleep worrying I would miss the alarm. I used the opportunity to make it a slow start of the day and left around 0615 out into the still dark city to take the subway 15 minutes to the World Cup Stadium. Along the way runners piled into the train and reaching the destination we were certainly stuffed together.
Getting to the right place proved a bit challenging as there was a different area for the 10k runners and the few signs that were present were all in Korean. But with a bit of asking around and following the correct flow of people I ended up in the marathon area and the bag drop off. You just chose one of the 40 vehicles to drop off the bag and you got a sticker on your bib with the corresponding number given to your bag.
I had dragged the drop-off as long as possible, but a bit past 0700 I was on my way to the starting area. The morning was cold - 5-6 degrees with a breeze so handing in my bag also meant I had to say goodbye to my warm shirt and jacket. I had intentionally dressed in a long-sleeved shirt due to the forecast temps but after some time my built-up warmth had gone and it got chilly standing around and waiting. At least the starting area was not directly affected by the wind which helped keeping the comfort level relatively acceptable despite the low temps.
I ha been put in starting group B - with G being the last. Despite registering my expected finish time as 03:50 I got put in the group with 3:00-3:30 pacers, whereas group C would consist of the 3:40-4:10 pacers, seemingly more suitable for me. I ended up moving into group C instead, but even then it seemed chaotic; the pacers seemingly placed themselves where ever they wanted so the were no rhyme or reason in which one was in front or the rear, despite it should have been logical based on their finish times. One of the 3:40s even jumped into group B.
But after all that we started off as scheduled and around 8:10 I crossed the starting line with the rest of group C. Heading east we soon turned south and crossed the Han river for the first time across Yanghwa Bridge before going back north across the Mapo Bridge. Here we went north past Gongdeok (and therefore straight past my hotel) and simply stayed on Saemunan-ro street turning us straight east onto Jong-ro and kept going until reaching Sinseol-dong station. Here we headed south-east along Cheonho-daero all the way across Gunjagyo bridge, making a turn at Gunja station down Neungdong-ro, down Achasan-ro and finally down Jayang-ro before crossing Jamsil bridge, our third and last crossing of the Han river. Here we practically circled the area surrounding Seogchon station before turning down Wiryeseong-daero and crossing the finish line, alongside the Olympic Park.
Especially in the beginning it felt very crowded despite running on broad streets, and it also took longer than usual to loosen things up - my heel still got stepped on around 5km. Passing 10km things were getting easier but even then you still have to pay close attention to those around you for a while. With that said it was quickly evident that Korean runners seem to have no qualms to shoulder check you if they want to pass you and they deem you're in the way. It got pretty frustrating at times, but as things eased up it also helped giving room for the more aggressive runners. The water stations, though quite long, were not announced in advance on the course so if you didn't pay attention (or remember that the information given in the race pack said there would be one every 5km (which wasn't super accurate either)) you would have to make desperate move to get in before it was too late - I almost missed the first one because of this, and I believe it was only one place where they had water on both sides of the streets. At 7,5km and every 5km after that there would be sponge stations - slightly less necessary when the weather wasn't warmer than it was, but it was a nice relief the few times I utilized the offer. There were also barely any toilets along the way - I saw people using toilets at gas stations we passed by; I think I saw 4-5 groups of 3 portapotties along the way, and also barely any in the finish area. And peeing in bushes didn't seem to be a thing. Luckily I was sufficiently dehydrated I didn't need to pee until almost an hour after returning to the hotel (which, I know, is not necessarily a good thing, but from a practical viewpoint it was pretty nice).
The course wasn't flat - app. 250m up and down - but while the inclines weren't particular steep they kept going for a while, effectively draining the energy, though it was probably also due to me starting too fast (despite moving myself into a slower group) that my pace started plummeting after the mid-way point, and the last 10-ish km I was running around 6min/km, struggling hard. In spite of this I still managed to get in at 3:58:45, just below my 4 hour goal, though it didn't feel particularly elegant.
The official time and placement is at the time of writing unknown as no data can be found. I suspect it's hiding somewhere on a Korean website but due to a lot of the text is posted as pictures instead of text the browser can't translate it, so I'm waiting for a more internationally inclined website to post the results. It is clear that they are capable of communicating in English, but you sometimes get he feeling they just can't be bothered with anything but the most important. The info magazine that was included in the race pack had the most important information also in English (though much of it seemed either shoddily translated or just put through Google translate). But the rest of the magazine was in Korean only, though some headlines were also in English - but how does that help?
Crossing the finish line I walked what felt like an eternity to get to my bag, and then all the way back to get to the exit where we passed through the snack area (as they called it) where we were handed a bag with snacks. You have to give them credit of handing out the equivalent of 2½-3 liters of liquids, bananas, a bread (which was a dull disappointment) and a snickers (whoever decided to do this has my undying love). I honestly wouldn't have minded saving a bit on the liquids if it meant more to eat instead. It took an hour of constant movement from the finish line to end up at the nearby subway station, then a 45 minute standing ride before being able to return to my hotel.
Added the 8th of February 2026
I spent a long time trying to find more information on the results online. I also tried mailing the coordinators but it was 50/50 if they bothered responding to my mails. I also asked on reddit, and while that was probably the most fruitful attempt it was still quite limited what I gained from it. My official time ended up being 3:57:39. My overall place was 8500, 2958 in my age group and 2644 among 40's men. Oh, and also 2259th overall in my starting group and 2073th among men in my starting group, but those two numbers aren't really helpful as I was put in the wrong starting group from the beginning. And while all these numbers are fine and good, it doesn't do much good if you don't know out of how many. And... Well, the best I could find was a google translated article estimating 34.000 participants, split evenly between the 10k and marathon. That's it. How useful is that?!
Apparently there was (is) a Korean app that had all the results, and assuming I would be able to get some more information there I signed up for an account. Getting through the trouble of guessing based on the UI and back and forth between the app and google translate I got most of the way through until I hit a wall that required me to identify myself with a Korean ID (similar to the Danish MitID).
Also, with regards to photos, a user on reddit referred me to a well hidden page that had the photos. The selection was limited and quality seemed to be so-so (none from the finishing line), and if you wanted to buy any you needed a Korean address, even if you just wanted to download them.
I was surprised to find out how Korean-centric this run was. To be honest I got the impression that they didn't really care at all about international participants considering the absolute lack of communication in English. Why do they even let internationals sign up if they don't give a shit?
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