For the first time ever, the Pyongyang Marathon allowed recreational runners from foreign countries to run the 26.2-mile race through one of the world’s most sealed-off countries.
One runner, Jen Loong, 25, traveled to the North Korean capital to run the marathon, and she chronicled her experience on Instagram.
That time I ran through the streets of #pyongyangunguided amongst 800 #runners (200 of whom were foreigners) for the Pyongyang #Marathon. Fascinating warmth and curiosity amongst the streets, equally as weird to wave and run the whole race as if you're the oddest thing they have ever seen. Fair to assume first time @Lululemon showed up in #northkorea too! #wanderlust #onceinalifetime#run #thesweatlife
The race, officially called the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, is now in its 27th year. It is part of a nationwide, multi-day sporting event celebrating the birth of Kim Il Sung, the nation’s founder and grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un. The marathon took place on April 13, two days before Kim Il Sung's birthday.
Get ready for the gram spam! Safely landed back from #northkorea after a week unplugged. No phones allowed on the race, but started and ended the 27th Myanggae Prize Marathon with a full stadium of North Koreans cheering was one of the most nerve-wrecking thing ever attempted. It'll be a yearly event (inaugural to allow foreigners this year) and you should all do it. #pyongyang #marathon#run #wanderlust #extremesport
Loong, a Canadian living in Shanghai on business, said the experience was unique because she wasn’t closely monitored by government officials during the marathon.
"This was one of the special perks of the run, where we ran unguided for the full distance, high-five-ing locals along the way," she said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything. "We couldn't run off tracks surely with soldier on every block, but running at your own pace and interacting with locals was good enough for me!"
This sums it up. Last post on one of the most epic trips yet -- footage by a friend on the walk before the start of #marathon into Kim Il Sung stadium with 50000 cheering and clapping #pyonyang citizens before signing the national anthem in front of the leaders' table (you can see it on the last shot in the middle). It's like #olympics, like #hungergames, but really it's just real life in #dprk #northkorea#wanderlust #stadium #masses #onceinalifetime
Hannah is a former Social Media Editor for Runner’s World. Hannah started running in February 2012 with a Couch-to-5K program and less than seven months later ran her first half-marathon. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @byHannahMcG.
