Daegu Marathon

A few days ago, Ken and I ran the Daegu International Marathon with some of his Korean co-teachers and high school students. His co-teacher ran 5 kilometers, another Korean teacher ran 21 kilometers, and Ken, his high school students, and I ran the 10 kilometer marathon.

The marathon began at 8:30am and we hadn’t eaten anything in the morning (abiding to the advice of one of the teachers). The only thing that was lying in our stomachs was the Mexican food that Ken and I had eaten the night before. Mexican food the night before a race…it seemed like a good idea at the time.

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The 10-kilometer timer began and Ken and I were off, running with a crowd of hundreds of people. There were men, women, students, and children in short-shorts, track suits, and flashy, neon marathon gear, as well as teams of people from companies and banks, running to the steady beats of a whistle.

After about 2.5 kilometers, I lost Ken in the crowd, and was feeling something stirring in the pit of my stomach. It seemed that I hadn’t made peace with what I had eaten the night before. As I rounded a corner, I saw my only chance of ridding the sickly burden that was weighing me down. A gas station was majestically standing to my right and its restroom was bidding me vomit in it. So I did.

I threw up everything that my stomach had to offer and felt pretty good…much better than I had just a few moments before. I spent a good fifteen minutes dry heaving and calming myself down before emerging from the dank washroom.

Avoiding the offers of Gatorade and water throughout the race, and keeping my mindset focused on finishing, I managed to cross the finish line, with Ken waiting for me. Despite being covered in sweat, he was all smiles.

What a great run. I vomited twice (once more after the race), but it was all worth it. 10 kilometers, uphill, in the blazing sun…my participation medal will hang on my wall with pride :).

- Jess