Hello and welcome to September's RTA! How in the world is it September??? Runners Tell All is a monthly linkup hosted by Sunshine to the Square Inch and The Lady Okie that occurs on the 21st of every month. Our goal is to build a community where we can encourage and inspire each other on our running journeys. Each month we offer two co-host options. This allows for us to connect with you, advertise your blog and it also helps fund the monthly giveaways. If you are interested in sponsoring the RTA please e-mail me at sunshine2thesquareinch {at} gmail {dot} com. September's prompt is your race bucket list and next month's theme is your most memorable running experience.
Here is my race bib written in Hangul. I loved that the race bib had '27' in it for my 27th birthday.
um ... there was this amazing slide and I had to go down it. It was a big water slide! However, it cost money and I never carry money with me when I run so I went over there and tried to explain that it was my birthday but ... I didn't speak Korean. So, I sung happy birthday in Korean and eventually they figured out it was my birthday and then let me go down the slide. It was fun!!! Who else loves big water slides??!?
Here is my 1/2 marathon medal. Random but did you know Hangul is one of the easiest languages to read?! I watched a youtube video and could start reading after that. Crazy, right?
My Race Bucket List
So, I don't have a race bucket list. I admit! There is no list. The only thing on any kind of list right now has to do with moving to Asia (November 3rd! It's soon). However, I have lived in Asia before and my race bucket list over there was to run a race or two and to do a half marathon! Today I'm going to share a little bit about those races.
First let me tell you about some qualifications that made my school in Korea hire us 3 American teacher. Get ready! It's good. I had a degree in Spanish, but that isn't why they picked me. I had experience teaching and working with kids, that might be part of the reason they picked me, but not entirely. See, along with my required resume that I had to send to Korea I was also required to send a full head to toe picture of myself. Therefore the school owners new I looked fit and the little extra curricular activity written on my resume that said 'running' matched the full body picture. Let's just say the same laws in America when it comes to hiring don't apply there. Good thing I was fit and a runner or those kids wouldn't have learned any English ;).
Ok! Onto the races. The first race we did was the Gyeonju Cherry Blossom 10K race. The city was a traditional looking city and the cherry blossoms were supposed to be in full bloom but it was too cold and it looked like winter. Either way, it was fun to run in Korea and I got my first medal written in Hangul. Our school owners took us and we had a really great time!
The second big race I ran in Korea was a 1/2 marathon. A few of us expats traveled to the race and it was hands down one of my favorite Korean road trips.
Here is my race bib written in Hangul. I loved that the race bib had '27' in it for my 27th birthday.
This next picture is terrible quality but I have to tell you why I love it! Most races have water stops sponsored by whoever puts on the race. However, during this race, the local people came out and provided water and snacks. I thought it was so kind of them. This picture here is a group of 'ajumas' (grandmas) cheering everyone on. They were the cutest!
This race ran along the coast line for a large portion of it and I stopped a lot to try and snap some pictures. I couldn't resist.
Korea - the year I dated long distance and made hearts for Dave <3
post race plank! bam!
These girls! We had so much fun.
This race was in Busan. We somehow managed to get TeamSparkle skirts and it was fun to run with a group of girls. The race was in a beautiful location and we got to run over a super famous bridge (whose name I forget).
Giveaway
We have a fun giveaway for you today! We are giving away a clutch, bobby pins and $15 to iTunes. wahoo!
*disclaimer* - if you enter and live internationally we will come up with a plan for shipping.
Sponsors
A big welcome to our two wonderful sponsors this month: Ashley and Tracy! We hope you will stop by their blogs and say hi.
A big welcome to our two wonderful sponsors this month: Ashley and Tracy! We hope you will stop by their blogs and say hi.
Linkup Rules
1. You must leave a comment on the person's blog who linked up directly before you. This linkup is to build community by reading, commenting and encouraging one another.
2. Only linkup posts related to the running prompt. Unrelated links directly to your homepage will be deleted.
3. Please link back to either Beka or Amanda in your posts or use the button below. The more we have join in the merrier!
That is so awesome that you have race medals in different languages! I was hoping my race medals from running here in Iceland would be in Icelandic but they were in English.
ReplyDeleteRunning an international race sounds so cool! I love how they let you go down the slide for free after singing happy birthday! So funny!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I want to add "run a race in a different country so that I can get a bib and medal written in a different language" to my race bucket list. That's awesome!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love that the local grandma's provided snacks and water. How cool!
this is so awesome - and i love the 'i love running... when i'm done!' lol
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool you have a medal in a different language! I'd love to run a race in a different country for that reason haha.
ReplyDeleteI definitely want to run internationally at some point! I also want to run ALL the bridges (I'm a civil engineer - I love them!)
ReplyDeleteI hope they have a race there where the medal is in Icelandic. That would be super neat!
ReplyDeleteThe slide was one of my favorite parts too! I think they should have those at all races =)
ReplyDeleteWell, come on over to Asia (post baby of course) and run with us ;). The grandmas were the cutest. Sometimes those old grannies can be super super sassy but this time they were as friendly as can be.
ReplyDeleteI know! That phrase cracks me up too. Sparkle Athletic actually put that slogan on my picture. They are the ones that make the cute sparkle skirts.
ReplyDeleteRunning bridges sounds really fun! What bridges have you ran so far?
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to run one some day. I always thought running in Greece where the first 'marathon' guy ran would be fun. However, I looked that up and it was like $1,000+ for an entrance fee. ha! Ain't nobody got time for that.... ;)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I didn't know you ran races in Korea. That is so cool! And funny they made you mail and picture of yourself to them. Ha!
ReplyDeleteAll of these look like SO much fun!! Love the photos! I think it would be so fun to run a race in a foreign country!
ReplyDeleteYour international races sound amazing! I bet the Cherry Blossom race would have been beautiful. Now that you'll be over in that neck of the world, maybe you can add it back in to your bucket list?
ReplyDeleteThat's so crazy you ran those races in another country. I wouldn't even think about races internationally. I'd say that's a pretty awesome race bucket list, even if you didn't know it!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to run over there. Yeah, they were kind of over the top with what they wanted. I even got asked if I was a Christian. When I said yes I then got asked how many times a week I went to church. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrea! They really were fun races. I hope you get to run a race internationally!
ReplyDeleteI think the cherry blossom race would have been super pretty too. I never thought about adding that back onto my bucket list but that is not a bad idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I knew that if I was there I should at least try to run at some point because it would be really neat and memorable. I'm thankful I had opportunities to run!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! I'm glad you linked up. You are a pro runner so I hope you do get to do an international race at some point!
ReplyDeleteHmm good question! The big ones I can remember are the Manhattan, Willamsburg, and Brooklyn Bridges in NYC, and a very cool (but very tall) bridge in my area called the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you watched a youtube video and could read that! I must say i'm intrigued... and those grandmas on the side of the road cheering for all the runners is just precious!
ReplyDeleteThe grannies really were the cutest! I'll try and find that video I watched and send it to you. It was short and super easy to understand. Apparently the Koreans knew the language was difficult and a king revamped the alphabet to make it easy.
ReplyDeleteYeah I'd love to see it if you do come across it! That's a pretty cool story about the language... someone should have done that with English! haha
ReplyDeleteHow unique! I really want to do something internationally, too!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to run internationally someday too! It's really fun and different being around people from a completely different culture.
ReplyDeleteIt was so neat to read about the races you ran in Korea! One thing I think is especially neat when reading about races in other countries is reading about the different race customs. Here in America, it's kind of frowned upon to wear the race shirt on race day, but in a lot of other places around the world it seems to be the norm. That water slide looks like so much fun! Thank goodness you were able to convey to them it was your birthday so you could get a turn! :)
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the customs but you are right. So many people there wore the race shirts. They also think it is norm to cram in a million people shoulder to shoulder but that is normal in Asia. =)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure those Asians thought I was crazy singing Happy Birthday but it did work and it was a lot of fun.