Completing the Jangsu Trail Running 20K

Hello, I'm Runninghaeyoung, a woman who loves to exercise.

After my surgery, I challenged myself to marathons and trail running again. And coincidentally(?), I started with the notoriously difficult Jangsu Trail Running 20K. ㅎㅎㅎ

I think Jangsu might be the best running course where you can be with nature. Jangsu is famous for being a clean area. The trail course, filled with fresh air and lush forests, has varying difficulty levels. You can enjoy running in beautiful nature and earn ITRA points.

I took the shuttle bus I had booked in advance from Jamsil Sports Complex. I woke up at 3 AM and arrived at Jamsil Sports Complex Station at 5 AM… I was really drowsy when I boarded the bus and fell asleep as soon as it started.

As soon as I arrived, I checked my essential equipment. The Jangsu Trail Running is really strict about equipment checks. They meticulously check each item, so I highly recommend preparing everything properly. Essential equipment: Backpack, trail running shoes, water bottle (1.0L or more), personal cup, waterproof jacket (with hood), survival blanket, bandage, first-aid kit, emergency food, whistle, mobile phone, cash (20,000 won or more) Recommended equipment: Sticks, smartwatch, etc. It's obvious, but you might forget, so be sure to prepare properly!

After the 20k essential equipment check, I received my race number with my ID and boarded the shuttle bus to the 20K starting point.

I was on the second to last shuttle bus? I arrived at the bottom of the race venue at 10 AM, waited for about 30 minutes, and walked up to the starting point around 10:30 AM.

Scarpa is the main sponsor, so it's full of blue waves. No Place Too Far With Scarpa, there's no place you can't climb.

11:00 AM start, about 500m? There was a 1km bottleneck, so if you want to run properly, be sure to be at the front. The mountain path is narrow, so bottlenecks are standard, right(?)

When I got up there, I understood why there was a bottleneck. Because the weather was nice, there was a bottleneck as we mixed with hikers, but we were able to enjoy trail running, encouraging each other and yielding to each other.

It's pretty, but there's an uphill right from the start.

The downhill is steep.

If you look at the elevation, you'll see a gradual uphill and then a steep downhill to CP1. Also, since I had to reach 6.5km within 13:00, I felt a little rushed.

The distance was short, but there were too many steep slopes ㅠㅠ If I participate next year, I'll definitely use sticks... absolutely sticks...

Once the flat ground appeared, I arrived at CP1. The food at CP1 was really delicious(?) Bananas, oranges, salt candies, peanuts, Twix, Tocky, yakgwa, cola, sports drinks, water, Amino Vital, and what else was there...

I thought I wouldn't go trail running for a while, but as soon as I passed CP, I thought I should come back again(?) ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The moment I thought that, I encountered uphill hell and gave up on that thought again. I ran as hard as I could. Because I spent some time at the CP, it was quite tight. I couldn't stop halfway after coming this far.

And CP2 was about 15km away, and because my shoes were small, my feet kept cramping.

When I arrived near the paragliding field, there were no more uphill climbs.

Around this time, I met a friend who was running the 70k race, and he told me that this was the 35k mark… Fighting.. I'm almost done.

When I encountered another steep incline, I started hearing the sounds of the ground below.

20km completed :) Cumulative elevation gain 1286m, elevation loss 1746m. Finally completed! 💚

✅ If you want to see Chamonix, come visit #Runninghaeyoung's YouTube channel!