North Korea invites international runners to Pyongyang Marathon
For just the second time in its 30-year history, North Korea will allow foreign runners to take park in the Pyongyang Marathon.
About 500 international athletes will be permitted to compete in the marathon, a half-marathon or a 10 km fun run.
The race will take place on April 12, 2015 and starts in the 50,000-seat Kim Il-sung Stadium.
The route passes underneath the Arch of Triumph, the second tallest arch in the world, before crossing the Taedong River.
"It’s an amazing event and a great opportunity to compete in a marathon in what is still a fairly remote part of the world for most people, but also to see some of North Korea," said Nicholas Bonner, owner of Beijing-based Koryo Tours.
Koryo Tours is offering combined sightseeing and running packages departing Beijing including visits to Juche Tower and the enormous Kim Il-sung Square, famous for hosting annual military march-pasts.
"I ran in the 10km race last year, the first time they opened it up to enthusiastic amateurs like me. It was a chance to interact with the people of Pyongyang, even if you only know a couple of words of Korean," Bonner said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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