2017 Seoul Marathon Expo
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You would think every marathon has its expo, the obvious place where you pick up your bib, and sponsors can display their brands, sell products etc. Yet in Seoul there was no expo until last year. And now, in 2017, it was back again, only one day before the race, but hey, there it was.
I love using Seoul Metro. It’s convenient, cheap and its 12 lines cover almost every place in Seoul you’d wish to go. So on Saturday before the race, traveling from my hotel in Insadong, I hopped on line no. 3 to Express Bus Terminal station where I transferred to line no. 9 to Jamsil Sports Complex. This was exactly the place where Seoul Marathon expo was held, 200m meters walk from the station (exit no. 7).
From the distance it looked promising and quite impressive with the Olympic Stadium in the background, the very place where, I hoped, I will finish tomorrow. I could see big advertising screens, sponsor’s flags everywhere, but then, not that many people. Maybe because I was there quite early, just after 11am. "Never mind" I thought "it’s even better, there will be no queue to race bib pick up".
I was right, the expo looked emptyish and I could quickly spot the tent labelled “Package pick up” with just a few people standing in front. It didn’t take long to get my package. I had to show my passport and sign on a list confirming that I actually got it.
What was in the package? Of course my bib, set of safety pins to attach it to clothing, race vest, information booklet, and a big plastic bag with my race number sticker on it, ready for baggage drop off at the start line. As I’ve expected the vest, that I had some issues ordering, was too big - Korean size 95 is more like Australian M and I’m S or XS. Then the information booklet was - I'm sure you guessed that - all in Korean! Well, technically not all, there was some English but it took me ages to find out where exactly is located baggage drop off at the start line, and what time it will close. Good luck locating anything on a provided map, this one is just in Korean.
After picking up my goodies, I could finally explore the expo. Although, there was not that much to explore. It was just super overwhelmingly dominated by one main sponsor - Adidas. It had its flags everywhere, big screens playing ads, finisher’s band stall, 2 photo stands, enormous photo booth, free printing on running vests and t-shirts, and a marathon labelled car with a DJ playing music, and of course, quite a big shop with their race merchandise. Just at the very end corner of the expo I’ve found a small Tomtom tent and 3 other sponsors’ stalls.
Anyway, I took some photos at one of the stands and bought some merchandise. I must say, I really like the design of Seoul Marathon logo, that one with a stylised image of the famous statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin from Gwanghwamun Plaza. I bought a small backpack with it and another t-shirt - this time in my proper size 85.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get any photos from the photo booth - I didn't have Korean mobile number, nor I could get Finisher's Band - pick up from Adidas store in Korea after the race, and didn't print anything on my vest, for free - long queue and then pick up just before the race.
However, I had a chance to talk to a few other foreigners I could spot. All confirmed the difficulty of registering but then very happy they’ve made it here and excited for tomorrow. I was excited too, had to eat, had to rest... it was time for Korean black bean noodles (read - carb loading) and Korean spa (Jimjilbang)!
