Dog Marathon

The marathon, so called the flower of the Olympics, is said to be the best and the hardest race a man can ever do. Yet, ‘the last greatest race on earth’ title is given not to the 26 mile marathon, or the INDI 500, or even the NASCAR-500 car race but to a dog marathon, IDITAROD.

The race that began to commemorate the dog-sled team that ran from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome in 1925, requires a lot of time and energy to finish the 1100 miles of the snowy path with 16 dogs, only of which at least five should finish. It is a race in which dogs that weigh only 50 pounds need to consume foods that add up to 12,000 calories. The first dog sled team that ran this snowy course aimed at transporting medicine to save people’s lives. They arrived in time to save numerous lives. Since they had such a purpose they ran day and night in spite of the cold of -40° F, struggling through blizzard at 100km per hour.

Man needs a purpose. Who would do this reckless work without purpose? There is a best-seller, “Purpose-driven Life” that became a steady bestseller for the past two years. Written by a Baptist pastor in Southern California, it is widely read even by non-believers. Though they do not believe in God, or even go to church, they may still need purpose in their life.

On Oct. 2003, I did something silly with a certain purpose. I decided to run a marathon, which seemed to have nothing to do with a person of my weight. Though it was a half marathon, it was still quite a distance that spanned 13.2 miles, 20 km, and almost 50 li in the Korean way. It took place at Grand Canyon West, on the Haulapai Indian Reservation area, which I often visited. It was a sunny day without a cloud or shadow in the sky…and hot for October recorded at 85°. It was an unusual temperature that dried up any sweat if there was any shade because it was a dry desert.

While people gathered waiting for the start of the race, a track and field athlete among Native Americans, who used to be on the national team was introduced for a congratulatory address, and before I even knew what was happening the starting gun was fired and the race began. After mindlessly running for a few seconds, I found myself in the lead. My original intention was never to run fast, but to finish by all means. Looking back I thought, “If I go at this pace, I won’t be able to finish,” too many people were running after me from behind.

Since I started running unprepared, I began to feel the pain as if I had a huge cramp in my leg. As time passed, those who were behind me passed me one by one. When I was about to pass the first mile-stone dozens of people had already passed me. Whenever I passed next mile-stones, I was over-paced by scores of people. Though an hour and then two hours had already passed, the race didn’t seem to end and I began to think about how to make an excuse for giving up while staring up at the cloudless sky. Because of the cramping in my feet I stopped running and walked, but soon I lay down on the road. “If I just keep lying here someone must bring me some water and take me to their car….”

I calculated lying down. “My sponsors promised to offer me about $400-500 per mile and since I had already run about10 miles now, I would stand to earn over $4,000.” How was I to know that it would be this difficult when I began this marathon for the sake of fundraising for the homeless? While I was thinking and calculating, it suddenly dawned on me. Some of the sponsors said that if I did not finish the full 13.2 miles, then they wouldn’t give me a single dollar. “Ah! Why did I agree to such a condition? I should have made it per mile…” I had no choice but to keep on running.

It was a distance one could stand if he exercised regularly, but overwork for a person like me who takes a car when it’s over 100 meters or even takes an elevator to go to the second floor, and weighing in at 90 kg. In the end, even women and old people passed me. A person who started an hour and a half later even passed me. Feeling stupid and disappointed at myself, I plodded along and barely finished the race. The employees who came to support me were already sitting in the restaurant thinking I would come back by car in the evening without finishing the race.

I had a certain goal as I ran the marathon.

First, it was fundraising for the homeless people.

Second, it was to build a relationship with leaders in the Indian reservation area.

If I didn’t have these two goals in mind, I probably would’ve given up in the middle of the race.

The race with a purpose of transporting medicine by dog-sled, risking your life in the cold, the race with a purpose of delivering the news of winning the battle, the race with a purpose of raising funds for the homeless people, you just never give up halfway through. There is a big and invisible help behind all of them.

When I know the purpose of my life, I can then gather the strength to run to the finish line.