Our Boston Marathon Winning Resident – Yul Kwon
Back in early May one year ago, we sat down for a chat with Yul Kwon. Yul was about to run the Vancouver Marathon. He intended to qualify for the Boston marathon with his time last year.
Well, Yul qualified for Boston last year at the Vancouver Marathon and he ran the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago. As we suspected, he won! He beat all others in the ‘elite age’ category of Over 80 years of age. As you can imagine, all of us here at Tapestry are bursting with pride.
We had a quick chat with Yul this morning about the win and about all the great media attention he has garnered. When asked what motivates him, Yul is not shy about stating that winning is his motivation.
“Last year at the Vancouver Marathon, I wasn’t sure if I won my category. When I registered for Boston this year, I noticed someone from California in my age category also qualified at the Vancouver Marathon. And his time was 4 hours and 18 minutes. This was four minutes faster than my time in that very same race! This made me more determined than ever to win in Boston.”
Though the race is very physically demanding, Yul said that he was mentally in it to win it throughout the race. He was very focused.
“As I ran across the finish line, I wasn’t sure if I had won. I ran over to the family meeting area where my son and daughter were waiting for me with their families. My son exclaimed ‘DAD! You won!’. This was the best feeling. It’s been a lifelong goal to win in Boston.”
In true Vancouver fashion, the family celebrated with sushi back at the hotel after the win and popped a bottle of champagne.
Yul doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. There are more marathons in his future. He says he won’t stop until he drops. We plan to take inspiration from Yul and perhaps even slap the running shoes on for a run around Pacific Spirit Park.
Here’s the media Yul has received:
CTV News Clip http://bc.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=859262&binId=1.1184694&playlistPageNum=1
Vancouver Sun Video http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/video-the-secret-of-running-marathons-at-age-80
Vancouver Sun article http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/in-for-the-long-haul-retired-professor-takes-on-marathon-at-80
Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/older-athletes-offer-a-master-class-on-aging/article29804974/
