Taking place on Sunday, 12 April 2015, the second Pyongyang Marathon will open the 10km, half marathon and full marathon race categories to amateur runners. Spaces are filling up fast as the IAFF-recognised race held in the capital of North Korea has capped the number of amateur participants at 500. Official partners with Pyongyang Marathon 2015, Koryo Tours will help to facilitate registration for international runners, who are required to enter as part of an organised tour group.
All runners are invited to participate in the race’s opening ceremony, which involves a lap of the Kim Il Sung stadium in front of a crowd of spectators. Runners in the first category will course through a 10km-long loop of the city, finishing by Pyongyang’s Arch of Triumph. Half-marathoners will run this loop twice while full marathoners will pace through it four times. Both half and full marathoners will finish inside the Kim Il Sung stadium.
The top three in each amateur category for men and women are awarded medals at the end of the race inside the stadium. All participants will receive a certificate with a record of their time.
Koryo Tours will also proudly launch the Koryo Cup—only for tourists travelling with them. Complete the full marathon before any other Koryo Tours runner and win €500 in cash, €500 for a charity of your choice, and a commemorative poster painted by a North Korean artist. The top three men and women in each distance take home prizes too!
With 21 years of experience under their belt, Koryo Tours has been bringing tourists to North Korea on various sporting tours and cultural exchanges. From €790 to €1,690, runners can select from the tour group’s four travel packages:
- Pyongyang Marathon Tour Option A (2 nights)
- Pyongyang Marathon Tour Option B (3 nights)
- Kim Il Sung Birthday Short Tour 2015 (5 nights)
- Kim Il Sung Birthday Long Tour 2015 (7 nights)
All packages are all-inclusive, starting and finishing in Beijing, but do not include the cost of getting to China or the race entry fee.
While the run is for fun, British-run and Beijing-based Koryo Tours will incorporate the marathon registration with their ongoing charity efforts. For every international participant running with them, they will donate 365 extra meals to their pre-existing project sending nutritional food packages to North Korean orphanages. Currently working with eight orphanages, Koryo Tours staff are personally present upon delivery of these food packages to the children.
Visit Koryo Tours’ site for more details!
