Marathon legend Lee Bong-ju looks to share secrets of success

Lee Bong-ju raises his arm after finishing first in the 1998 Asian Games marathon in this December, 1998, file photo. / Korea Times file

This is the first in a series of interviews with sports legends.

— ED.

Lee Bong-ju speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on Dec. 4. / Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

By Baek Byung-yeul, Nam Hyun-woo

For many athletes, ending their competitive career is the biggest turning point in their life. That was the case for Korea’s legendary marathon runner, Lee Bong-ju. After years of glory on the road, he retired and is now working to assemble and manage a new Korean marathon team.

During an interview with The Korea Times, the taciturn 1996 Olympic silver medalist spoke of his life after retirement. In a calm, even tone, he told us how different his life is now.

“When I was in the competitive running world, all I did was train,” he said. “After retirement, there are so many things I could do. Many people from various circles asked me for help. Thankfully, they seem to appreciate my various experiences so far.”

Along with 1992 Olympic gold medalist Hwang Young-jo, the 44-year-old has been an iconic figure among Korean runners. After missing the gold by just three seconds later than South Africa’s Josia Thungwane in Atlanta, Lee continued to race, clinching the gold at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. He went on to set the Korean record of 2:07:20 at the Tokyo International Marathon in 2000 and become the third Korean to win the Boston Marathon in 2001.

Unlike his fast-paced athletic career, he is now quietly working on a new marathon team and developing grassroots running. “Currently, I’m working on the creation of a new marathon team. I can either be a coach or a general manager. I hope that I can give you some good news next year,” he said, declining to elaborate.

Lee Bong-ju, left, receives flowers from his mother Gong Ok-hee at Cheonan Station Square, South Chungcheong Province, after finishing a section of the Busan-Seoul Relay Marathon in this Nov. 23, 1996, file photo. / Korea Times file

A look at Lee’s new life

Lee may be retired, but he still makes guest appearances and appears on the news on a regular basis. “I attend some elementary school running events to share my knowledge and talent with young people. On weekends, I participate in some running events and co-host some of them,” he said.

Though he quit competitive running five years ago, Lee is among a handful of retired athletes who still make the news. In November, he appeared alongside other athletes and celebrities in singer Kim Jang-hoon’s charity music video. In October, he made headlines by participating in the Incheon Asian Games as a referee.

However, the athlete has also dealt with pain during his retirement. In November, Lee paid a visit to the memorial altar of Lee Dong-chan, honorary chairman of Kolon Group.

“I feel so sorry for Mr. Lee. I left the Kolon marathon team with some feuds unsettled. I should have resolved them while Mr. Lee was alive, but he has passed away,” Lee said.

The deceased chairman was an avid supporter of running. In the early 1980s, the chairman offered prize money of 50 million won to those who could finish the race within 2 hours and 15 minutes and 100 million won to anyone who could break the threshold of 2 hours and 10 minutes. Given that the down payments for the country’s top-tier professional baseball players hovered around 20 million won, the investment was aggressive and benefited athletes including Lee and Hwang who ran for Kolon.

However, Lee left the team in September 1999, after a disagreement with now-deceased coach Jung Bong-soo. That moment became his last encounter with the chairman and Jung.

“There were some problems in our communication and therefore, Lee and Jung had some misunderstandings about me. I regret that,” Lee said.

Though he left the team in a sour way, he continued to pay extra efforts for race. Until his retirement in 2009, he finished 41 marathons out of the 44 events he attempted. “In the three DNF (Do Not Finished) races, I was too obsessed with getting a good record,” he said.

In 1992, Lee injured his knee just one month before the national team tryout for the Barcelona Olympics. “At that time, my performance was rapidly advancing. I was too confident and too obsessed about the result,” he recalled. “After passing the 20-kilometer point, I sensed a strange feeling in my knee and dropped out of the race.”

While he missed the Olympics, his rival and close friend Hwang won the gold. The same obsession haunted him during the 2001 World Championships in Athletics.

“One of the most critical things that runners should avoid is running beyond one’s pace. Coaches always emphasize that runners should keep their pace. Such a small difference, about one or two seconds, can have a huge effect on the end of a race.”

Lee says this mistake, which he calls the “dead point,” forced him to give up the race.

In the 2009 National Sports Festival, Lee ran for South Chungcheong Province, his home, and ended his 20-year professional career at the top of the podium, clocking 2:15:25. Though he seemed to have a competitive spirit, he says he was considering retirement.

“I conferred with many senior runners, coaches and my wife. I thought setting a standard before calling an end is very important,” he said.

“There are so many options after retirement. What’s important is that you have to discover those ways yourself,” he stressed, adding that the more advice you hear, the clearer your future becomes.

Why are Korean

marathoners

underperforming?

While Lee enjoyed a highly decorated running career, he says the future of Korean marathoners is bleak.

“I know that young Korean marathoners are trying hard, but it seems that the sport is currently on the decline,” he said. “They have better physicals and environments

than I did. I am so baffled about why they are not performing well.”

Korean marathoners have not shown success in international competitions. At the Incheon Asiad, two Koreans marathoners, Shim Jong-seop and Noh Si-wan, took

part in marathon but failed to clinch any medal, placing 10th and 13th, respectively.

Lee believes the decline comes from lack of mental strength. “To hit a good record in a marathon, young runners must hurdle the wall, but it seems that they don’t overcome their limitations,” he said. “Every marathoner experiences a dead point when passing the 30-kilometer mark. When runners hit the dead point, it can be physically challenging and to hurdle that point, they need strong mental strength. However, they seem to lack that quality.”

Lee believes increased training could help. “I tell them that they need to overcome those hurdles to become world-class marathon runners.”

While training schedules are rigorous, Lee says runners must commit their free time to the sport.chedules given by coaches are the same as in the past, but they need to train on their own time as well. That’s what young runners aren’t doing.”