<h2>"Have you completely lost your mind?", "Isn't that dangerous?", "Can't you just run a half-marathon somewhere else?".</h2>
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These were the most common reactions when telling people about my plans. In fact, there was barely anyone who thought going to Pyongyang, North Korea to run the first ever marathon open for foreign amateurs was a good idea, it is a communist dictatorship after all.

I'd like to think that I have not lost my mind and I had no idea how dangerous it would be. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what to expect at all. But how would I ever find out if I didn't just risk it? <strong>So yes, I could run a marathon somewhere else but isn't the addition 'in Pyongyang' that makes it really special?</strong> In the end, my curiosity and excitement were much stronger than any doubts I had and so on the morning of the 12th of April 2014, I found myself at Beijing Airport waiting for the plane that would take me on one of the most amazing trips I've ever been on. The tour was provided by Koryo Tours and arranged through LTL Mandarin School where I am currently studying Chinese. My travel group consisted of almost 20 people from all over Asia, Europe, Canada, New Zealand and even the USA. Some were experienced runners, some were first-timers (like myself) and some just went as spectators. Everyone was very excited when the plane finally landed in Pyongyang and admittedly a bit nervous when passing customs and security controls. However, there were no complications and we were soon on our very own tour bus on a bumpy road into North Korea's capital.

<a href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6950" alt="__ 5" src="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5-300x223.jpg" width="300" height="223" /></a>Pyongyang is a <strong>very</strong> <strong>unique city </strong>with big monuments, very wide and open streets, great stadiums and pictures of the former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il everywhere. There are <strong>no flashy advertisements or brand names whatsoever</strong> which found to be a very nice change from other big cities I've been to. Also unusual for a city with a population of 4 million, there are barely any motorized vehicles in the streets but many pedestrians and people on bicycles. Unfortunately it is not all a tourists dream; there are areas where it is forbidden to take pictures and grey and dull residential districts with small apartment blocks. There is also a lot of agriculture. People use animals for work in the fields and women wash clothes in the river, showing the country is not nearly as developed as many other parts of Asia. Our fantastic North Korean tour guides took us along the 10km loop that we were going to run the next morning. It is a good way to get to know the city since the course goes past many of Pyongyang's greatest sights like the Arch of Triumph and the Rungnado May Day Stadium, which is one of the biggest sports stadiums in the world! Koryo Tours also booked a beautiful hotel with many facilities, perfect for us to relax before the big event.

<a href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/4.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-6951" alt="__ 4" src="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/4-300x223.jpg" width="300" height="223" /></a>We left early on Sunday morning and were taken to a gate leading into the stadium to line up with all the other half-marathon amateurs. It was funny to see the uniformed North Korean organizers getting more and more frustrated with us chatting and standing out of line, a huge contrast to the local groups of professionals and even groups of Korean children that stood perfectly upright in straight lines without even blinking. <span style="font-size: 13px;">Since it was my very first half-marathon, I was starting to get nervous but talking to other runners helped and a</span>t 8:30 the ceremony finally started and we began walking into the stadium. <strong>It was simply breathtaking</strong>. We were told not to expect more than a couple of hundred spectators but <strong>there was not a single empty seat in the stadium!</strong> Thousands of people applauding and cheering for us as we walked on to the pitch.

When the race started at 9:00, I started running and talking with some other guys that kept the same speed as me and not a single one has ever experienced something like this at a marathon. Even along the route, there were tons of people cheering and clapping as we ran by, children waving to us, reaching out their hands for a high-five. <strong>The incredible atmosphere spurred me on</strong> and after about six kilometers, I started going a bit faster. For me, the people were definitely the most unexpected thing about travelling to Pyongyang. None of us thought that the locals would interact much with us at all but after a while, my arm hurt more from waving than my legs from running.

<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-6960" alt="mmexport1397647235467" src="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mmexport1397647235467-223x300.jpg" width="223" height="300" />When I got to about 19 kilometers, I was overtaken by a car showing the time: 1:29:xx. I never expected to be this fast and along with all the cheers, this drove me to keep going until I reached the stadium again where we ran a final lap. If anything was even better than the opening ceremony, it was that last lap. I was lucky enough to run in there almost alone and <strong>felt I had thousands of people cheering just for me</strong>. At last, I made it to the finish and was given a towel and water. I watched the other runners coming into the stadium one after the another and the spectators cheered for every single one! I don't think that there will be many races that will beat this. <strong>Every runner I talked to was simply overwhelmed by this race.</strong> For me the experience was made even more wonderful as I never thought I would get anywhere near my final time of 1:41:47. Although the highlight of the day was reached, we all enjoyed a great closing ceremony, delicious Korean food and a stop by the Pyongyang bowling alley, completing a truly unforgettable day for our whole group.

The next day my legs were extremely sore so I didn't mind the long bus tour of two and a half hours to the South Korean border, somewhere<span style="font-size: 13px;"> I looked forward to visiting. There are many soldiers walking around, one of whom took us into the very rooms right on the border where negotiations between North Korea and the UN and North Korea and the USA have taken place. It was all very interesting and we were even allowed to take pictures at times. </span>We went on to visit two Unesco World Heritage sites in North Korea after leaving the border. One of them was an ancient university, the other was the tombs of former Korean kings. Both were incredibly beautiful! I personally had no idea about any World Heritage sites in North Korea before this trip, so <strong>I was once again surprised how much this country has to offer!</strong> The scenic trip back to the capital passed through many small towns and villages where despite the poor living conditions, the incredibly friendly locals smiled, stared and waved. The trip came to an end with one final wonderful dinner in Pyongyang, accompanied by young women performing traditional Korean songs. A fantastic end to a fantastic couple of days.

<span style="font-size: 13px;">Going on this trip was <strong>one of the best decisions I ever made</strong> and no one in my tour group disagreed with me. The political situation in the country naturally causes people to be very concerned but thanks to the great tour guides at Koryo Tours, I always felt 100% safe. I think sometimes you have to take a risk to have a great story to tell!</span>

<img class="alignleft  wp-image-6948" alt="karim" src="http://ltl-chinois.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/karim-247x300.png" width="104" height="126" />

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<em><strong><span style="font-size: 13px;">Karim, Germany.</span></strong></em>

<span style="font-size: 13px;">Karim currently spends his gap year with LTL studying <a title="Learn Chinese in Beijing" href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/learn-chinese-beijing/">Chinese in Beijing</a> while living in a <a title="Chinese Homestays in Beijing" href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/traveling-to-china/chinese-homestay/">Chinese homestay</a>. He will continue his <a title="Chinese immersion in Chengde" href="http://ltl-chinois.fr/learn-chinese-chengde/">Chinese course in Chengde</a> after returning from the North Korea trip.</span>

<a href="http://ltl-chinois.fr">LTL</a> organized the trip for Karim in cooperation with <a title="Koryo Tours" href="http://www.koryogroup.com/" target="_blank">Koryo Tours</a>.