Running Festival Opens at Yeouido Park on the 20th (Sat) ... Yeouido Conquiered on Two Feet and Two Wheels
This weekend, Yeouido Hangang Park will be heated up with running and rolling activities. Along with a festival commemorating the establishment of ‘Runners Station’. scheduled to be unveild at Yeouinaru Station in May, a dedicated space for wheeled devices, from wheelchairs to bicycles, skateboards, and rollerblades, will also open its doors.
Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the “Seoul Runners Festival”, where over 3,000 people will run together, donate, and communicate, will take place at Yeouido Hangang Park (Event Square area) starting from 12 p.m. on April 20th (Sat). Additionally, at 2 p.m. on the same day, the “Yeouido Roller Rink” will also open under Mapo Bridge.
The “Seoul Runners Festival” will feature the “8K Open Run” as its main event. Starting from Yeouinaru Station (Event Square), passing through Seoul Bridge, and reaching the Folk Playground, the “8K Open Run” covers the Yeouido Riverside Trail (8.4km). Participants will engage in a “Donation Challenge Run”, where for every kilometer walked, a donation (100 won per kilometer) will be accumulated.
The ‘8K Open Run’, which received such great interest that 3,000 participants registered within a day last month, is sponsored by LG Electronics. Upon completing the 8.4km run, a donation of 840 KRW per participant will be made to support sports programs for people with disabilities and those with physical weaknesses.
The ‘Crew Ranking Competition’, in which 20 running crews from the metropolitan area, each consisting of 8 men and women, run a relay race around the Yeouido Trail and are ranked based on their times to select the ‘Running Crew of the Year’, is already receiving intense interest.
During the run, the event venue will host a ‘Running Fair’ with 25 participating sports companies and a ‘Running Crew Fela Market’, offering various activities. A portion of the sales proceeds (up to 10%, voluntary donation) from that day will be used form social contribution activities through donations.
The ‘Running Fair’ will display and sell running-specific clothing, shoes, energy gels, and drinks, and the ‘Flea Market’ will feature unique goods (such as T-shirts and keychains) created by the running crews themselves.
After running the trail, the main stage will hsot the ‘Night of the Runners’ at 17:00 where running crews can interact with each other. Starting at 18:00, a ‘Running Talk Show’ will take place featuring experts who have won various marathons and are currently active coaches.
Finally, the stage will feature performances by BewhY, the winner of the popular program ‘Show Me The Money 5’, and DEEP N DAP, who appeared on ‘Street Woman Fighter 2,’ set to further ignite the excitement of the runners.
The inaugural ‘Seoul Runners Festival’ is being held to commemorate the opening of the ‘Runner’s Station’ at Yeouinaru Station, the first of the city’s launched last year. The ‘Runner’s Station’, set to open next month, will feature various facilities to support running, such as lockers, changing rooms, powder rooms, and a media education room.
Originally scheduled to open in April, the ‘Runner’s Station’ is now set to open after mid-May. The construction timeline was adjusted to prevent crowd-related incidents at Yeouinaru Station due to the delayed blooming period of the spring flowers in Yeouido.
※ Subway Station Innovation Project : Fun Station : A project that transforms underground spaces into attractive places by introducing unique content tailored to each station.
On Saturday, the 20th, ‘Yeoui Roll Park’ will open under the Mapo Bridge in Yeouido Hangang Park. It features a ‘Rolling Zone’ where wheelchairs and skates can move freely, a ‘Playing Zone’ for running, stretching, and practicing on slopes, and a ‘Rest Zone’. Visitors can enjoy the facilities anytime without prior reservation.
On Saturday the 20th at 14;00, the Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-hoon, “Good Sports Ground” representative Lee Min-gu, wheelchair users, citizens, and others involved in the establishment of Yeoui Roll Park will gather to celebrate the opening and experience the facilities.
The ‘Rolling Zone’ allows various wheeled vehicles users, from bicycles to wheelcharis, to coexist and utilize the space. It is divided into beginner’s course (30m) and regular course (70m), allowing users to ride freely according to their proficiency levels. For safety, the track is marked with graphics indicating entry points and directions of level.
Also, considering wheelchair users, the width of the general pump track has been expanded from the standard 1.2m to 2~2.5m, and the corners have been widened to 3.1~3.3m.
The ‘Playing Zone’ will feature a circular space for stretching before running, as well as a running track where participants can lightly run to warm up. Additionally, there will be low hills for children to play on and floor graphics to encourage jumping exercies.
The city expects the “Yeoui Roll Park” to establish itself as a new concept of recreational sports space without boundaries between play, exercise, and relaxation, where people of all ages and abilities can come together and enjoy.
Jimmy Ramsey, a mountain bike park expert from Skyline Queenstown in New Zealand, who participated in the on-site consultation for “Yeoui Roll Park”, commented, “I’ve seen many pump tracks, but designed with wheelchair accessibility in mind from the planning stages is a first. Utilizing the space under the bridge is expected to have positive effects on the local community in various ways.”
The Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-hoon stated, “We will not only create ‘lifestyle sports spcaes’ where people can easily enjoy running, cycling, and more but also consistently provide various sports programs such as the Seoul Runners Festival, leisurely Han River Festivals, and the 7979 Seoul Running Crew. We will continue to build a city full of healthy energy and vitality, making Seoul as a city sought after by people around the world for sports enjoyment.”
▲Poster ▲Layout
▲Seoul Runners Festival Timetable
▲Seoul Runners Festival ‘Running Fair’ Participated Companies
