Races
Races
Running routes
When I travel, I explore the new destination by trying out different running routes. Below, you will find my thoughts and opinions about these routes. Perhaps, other runners may find some of this useful, or if a friend wants to know me better. At the very least, my future self will find these information useful; in particular I believe that I will get to run along different routes that the only way that I can remember my thoughts and feelings is to jot them down.
Most, if not all, of these routes have no official name. Finally, a final warning is that I have a lot of biases toward routes that curve along the river or some large body of water, or offer a nice and open view of the city or of the nature nearby. I am curious how/if this will change.
From the Expo park & along the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China):
The Bund & along the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China):
From SIMIS to the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China): This route was the first time that I ran along a busy road. As expected, a lot of long red lights along the way. Traffic in Shanghai was also very chaotic. Even early in the morning, there were a lot of people riding moped and bikes on the sidewalks trying to pass through. I am definitely not a fan of this. For subsequent runs in Shanghai, I took the subway down to the Bund and run there. It took about 7k to get to the Huangpu River.
From Jegi-dong going East Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea): This is byfar my favorite route in Seoul as of 9/2026. Starting near Jegi-dong station on Line 1, the route follows a small stream till it reaches the Cheonggyecheon heading east then south till it reaches the Jungnangcheon. Till this point, the routes offer a park with view of people running, walking and exercising as well as gardens with beautiful flowers in the right season. The view of the sun rising and lighting up the buildings, the river, and everything around is really amazing to see. Along the Jungnangcheon, there is a wooden path which is nice to run on since it feels softer than running on concrete.
There are two ways to switch from Jungryangcheon to the Han River. The first one is via Salgoji bridge which connects to a biking path. Normally, this is okay to run on but I have found that cyclists on this path are extremely fast. The second way to cross over to the Han River is via the Jungnangcheon bridge. This takes you directly to the running path to which the previous biking path connects. Now this is my favorite path of this route. The first stop, Jungnangcheon Nolbit plaza (중랑천놀빛광장), is an outlook toward the three-way intersection between the Han River and the Jungnangcheon. The view opens up and shows apartment buildings, some bridges as well as the river and the mountains in Seoul. If you get lucky, the clouds in the clear blue sky is also a spectacular view to look at. I always took a short break the first few times running this route; the next few times I make this plaza my final stop of atypical 10k run.
The second stop
Just when I think that the route has no more to offer, I discover that running the same route in reversed direction could offer a refreshing view. For this route, you see the Namsan, its tower and the Han river.
From Jegi-dong going West Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea): The route starts from Jegi-dong
(Jeju, South Korea):
From (Jeju, South Korea):
(Jeju, South Korea):
Along Anyangcheon (Seoul, South Korea): Starting from Gasan Digital Media, the route goes north along the park nearby Anyangcheon. There are a lot of nice gardens with colorful flowers. The stream is relatively wide and thus creates nice open space with good view from both sides. A short part of the route is occuppied by some football (soccer) field and parking lots for players. During the busy time, it could be diffifult to run through. Some other part of the route is a wooden pathway along the bank leading up to the road. This offers high vantage point as well as shades from the trees. In principle, the route goes up all the way to the Han River though at the time I couldn't run that far and that long to reach the river.
Along Jungnangcheon (Seoul, South Korea):
From Yeouido going NorthWest Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea): Starting from Yeouido park, this routes goes northwest in the parks along the Han River. It has a lot of narrow segments and for the most part is far away from the Han river. Nevertheless, it was great for people watching: you see different ways people of all ages in Seoul enjoy the park. The park has a pool actually, so it would be a good way to cool off before after the run. The view at the park before sunrise is also spectacular. This route also takes a special place in my list since this is where I did my first race ever. You wrote a short blurb about this experience here.
Cheonggyecheon (Seoul, South Korea): This is the stream running parallel to Jongno. It is a popular place for tourists, couples and local to go for a walk in the evening. Since the size of route is quite narrow compared to the amount of people, it is quite crowded. It is also very noisy and has a lot of bright light coming from adjacent buildings and decorations along the stream itself which could be an overstimulating experience here. There is not much view of nature here, and the stream itself looks quite artificial. I would perhaps do a morning run here if I stay in the area. However, it is not likely that I want to run here again.
Gapcheon (Daejeon, South Korea): Gapcheon is a stream in Daejeon. Both the route for running and biking along the Gapcheon are rubberized pathways. The biking route is more even compared to the running one, so I prefer running on the biking route. It is relatively easy to find a 10K loop with this route. The Gapcheon route offers a lot of open space, a nice breeze when weather permits, and a good view of Daejeon. One can see the bright lights at Shinsegae in the evening, the green mountains surrounding Daejeon in the morning, and the fast-flowing water during the monsoon season. I would definitely come back for a run here for memory sake.
Running routes
When I travel, I explore the new destination by trying out different running routes. Below, you will find my thoughts and opinions about these routes. Perhaps, other runners may find some of this useful, or if a friend wants to know me better. At the very least, my future self will find these information useful; in particular I believe that I will get to run along different routes that the only way that I can remember my thoughts and feelings is to jot them down.
Most, if not all, of these routes have no official name. Finally, a final warning is that I have a lot of biases toward routes that curve along the river or some large body of water, or offer a nice and open view of the city or of the nature nearby. I am curious how/if this will change.
From the Expo park & along the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China):
The Bund & along the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China):
From SIMIS to the Huangpu River (Shanghai, China): This route was the first time that I ran along a busy road. As expected, a lot of long red lights along the way. Traffic in Shanghai was also very chaotic. Even early in the morning, there were a lot of people riding moped and bikes on the sidewalks trying to pass through. I am definitely not a fan of this. For subsequent runs in Shanghai, I took the subway down to the Bund and run there. It took about 7k to get to the Huangpu River.
From Jegi-dong going East Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea): This is byfar my favorite route in Seoul as of 9/2026. Starting near Jegi-dong station on Line 1, the route follows a small stream till it reaches the Cheonggyecheon heading east then south till it reaches the Jungnangcheon. Till this point, the routes offer a park with view of people running, walking and exercising as well as gardens with beautiful flowers in the right season. The view of the sun rising and lighting up the buildings, the river, and everything around is really amazing to see. Along the Jungnangcheon, there is a wooden path which is nice to run on since it feels softer than running on concrete.
There are two ways to switch from Jungryangcheon to the Han River. The first one is via Salgoji bridge which connects to a biking path. Normally, this is okay to run on but I have found that cyclists on this path are extremely fast. The second way to cross over to the Han River is via the Jungnangcheon bridge. This takes you directly to the running path to which the previous biking path connects. Now this is my favorite path of this route. The first stop, Jungnangcheon Nolbit plaza (중랑천놀빛광장), is an outlook toward the three-way intersection between the Han River and the Jungnangcheon.
From Jegi-dong going West Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea):
(Jeju, South Korea):
From (Jeju, South Korea):
(Jeju, South Korea):
Along Anyangcheon (Seoul, South Korea): Starting from Gasan Digital Media, the route goes north along the park nearby Anyangcheon. There are a lot of nice gardens with colorful flowers. The stream is relatively wide and thus creates nice open space with good view from both sides. A short part of the route is occuppied by some football (soccer) field and parking lots for players. During the busy time, it could be diffifult to run through. Some other part of the route is a wooden pathway along the bank leading up to the road. This offers high vantage point as well as shades from the trees. In principle, the route goes up all the way to the Han River though at the time I couldn't run that far and that long to reach the river.
Along Jungnangcheon (Seoul, South Korea):
From Yeouido going NorthWest Along the Han River (Seoul, South Korea): Starting from Yeouido park, this routes goes northwest in the parks along the Han River. It has a lot of narrow segments and for the most part is far away from the Han river. Nevertheless, it was great for people watching: you see different ways people of all ages in Seoul enjoy the park. The park has a pool actually, so it would be a good way to cool off before after the run. The view at the park before sunrise is also spectacular. This route also takes a special place in my list since this is where I did my first race ever. You wrote a short blurb about this experience here.
Cheonggyecheon (Seoul, South Korea): This is the stream running parallel to Jongno. It is a popular place for tourists, couples and local to go for a walk in the evening. Since the size of route is quite narrow compared to the amount of people, it is quite crowded. It is also very noisy and has a lot of bright light coming from adjacent buildings and decorations along the stream itself which could be an overstimulating experience here. There is not much view of nature here, and the stream itself looks quite artificial. I would perhaps do a morning run here if I stay in the area. However, it is not likely that I want to run here again.
Gapcheon (Daejeon, South Korea): Gapcheon is a stream in Daejeon. Both the route for running and biking along the Gapcheon are rubberized pathways. The biking route is more even compared to the running one, so I prefer running on the biking route. It is relatively easy to find a 10K loop with this route. The Gapcheon route offers a lot of open space, a nice breeze when weather permits, and a good view of Daejeon. One can see the bright lights at Shinsegae in the evening, the green mountains surrounding Daejeon in the morning, and the fast-flowing water during the monsoon season. I would definitely come back for a run here for memory sake.