[Nothing much has happened yet.]
[That's right. The distance to the current lead group is a bit wide, but it's not to the point of giving up. It reminds me of athlete Ibongju, who closed a gap of this magnitude with sheer endurance alone.]
[Athlete Ibongju... You seem to know him in great detail.]
[Indeed. I like athlete Hwangyeongjo, who won a gold medal at the Olympics, but personally, I like athlete Ibongju more.]
[What's the reason?]
[Well. Athlete Ibongju was called a specialist in second place. His left foot was 248mm and his right foot 244mm—he had mismatched feet. As a marathoner, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where he had passed the age of sixty, he placed second by three seconds, and at the 2000 Tokyo Marathon, he placed second by eight seconds.]
[Ah, that's unfortunate.]
[Yes. But people said things. "Second place again?" "You normally retire at the top, so why are you so persistent?" "Give it a rest already," and so on. There were many such remarks.]
[Mm. There are several unpleasant people like that.]
[Yes. Nevertheless, they say athlete Ibongju said this: if running with mismatched feet was painful, he ran until the pain disappeared; if the flowing sweat was resented, he silently underwent double eyelid surgery. And so, he eventually won the 2007 Dong-A International Marathon, but there is something people did not know. It is the fact that this was Ibongju's seventh international competition victory and that the Korean record holder is also Ibongju. The fact that out of the forty-two races he challenged, he gave up only twice; and the fact that compared to the world champions' average number of completions being fifteen, athlete Ibongju's number of completions was a whopping forty.]
[That's amazing. Forty times...]
[The distance he has officially run so far is five laps around the earth. His completions are an unprecedented record rarely seen in world marathon history.]
[Then why do other athletes possess an average of ten completions?]
[Usually, world-class athletes complete the full course about ten to twenty times during their active careers. Marathoners generally don't complete more than twice a year to protect their bodies.]
[That's surprising. I didn't know that either.]
[Yes. That is why I am hoping for a junior marathoner like athlete Ibongju to appear.]
[What about athlete Ihan, who is running out there right now?]
[If, after this downhill ends, he catches up to the lead group, I would like to pin a thread of hope on him.]
[Yes. I too sincerely hope his choice is the best one.]
[Even as we speak, the downhill is finally coming to an end. Everyone, please pay close attention to athlete Ihan's steps.]
The downhill came to an end. Ihan checked his physical condition while walking on the flat road. Tap. His knees were fine.
"Huff, huff."
His physical condition wasn't bad either. At this rate, he felt he could catch up to the lead group that had run ahead. He would latch onto their backs before the third hell arrived.
Ihan thought of the third ordeal approaching from ahead. To pass through that place comfortably, he had to be behind them. Tap.
Ihan's pace quickly stabilized. While running, he arrived at a water station once again. Tak.
He picked up a water bottle and held water in his mouth. Then he slowly quenched his thirst.
"Ihan!"
Just then, the coach's voice came from somewhere. Ihan turned his head and looked at the coach chasing him from the sidewalk.
"Where's Anonho? Where's Yeounjae?"
The coach asked urgently, his breathing ragged.
Instead of answering, Ihan stretched his hand back and pointed.
"Why didn't they come with you!"
"They couldn't keep up with the lead pace."
"What about you!"
"Huff, huff. I'm going to chase them now."
Hearing Ihan's answer, the coach finally stopped in his place. He bent his upper body, exhaled a few rough breaths, and watched Ihan's back as he ran far away.
"Hoo..."
A distant look was drawn in the coach's eyes.
*Yes, you run too.*
He felt sorry for no reason. He found himself pathetic for having thought of Ihan as merely a pacemaker without even knowing his true ability.
*Run... and win.*
He turned his head. And waited for the second-place group running from behind.
Quite some time passed before Anonho and Yeounjae came running. They looked at the coach with apologetic expressions.
"Heok, heok."
"Coach..."
"It's fine. Just keep running at your current pace."
"Huff, yes!"
The two quickly passed by the coach's side. The coach remained in that spot until their figures disappeared into the distance.
Not far from the 30-kilometer point. But Ihan still hadn't caught up to the lead group.
"Huff, huff."
If he went a little further, the gate of the third hell would appear. By now...
At the moment Ihan estimated their route, a faint dot finally became visible in the distance. There they were!
Ihan's eyes sparkled. If he kept running like this, he would be able to pass the last gate of hell, which would begin two kilometers ahead, without difficulty.
Tap.
They were in a state of depleted stamina from the downhill, just as Ihan had predicted. It wasn't to the point where they would be caught by Ihan, but they too had to consider the third gate. From their perspective, they must have judged it difficult to break through that place with the stamina they had lost on the downhill, so in the end, they must have slowed their speed to conserve energy. That became an opportunity for Ihan.
Just a little more. As the distance gradually narrowed, those who had appeared as dots approached in human form.
Now, only one kilometer remained until the last gate, the coastal road of death.
Whoosh.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind pushed Ihan's body backward. The coastal road of death hadn't even begun yet, but the sea wind was already pressing down on Ihan's shoulders.
Incredible.
It was a strong wind that even Ihan had never experienced. The athletes running ahead must be receiving an even more severe impact from it.
*I need to stick close quickly.*
Ihan changed his plan. He intended to shorten the time it took to approach the lead group by raising his speed, even if it meant overexerting himself a little. And he would shelter from the wind behind them.
Tap.
As Ihan raised his speed another notch, the distance to the lead group rapidly narrowed.
Now, there was little distance left to the lead group. The caster and commentator's expressions brightened. They had confirmed that Ihan was included in the lead group.
With slightly more relaxed expressions, they began explaining the situation.
[Yes. Finally, the last gate of hell.]
[That's right. The coastal road of hell is an area where enormous gales blow. Those who have run here even once have strongly appealed that they never want to run here again.]
[Which means it's that difficult, correct?]
[Precisely. As such, breaking through alone is unreasonable. It so happens that athlete Ihan caught up to the lead group at the right time; this could be called a stroke of luck.]
[Why is that?]
[Because from behind the lead group, he can run forward while keeping the gales' influence to a minimum.]
[Ah, I see. But wouldn't the other athletes think of that as well?]
[That may be true, but someone has to step forward. And athletes with strong pride are wont to be arrogant, believing in their own ability even if it costs them slightly more strength.]
[He'll have to exploit that gap.]
[Of course. Athlete Ihan, if you run just a little more now, a chance to win will come. Please find your strength.]
[Ah, the wind is beginning to blow! Truly, it is a wind so strong it's hard to even describe!]
[I worry whether the athletes can truly overcome this.]
The fists of the people of South Korea listening to the broadcast clenched tight.
The wind piercing their very gaze was pushing the athletes back.
"L-look at that wind."
"Isn't that insane?"
"It's totally hurricane level."
Nevertheless, the athletes ran forward. Even though it was clearly a wind that seemed impossible to break through, they were running with a speed that was visibly apparent to anyone.
Whoosh.
The hem of his clothing flapped and struck his skin. It felt as if something sharp was cutting his flesh. However, the athletes paid no mind.
Swish.
Ihan cautiously stuck behind one athlete. The name tag on the athlete's back entered his eyes.
Haile Gebrselassie.
Because the wind was wrapping around the man's entire body, he didn't seem to know that Ihan was behind him. There was no need to unnecessarily remind him that someone was there.
Ihan minimized his presence as much as possible, matching Haile Gebrselassie's breathing.
Whoosh.
Even so, the wind was sharp enough to pierce the skin.
"Huff, huff."
The coastal road of death was five kilometers in distance, but the problem was that they hadn't even run one kilometer yet. The closer they went toward the center, the stronger the wind would become, and the faster their stamina would deplete.
Swish.
Fortunately, Haile Gebrselassie had a fairly large build, so Ihan was receiving relatively less of the wind's influence behind him.
*Don't notice me.*
He wanted the coastal road of death to end just like this. From then on, Ihan's solo run would begin.
But as is life, things don't always go as one wishes.
How far had they run? He felt they had run at least two kilometers. The wind's intensity was incomparable to the beginning, and since it was still growing stronger, they probably hadn't passed the halfway point.
Whooom.
Now, the speed of the athletes running ahead was visibly decreasing.
Ihan, running behind Haile Gebrselassie, was also struggling.
What an incredible wind.
To endure that wind, Ihan put a little more power into his stride.
Crack.
Perhaps the force with which he struck the ground was slightly excessive; the sound spread louder than expected.
It was detected by the senses of Haile Gebrselassie, who was running ahead.
Swish.
He looked back. And seeing Ihan hiding his body behind him, he put on a bewildered expression.
But soon, he narrowed his eyes sharply and slowed his speed.
And he let Ihan pass ahead.
*It's over.*
However, there were still three more athletes running ahead.
But they had been keeping Haile Gebrselassie in check from the beginning, so they didn't easily act as windbreakers. Because they moved irregularly left and right, it was quite difficult for Ihan. Rather, it seemed better to continue facing the wind.
"Huff, huff."
In the end, Ihan moved to the right to avoid them and began dealing with the wind head-on.
One thing was clear: Ihan had conserved far more stamina than them.
Whooom.
Just then, the wind blew. Another wind overlapped with that wind, doubling its intensity.
Before they could even break through that wind, another wind blew again, and only then did the athletes begin to experience true hell.
This place was truly a path befitting the word "death."