You guys seemed to like the last post, so here are some additional (fresh) images from the Pyongyang Marathon, shot on April 7th 2019.
https://i.imgur.com/BImaax3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Fmv4XLx.jpg
Quite a few runners showed up. I think around 1,000 Westerners.
https://i.imgur.com/7Nyhdi8.jpg
North Korea knows how to pack a stadium.
https://i.imgur.com/RmBoH9b.jpg
I've shot Bundesliga football matches that didn't have crowds like this.
https://i.imgur.com/dAb6odG.jpg
And it's a formal affair.
https://i.imgur.com/B2VxUxA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Wgq90kf.jpg
The course leads out of the stadium and through Pyongyang. Quite a few people here but 20km away it gets lonely. Some runners thought that was pretty depressing.
https://i.imgur.com/bybThi8.jpg
North Koreans don't get to see that many foreigners, so this seems somewhat interesting to them.
https://i.imgur.com/SUiNbi8.jpg
Opinions on runner outfits apparently varied.
https://i.imgur.com/PSWjwoF.jpg
Whaaaa...?
https://i.imgur.com/RYQ0mnv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xd72GF2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/BQUxsQr.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/y5aIwtE.jpg
An usher. These guys were dicks who constantly tried to rush me out of the way.
https://i.imgur.com/TSw9sir.jpg
Not a soldier but a cop. Yellow epaulettes.
https://i.imgur.com/vUZ1JhA.jpg
"That time I ran away from North Korean cops." You know he'll say that.
https://i.imgur.com/NIxIK6f.jpg
Chinese bike.
https://i.imgur.com/9BJB7zX.jpg
Back into the stadium. This guy won. 2.10 for a marathon - not bad at all.
https://i.imgur.com/H0Xn6zq.jpg
Aaaah, the 400mm f2.8 IS LII. First time I received permission to bring that bad boy into the country. (Usually everything above 150mm is not permitted.)
https://i.imgur.com/gJqUKog.jpg
"That time 30,000 people cheered me running."
https://i.imgur.com/tizDoKZ.jpg
oops.
https://i.imgur.com/ZZPt5Qq.jpg
The big cheese was not impressed.
https://i.imgur.com/7HuBhik.jpg
Minister of Transport and Tourism, I think. Just in case you wanted to see some government officials.
Hey, great shots! And 2:10 is damn fast!!! Was the guy N. Korean?
Do they have IG in NK?
I’d be surprised there was public access much outside the stadium.
At the Beijing Olympics anything out on the streets was very regulated, to the point of unwatchable. All the athletes complained about it.
Good to see they allowed Westerners. We’re they on tours?
In Korea, in 88, the first city bus I got on at 7am was full of men going to work. I was the ONLY one on the bus NOT wearing a suit!!! LoL
Great shots. Yes that 400 takes nice shots. Surprised you carted it all the way to Korea unless you were on assignment!!!
John
North Koreans generally can only access the internet in universities and under special circumstances at that. Foreigners can buy very expensive SIM cards that will get the internet. That's how Koryo Tours is posting to Insta: https://www.instagram.com/koryotours
JohnSil wrote:
We’re they on tours?
Yes, Koryo Tours is the exclusive organizer.
rw11 wrote:
Thanks - was the guy in the blue uniform with yellow epaulets a cop?
