“I like running, so I quit working in large companies.” Why did Run Collection CEO Song Joo-baek fall for the marathon?[양종구의 100세 시대 건강법]

I quit a large company I worked for for 23 years. He started running as a business team leader for ‘Brooks’, a sporting goods brand that the company imported and sold, and after the contract with the company ended, he made a decision to continue selling the brand in Korea. Run Collection CEO Song Joo-baek (49), who was an ordinary office worker, transformed into a ‘running missionary’ at some point.

“In 2019, the company suddenly sent me to a position importing and selling sporting goods. Running shoes were the main product. There were many kinds. However, I was worried because I had never encountered it at all. So I started running. It is because you need to know the product so that you can inform consumers properly. I went to the US headquarters, but I couldn’t talk to the people involved. You don’t know at all… . The response was ‘I want you to explain the product without even running’. Those people were crazy about running. So I had to run to get close to them.”

I would call it the ‘sincerity’ of running. Running, they acknowledged it too.

“We recruited coach Nam Im-gyeong, who even served as the national team’s standing guard, to create a running team. First of all, I had to run well, and the business team employees also needed to know how to run, so I made it. I recruited a male coach through a headhunter. I learned right from the basics.”

The crew created by CEO Song is ‘Run Up’. In November 2019, he participated in the New York Marathon and completed the 42.195 km full course in 4 hours and 30 minutes. “It was a mess. He walked and ran repeatedly. But the joy of his completion was enormous.”

“I wanted to continue running the full course, but I couldn’t because the tournament was canceled due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection in 2020. So I did about two virtual races by myself. And last October, I competed in the Chicago Marathon. I finished in 3 hours and 41 minutes. And in November, I played an active part as a 4-hour pacemaker for Run Up members in the JTBC marathon.”

CEO Song quit the company last year. This is because the company decided not to sell imports at the end of the five-year contract. He said, “I really tried with sincerity, but it was unfortunate that the company was too obsessed with profits.” Brooks was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2006 and is also called ‘Warret Buffett’s sneakers’. CEO Song grew Brooks’ domestic sales to 10 billion won in a few years, which is rare for a single brand during his former company Brooks Team.

“I thought about trying to sign a contract with Brooks and asking a headhunter to go to another company if the contract didn’t work out. I was almost on the verge of becoming an executive at the company, but I was determined to do what I wanted to do. I thought about it for 6 months until I resigned. But when the company refused to sign the contract, the head office contacted me and asked if I could take over. So I took it. I have been importing and selling since January of this year.” In effect, he became a ‘free man’ and runs whenever he has time. He runs three days a week in the run-up full course preparation class ‘Untouchable 2’, which he created for master marathoners last year, and runs personally. Run more than 50 km per week. At the 2023 Seoul Marathon and Dong-A Marathon held on March 19, I will challenge ‘330 (record within 3 hours and 30 minutes)’. He said, “We are instructing a total of 18 masters marathoners, 9 per coach with elite Soju.”

“I ran for work, but it was really nice to run. I like that I can fully focus on myself. You will think a lot. It’s running and meditating. The decision to quit the company was made while running. I love being able to travel to cities all over the world to compete in marathons. Now I am free to enjoy a good run like this.”

During the 2019 New York Marathon, the whole family went to see New York, USA. This September, he will compete in the Berlin Marathon.

The place where CEO Song often runs is Uiyeodo Park in Seoul. He said, “I like Yeouido Park when running long distances. If you want to run long distances, you have to drink water in the middle, but Yeouido Park is 2.5km long, so it’s nice to be able to drink water regularly while running. Runners preparing for the full marathon run a lot on Sundays at Yeouido Park, where they run 20 to 30 km (Long Slow Distance).”

Some time ago, I also started trail running in the mountains. The OSK trail running on February 4 in Ulleungdo, North Gyeongsang Province was his first competition appearance. Trail running also started to know about trail running shoes.

“I’ve only been on the road so far. Running up the mountain is also fun. The taste of being with nature is different. Coach Nam Im-gyeong said that participating in the world’s best trail running competition, Ultra Trail Mont Blanc (UTMB), was on her bucket list. So we decided to challenge together.”

UTMB is the world’s most prestigious trail running competition running in the European Alps. Eight events including 15km (YCC) will be held. To qualify for the UTMB, players must accumulate points in other competitions designated by the UTMB.

CEO Song also runs YouTube ‘Run Up TV’. It is a channel that provides information about running, such as general running crews, major running competitions, and reviews of sports brand running shoes. In other words, they are running their own running business. The motto he advocated is ‘Run Happy’. It means that the general public wants to run happily.

Reporter Yang Jong-gu yjongk@donga.com