One Way Grit

In 2022, my best race was in Jeju.

My mantra:

Just keep swimming.

Oct 2025, I hiked the 122km 9 Peaks.
I finished.
Just keep swimming.

Then came Geoje, May 2026.
DNF at CP5.
I relearned something.
Just keep swimming.

The Starting Line

Saturday is 9 Peaks again.
But this time:
87km.
Different distance.
Different plan.
Same instruction.

There’s a Korean expression I keep thinking about:

새옹지마.

Good fortune can become misfortune.
Misfortune can become good fortune.

You don’t always know which is which while you’re living through it.

The 122km race didn’t become the race I imagined.
Geoje definitely didn’t.
But both gave me something I needed.
Maybe Saturday will too.

The Path
The race starts in the light.
Then darkness.
Then sunrise.
Light again.
I don’t know what happens in between.
Maybe I’ll kill it.
Maybe I’ll struggle.
Maybe the 25-hour cutoff becomes the only number that matters.
I don’t need to decide what the experience means before it happens.

I just need to stay in it.

Eat. Drink. Move. Be kind. Learn.
Just keep swimming.

The Finish
I don’t know where Saturday ends.
But I know where I start.
And I know the instruction.
Just keep swimming.
Long horizons.