All six schools from the South Korea Association of International Schools (SKAIS) gathered at Bongmu Lake for the final race of the season on Nov. 5. Its near cancelation stunned organizers early that morning, but last-minute bike rides and phone calls averted a potential termination and the races commenced. Both individual and team success ended the day on a high note.

Moments before the start, tree harvesters and their machines choked the track. Even with the advanced notice, DIS phoned the city office, and miscommunication occurred. The potential safety risk and confusion almost led to the SKAIS finals being called off. 

“In order for us to use Bongmu Lake, as it is a public place, I contacted Dong-Gu office two months prior to the event to inform them that around 6 schools would be there running around the lake so it may be a little bit crowded, so we could hang up banners that people need to be careful while the kids are running around the lake,” said Ms. Sumin Hong, the faculty and event services coordinator.

The city approved the school’s request and cleared the day for the event. However, Mr. Coleman and Mr. Bergan spotted two trucks and cranes heading out to the route. At the moment, no one knew when and where the construction vehicles would be stationed. It posed a possible hazard for runners on the cross-country route, especially for elementary schoolers. Ms. Hong called multiple departments to get ahold of the person in charge of the project. 

“Honestly, I was a little bit worried, but the person I contacted was really helpful and he asked us when the race was starting and we told him that it is starting at 9:45-10:00 am. He got back to me when we were cheering on the students [the tunnel] right before the race started, so time was running out. Luckily, they decided to stop working on cutting the trees because they thought it would be really dangerous as well… everything was sorted out in the end,” said Hong.

Despite the last-minute nature of the potential postponement, the races ran on time. The Mini Jets organized a sendoff to boost team morale. “The Mini Jets are our littlest cheerleaders so our goal is to spread school spirit. So we were really excited for the cross country team and we wanted to send them off in a way that lifted them up and gave them some excitement. I think it was a success and I would like to do it again for other future events,” said cheer coach Mrs. Kaschub.

The DIS racers from elementary to high school brought their A-game. A naturally gifted athlete, Allie Moon in fifth grade, won gold with ease. “I was so surprised because I didn’t know I was going to be first place. I was just surprised. I didn’t really practice a lot, I just did it because I just like to run. I think so because we ran in Bongmu Lake a lot and I like to run in Bongmu Lake. I’m used to running there and there were lots of people cheering for us,” said Moon.

As a multi-sport athlete, Moon missed the divisionals earlier this season. “Allie Moon is also a tennis player, and I’m pretty sure it was also just a conflict of her tennis schedule as well, so that’s why she wasn’t able to compete at the divisionals,” said Ms. Spaeth, elementary cross country co-coach. With her back on the roster for the championships, the Jets achieved top standing.

Elementary runners saw progress and many finished inside the top 10. “One of our runners, our fifth-grade student came in first place, so that was really exciting. The boys did really well, as well as the girls. For the team, we were actually tied for first place, but then in the tiebreaker, they lost so we got second place, so that was a really good result as well. We also compared their time from their first race to this race and all of them had beat their personal records and made a lot of progress,” said Coach Spaeth.

The middle school runners took steps forward as the girls won the team award, placing fourth, fifth, and sixth. “At first I didn’t believe it… I thought we would be in fifth place. I thought it was very interesting. I thought we won because we wanted to win together as a group,” said Ellie An, a sixth-grade runner.

To end the day, high school runners displayed grit in their last showdown. Many beat their personal records, including freshman Jason McAteer, who placed third. “It was really good. I really tried my best then. I overtook quite a few people at the end of the race. I was satisfied because, throughout the season, I really thought I couldn’t improve, but I improved by a minute or two. During the divisionals, I didn’t really push myself, and I was like, I can’t really do this and everyone was in front of me so that demotivated me. But this time was the finals so it was higher stakes so I really pushed myself,” said McAteer.

The athletes pushed it across their final finish line. They enjoyed the day on the trail and the awards added to their delight. Ms. Spaeth said, “We were really excited. Everyone had a fun time and it was awesome to be here at DIS at Bongmu Lake where we practice every day. It was a very fun time and our hope is that the kids had fun and they learned to love running and cross country they’ll continue it in the future.”

This story was originally published on Jets Flyover on November 20, 2024.