Running Between Terms

Running Between Terms | 40 km, ₩200,000 Run Dates: March 1, 2025 | 13 km October 30, 2025 | 7 km May 28, 2026 | 10 km October 22, 2026 | 10 km During exeats and school breaks in the UK, I continued running independently as part of common&good's distance-based fundraising initiative. Across four runs, I covered a total of 40 km, raising ₩200,000 to support our wider work. The first run, on March 1, 2025, was particularly meaningful. I ran 13 km through London to commemorate Korea's March First Independence Movement, reflecting on what it meant to remember my country's history while living thousands of kilometres away. I had grown up learning about the courage of those who marched for independence, but marking the occasion through something as familiar as running made that history feel unexpectedly close. The following three runs were quieter. There were no organised events, no fellow members waiting at the finish line, and sometimes no particular reason to put on my running shoes beyond the commitment I had made to myself. Yet I came to appreciate that solitude. Unlike our organised runs in Korea, these were moments when I had to sustain the motivation independently, without the encouragement that comes from doing something together. I began to realise that consistency was perhaps a more difficult form of commitment than enthusiasm. It was easy to feel motivated when surrounded by people who shared the same purpose, but considerably harder to maintain that purpose amid the ordinary demands of school and daily life. The ₩200,000 raised across these runs mattered, but so did the discipline of continuing something even when there was nobody else to share it with. These runs reminded me that being part of a community does not always mean being physically together. Sometimes, it means carrying a shared purpose with you, wherever you happen to be.