5 Years Running 'Daejeon Maenmom Marathon', Over 2,500 Participants Welcome the New Year Again This Year

Participants of the 'Daejeon Barehand Marathon' are starting the marathon at 11:11:11 on January 1, 2020. Photo by Mackiss Company

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] On the first day of the new year, a bare-chested marathon event was held where over 2,500 participants gathered, took off their tops, and ran around the Daejeon Expo Citizen Plaza area. This event has been ongoing for five years.

Mackiss Company announced that on the 1st, they held the "5th Daejeon Bare-Chested Marathon" event, providing participants with a time to reaffirm their New Year's resolutions together.

The marathon, which started precisely at 11:11:11 a.m., involved participants running bare-chested (tops off) along the Gapcheon Road in Daejeon, covering a 7 km route passing Hanbat Arboretum, Yurim Park, KAIST, and Science Park.

In particular, participants expressed their individuality through bare-chested body painting and slogans to reaffirm their New Year's resolutions.

Participants warmed up with pre-event cheer performances and stretching exercises to beat the cold, then at the start, they released balloons bearing their wishes (slogans) as they took their first steps. At the finish line, a rice cake breaking event with flower petals added meaning to the New Year's celebration by wishing for good fortune.

Besides the marathon participants, about 5,000 people including family, couples, and friends from across the country gathered to cheer, creating a huge crowd.

Mackiss Company enhanced the event's engagement by holding various attractions and events for both participants and citizens who came to support them.

Above all, the special award commemorating "2020," called the "Now We Are in Our 20s" award, received great acclaim among the citizens gathered on site. This award was given to participants who best expressed the passion and spirit of their twenties, selected based on criteria such as cosplay and performance.

Kim Cheol (27), who received the award, said, "It is an honor to receive a special award at the event where I reaffirmed my New Year's resolution on the first day of 2020 and created unique memories of my twenties."

Additionally, Mackiss Company presented various special awards such as the Photogenic Now We Are award, Body Painting award, and Surprise award to participants, and held special events including a Wish Wall, Photo Wall, participant photo shoots, and the Now We Are Photo Studio to enhance the enjoyment of the event.

The bare-chested marathon event concluded with a fun and cheeky classical performance by Mackiss Opera, followed by a rice cake soup sharing event where attendees shared a meal together.

Jo Woong-rae, Chairman of Mackiss Company, said, "I applaud everyone who braved the cold and participated bare-chested on the first day of 2020," and added, "I also wish for everyone to achieve all their New Year's hopes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.