Former Marathoner Lee Bong-ju Shares Recovery Journey from Rare Disease

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Former marathoner Lee Bong-ju has shared an update on his life after overcoming a rare disease.

Recently, a video titled "Kian84 and Lee Bong-ju" was uploaded on Kian84's YouTube channel 'Life84'.

In the video, Kian84 runs with Lee Bong-ju, who battled dystonia for four years, and they share a conversation. When Kian84 asked, "Have you fully recovered?", Lee Bong-ju replied, "Running fast is still tough, but jogging slowly is fine. It takes me about 50 minutes to run 10km." Kian84 laughed and said, "So you're just running slowly," and expressed his admiration, "It's an honor to run 5km with you. I'm glad I took up running."

Lee Bong-ju shared more about his current state, saying, "I thought I would never run again due to the muscle disorder, but I've improved a lot. Thankfully, I've recovered and it feels like I'm living a second life." He participated in a 12km marathon in Japan last January. Although his time was over 1 hour and 10 minutes, he humbly added, "Just being able to run is enough. I shouldn't be greedy about the record."

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When Kian84 noticed Lee Bong-ju seemed uncomfortable while running, Lee admitted, "Sometimes my back isn't great. It feels like my body is sinking. I'm not 100% fully recovered, so I'm exercising cautiously." Despite this, Lee completed 5.41km in 30 minutes and shared, "The past four years were very painful. When I was sick, my wish was to run for just 30 minutes, and now I'm happy to be able to run. Running is enjoyable these days."

Lee Bong-ju is a legendary figure in South Korean marathon history, with achievements including a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a gold medal at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, a victory at the 2001 Boston Marathon, and another gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games. He competed as an active athlete until the age of 40 and still holds the South Korean marathon record of 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 20 seconds. He completed 41 full marathons in his career.

However, since 2020, he suffered from unexplained pain and was diagnosed with dystonia, a rare disease where the command system from the brain to the muscles malfunctions, causing involuntary muscle movements. He spent four years in a hunched posture but was able to straighten his back after undergoing spinal cyst removal surgery last December.

Na-yeon Cho, TenAsia Reporter nybluebook@tenasia.co.kr