Dongil You

The first time Dongil You set foot on American soil was when he departed DFW airport.  He was alone.  There was no family to greet him.  No friends.  He knew no one.  Imagine the courage he had to muster to spend his hard earned money and max out his credit card in order to come to the Texas Time Trials to pursue his dream of qualifying for RAAM.

He had no idea what to expect when he arrived Dallas.  He found there was no mass transit.  Not a railroad in sight.  He dipped into his plastic fund once more and paid $178.00 for a cab to his motel in Glen Rose.
When Dan Driscoll had sent out a message announcing there was a young man from Korea coming to the Texas Time Trials in need of some guidance and assistance, Joni and I didn't hesitate to raise our hands.  We got in touch with Dongil via email.  Although there was somewhat of a language barrier, we were able to communicate and set up plans to rendezvous with Dongil in Glen Rose.

I was in Chicago the week of the race on a business trip.  Joni took 3 days off work in order to meet him at the race site on Wednesday.
Joni and Dongil set up canopy, table, chairs, ice chest, shelves, supplies etc next to two other racing teams.  The Awesome Foursome have been doing TTTT since I can remember. 
The same is true for The Manly Bulge Bicycle Club.  Both teams were more than happy to offer assistance to Joni and her new friend.
Dongil, age 31, had read about RAAM online.  He was totally intrigued.  He didn't have a lot of ultra cycling experience.  Riding and training in Korea is very limited due to few roads and heavy traffic. His bike was an aluminum frame with well used generic components.  He had only been riding a few years and had not built up a huge mileage base.   The furtherest he had ever cycled was 300 km. to a friends house.  But never the less, he was at TTTT to give it a shot.

The race started at 6:00 pm on Thursday.  The course is a 26.5 mile loop on quiet roads with moderate hills and little traffic.  By the 4th  lap Dongil was experiencing pain in his left knee.  He continued to ride but his pain became worse.  By the time I arrived at camp at 3:30 am Friday, Dongil was sitting in a lawn chair resting.  He completed one more lap.  It very quickly became obvious that his dream of qualifying for RAAM was not going to happen this race.
We decided the best action was to treat his knee with ice, elevation and rest.  We also adjusted his seat post and cleat position.  We decided to withdraw him from the 500 mile race.  On Saturday afternoon he completed the 26.5 mile one lap Shoot Out.

Of course he was disappointed of not achieving his goal.  But don't think for a minute that Dongil's trip was wasted.  He gained valuable ultra knowledge and experience.  He easily made friends.  He enjoyed the camaraderie of being around some of the best ultra cyclists in the United States.
At the awards banquet his eyes were full of joy and excitement when he claimed his TTTT trophy.  The Awesome Foursome gave Dongil a club jersey which he will truly show off to his friends back home.   

You can't always measure the success of a race in hour and minutes or number of miles ridden.  Sometimes the measure of a good race is in the experience.  I for one know that for sure.