Singer Shon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]
Singer Shon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Singer Shon completed an 81.5-kilometer run despite a torn leg muscle.

A video titled "Why do I run 81.5km?" was posted Thursday on the YouTube channel "With Shon," showing footage of Shon running in the seventh "815 Run," held Saturday at World Cup Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Shon had injured his leg a month before the event. When the production crew asked about the severity of the injury, he said his condition felt fine on the day but added that at its worst, "walking was uncomfortable after running — the pain was bad enough that I was limping around in daily life."

He added, "If it hurts too much in the second half, I'll crawl to the finish line."

Past the halfway point, the injured leg began to cramp. Shon stopped multiple times from the intense pain before getting back up and pushing on. By the finish, he had lost 4.8 kilograms.

Medical staff on site said they could not believe he had run at all on that leg, adding that the muscle appeared to be damaged. Shon laughed it off, saying, "If it weren't for that, I could have run even better."

Actor Park Bo-gum, former soccer players Lee Young-pyo and Cho Won-hee, actor Jin Seon-gyu and mixed martial artist Kim Dong-hyun also ran in the event.

"This is a thank-you letter to those who protected Korea, and now 19,450 people are writing it together," Shon said. "I think the 815 Run is about being a people who remember yesterday well."

The 815 Run is a charity marathon that Shon and Habitat for Humanity Korea have organized annually since 2020. Each year on Aug. 15, Shon runs 81.5 kilometers while participants run 8.15 kilometers, with donations going toward improving the living conditions of families descended from independence movement patriots.

This year's event raised about 2.6 billion won ($1.86 million) through a combination of virtual and in-person runs. Cumulative donations have surpassed 10 billion won.


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