Lee Yong-sik, a 73-year-old man who has successfully lost 21kg, recently made headlines for his participation in a marathon competition. His journey captured the attention of many, especially through a video titled “73-year-old grandfather’s challenge! Will he be able to finish the race?!” uploaded on the YouTube channel ‘Apyo TV’.
On this particular day, Lee Soo-min expressed his excitement and concern, saying, “Finally, D-Day! There are five days left. I’m in trouble. Grandpa is the first to run a baby car marathon.” Lee Yong-sik joked about the 7km course from Gwanghwamun to Yeouido, but it turned into a real challenge. He nervously held his hands together as he prepared for the race.
Lee Soo-min encouraged him, asking, “Please cheer me up that I can finish the race with I.L.” In response, Lee Yong-sik confidently declared, “I can finish the race with I.L.!” He then shouted, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” with great enthusiasm.
Wonhyuk, another participant, remarked, “Wow, but a huge number of people participated in the event today. A lot of these people are raising their children. It’s hard to raise one person, but there are many houses that raise two or three people. I admire you.”
Wonhyuk shared his experience, saying, “When we ran a 7cm marathon at the Han River (I’m coming up)” and Lee Soo-min responded, “It’s a physical strength that can’t be compared to when we ran a 7km marathon at that time.” He mentioned that he had never rested and had already passed 2km. He was the last one then, and at that time, the pastor prayed for him from behind.
Despite his increasingly exhausted body, Lee Yong-sik even took care of his granddaughter EL’s condition during the race. Reflecting on the moment, he said, “Looking back, my heart is full?” To his son-in-law, Won-hyuk, who wanted to take a rest, Lee Yong-sik insisted, “No. If you rest, you don’t want to go.”
Lee Soo-min added, “Daddy, this is even on the news. So he said he couldn’t abstain, and Lee Yong-sik hoped, exhausted, saying, `I can see Yeouido.'”
However, the participants behind them began to overtake Lee Yong-sik one by one, eventually making him the last. During this time, EL started crying and became unresponsive.
Lee Soo-min lamented, “How can we be in last place when we’ve never rested. I’m sure (the participants) gave up in the middle.”
Lee Yong-sik eventually shed tears at the result he wanted to avoid, saying, “We’re last.” As people began to walk behind him again, Lee Yong-sik continued his journey with relief, saying, “We’re not the same.”
Lee Yong-sik’s physical strength is much better than last time. Fortunately, granddaughter EL fell deeply asleep in her father Wonhyuk’s arms.
In the end, Lee Yong-sik crossed the finish line with his family with everyone’s support, achieving the miracle of a 73-year-old grandfather.