News from **rth Korea is rarely positive and often exaggerated. Recent rumors coming out of the country have included everything from executions by packs of dogs to government-mandated haircuts, and the outlandish stories are made all the more believable by even stranger firsthand accounts.
It's e**ugh to make the thought of a **rth Korean marathon sound mundane. But the 27th annual Mangyongdae Prize Marathon was opened to foreign amateur runners for the first time this year, allowing some relatively ordinary athletes a unique view of one of the world's most secretive countries.