And wow, this was such an unexpectedly good decision.
Shows featuring celebrities or non-athletes training for a major sporting event or some challenging sports aren't exactly new though. In fairly recent times, I remembered watching another tvN show i.e. "Run" featuring Ji Sung, Kang Ki Young, Hwang Hee and Lee Tae-sun in 2020 where they trained for the Florence Marathon with just one month to spare. Considering the short time frame, the show lasted a mere 4 episodes and to be honest, featured quite a bit of sightseeing in both South Korea and Italy than the physical training or actual marathon itself. And the whole atmosphere was kinda laidback and more of like, "we'll try our best but there is no guarantee that we will succeed". In a way, that was a realistic take on the situation because one month of training along with juggling acting jobs is honestly too much of a stretch. As such, even though one of the four did not complete the marathon, that show was still pretty enjoyable to watch and the outcome of some not making it was expected to a certain extent.
"Iron Girls" is an entirely different ball game. To begin with, training for a full marathon is already quite adventurous. To train for a triathlon in just 120 days and they are not athletes to begin with, I really thought that the idea itself was quite outrageous. Then again, when you consider that the producer is Bang Geul-yi, a former producer of "2 Days 1 Night", I think it does make sense to set such a tough challenge because she had done a lot of these "crazy" things back then so I wasn't that surprised after knowing the PD behind this show. Of the training sessions throughout the season, the top 3 which were especially memorable would have to be the vertical marathon, the swim across Han River and the uphill cycling training. Although I wasn't doing it myself, the sheer torture and physical demands of these challenges really came across strongly on screen.
Among the four actresses featured, I have watched Jin Seo-yeon, Park Ju-hyun and Uie in action before while I only know Seol In-ah from some of the clips I saw before from the drama "Business Proposal". Jin was super eye-catching in the movie "Believer" and I really liked Park's performance in the drama "Mouse" opposite Lee Seung-gi. In addition, I have been following Jin's Instagram for a while so I do remember seeing her doing a fair bit of gym work in her posts. As for their captain Kim Dong-hyun, I've seen him a lot in Korean variety shows such as "Physical 100 Season 2" and "The Great Escape" so it makes sense for him to "lead" them in the physical training along with other experts who joined as guests or Heo Min-ho, a former triathlete who became the regular coach focusing more on the triathlon itself in the second half of the show.
Since I would say that my knowledge of the actresses is still considered quite basic, there were some surprising things which I found out along the way with each episode. Biggest surprise for me has got to be finding out that Park is actually older than Seol - nothing to do with their looks but more of their screen images because I recall seeing Park in more student roles so that sort of gave me the impression that she's very young. Imagine my surprise to hear Seol call Park "eon-ni"! And that Uie was a former swimmer but cannot cycle - I only knew that she used to be in an idol group After School and seemed to have a reputation for being athletic. Or that Jin actually has a phobia related to swimming despite her sporty and fearless image.
What I thought was really relatable and very engaging about this show was how these actresses all had their weaknesses and were not "super-beings" who realistically had a chance at clearing the triathlon from the beginning. And precisely because of this, the show delivered a clear message of how you and I as ordinary folks could also have a chance at doing something very challenging and seemingly impossible by taking baby steps over time. These actresses certainly did not become physically fit for the triathlon overnight as seen during the entire season. Moreover, completion is one thing. Completing within the cut-off time for each round was an added degree of difficulty they needed to factor in when taking on this challenge.
Jin's issue with swimming meant that if she couldn't clear the first part of the triathlon, there was no way she could continue with the other rounds of the event despite being good at cycling and running. Likewise, Uie is a fantastic swimmer but if she fails to make the cut in the cycling round, she also won't be able to take on the running aspect of the triathlon. Seol who is regarded as the sporting genius, has to deal with her weakness in running and as the show progressed, she picked up a number of injuries as well which further affects her ability to complete the entire event. Park started off as being the weakest in terms of stamina and sporting ability but made up for this with her strong will, refusal to give up and sheer hard work.
To be honest, it was so motivational and inspiring to see them overcome their individual weaknesses and strive towards the collective goal of completing the triathlon together despite the odds against them. From a viewer's perspective, seeing their hard work pan out over the span of 11 weeks and how they managed to achieve something that seemed so impossible at first, that was not just entertainment but a really inspirational tale to watch.
While I don't think I'll ever be ready to do something as physically hardcore like this, I think the Iron Girls' never-give-up attitudes, the support of everyone around them and their hard work are very memorable takeaways for me as I wrapped up watching this show. Getting started, taking small and steady steps and being consistent - these are very important life lessons to keep in mind.
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