Misc.

Personal

Born and reared in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin, China, where the Korean-Chinese community lives.
I am a Korean-Chinese (a.k.a Koreans in China)
My name in Chinese: 崔健; My name in Korean: 최 건

I've always been a sports enthusiast. My fitness motto is "Run faster than lifter, lift heavier than runner"

Active

(03/2023 - 06/2023) Started CrossFit at We Crossfit Yangjae
(06/2023 - 11/2024) On the lookout for a good box to get back into it.
(11/2024 - 03/2025) Returned to the box (Hoosier CrossFit)!
(03/2025 - 06/2025) Dealt with a shoulder "injury" (mainly inflammation and calcification)
(06/2025 - 05/2026) Training at least three times a week at University Avenue CrossFit
(06/2026 - 08/2026) Trained at Invictus Fitness Seattle during my MSR internship in Seattle
(09/2026 - ) Back home at University Avenue CrossFit

Workout	Description	Score	My result
26.1	12-min cap: Wall balls (20 lb) & box jump-overs (24") pyramid, 20-30-40-66-40-30-20 wall balls w/ 18 box jump-overs or med-ball box step-overs between	191 reps [Rx'd]	47 wall balls into round of 66 (Tiebreak: 8:02)
26.2	15-min cap: 3 rounds of 80-ft DB OH lunge, 20 alt. DB snatches (50 lb), pull-ups escalating (20 pull-ups → 20 C2B → 20 ring muscle-ups)	75 reps [Rx'd]	1 round + 80-ft DB lunge, 20 DB snatches, 7 C2B pull-ups (Tiebreak: 14:14)
26.3	16-min cap: 3 phases × 2 rounds of 12 burpees over bar, 12 cleans, 12 burpees over bar, 12 thrusters, ascending weight (95/115/135 lb)	120 reps [Rx'd]	2 rounds @ 95 lb + 12 burpees over bar, 12 cleans @ 115 lb (Tiebreak: 12:25)

Previously on and off with long runs and interval training.
(01/2026 - 04/2026) Running 2-3 times per week, training for the Illinois Marathon 10K!

Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon 10K (04/2026)
Finished in 57:18 (9:14/mile avg pace), 343rd/1,639 overall, 229th/639 by gender, 41st/103 in M 25-29

It became more sporadic after 2019, following my "retirement" from KIFC (KAIST International Football Club). Sometimes I played "fun" futsal with KAIST EE graduate students.
(09/2025 - 12/2025) Played once a week with UIUC CFA.

(06/2022 - 03/2023) Started Bouldering at Yangjae The Climb
(03/2023) Not as often as before, just sometimes go tackle the wall when I got time (mainly after paper ddl).
(09/2025 - ) Sometimes climbing at ARC UIUC when time allows.

(12/2023 - ) Mainly sticking to breaststroke...
(09/2025 - ) Currently working on improving my backstroke and freestyle technique.

From August 2016 to August 2018, I worked as a student assistant in the student life team at KAIST.
I worked as a Korean language tutor for international students (KAIST Language Center) in August 2018.
I worked as a translator for KAIST at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing, China (August 2018).

I served as the president of KAIST International Football Club (KIFC) from Aug. 2015 to Aug. 2017
I was a member of KAIST EE Futsal Club (September 2016 to August 2017).