He truly embodied the phrase “smooth like butter.”
In a surprising twist, Suga from the globally renowned K-pop group BTS took part in San Francisco’s iconic Bay to Breakers race, all while preparing for a sold-out concert at Stanford University.
The BTS member navigated the 12K course on Saturday, largely going unnoticed until videos emerged revealing his participation in the event.
An unsuspecting participant shared with ABC 7 that he was oblivious to the fact he was competing alongside the superstar.
“I regret not capturing the starting line on camera. It would have been amazing to have footage of him there. It’s a missed opportunity for sure,” remarked Mateo Coulson.
Even the event organizers were caught off guard by the presence of such a high-profile figure in their race.
“He was there to run, that’s our takeaway. He wanted to participate like everyone else,” Phyllis Blanchard, vice president of partnerships for Bay to Breakers, told ABC 7.
“He didn’t want to let us know ahead of time. If he did, we would have given him VIP treatment. He just wanted to fit into the crowd and run his race”
Suga, real name Min Yoon-gi, finished the race in 1:04:43, maintaining a solid 8:41-per-mile pace.
Organizers said the star’s time shows his running prowess.
“We were all excited. This is the event to attract that kind of attention,” Blanchard added. “Everyone is welcome — community members, walkers, joggers, runners — and in this case Suga. He’s quite the runner, you can tell by his finish time.”
Fans first caught wind of Suga’s appearance when BTS member RM said on a Tuesday night livestream that the band member regularly runs 10 kilometers a day and entered the race when he heard about it.
He added that Suga woke up at 6 a.m. to run the race, and then returned to Palo Alto for the group’s show that night.
The group performed in front of tens of thousands of fans for three sold-out shows at the university.
