I did 3 marathons in Taiwan in 2014 - (1) 信義鄉葡萄马拉松 Sinyi Grapes Marathon; (2) 艋舺盃马拉松 Monga Marathon; and (3) 阿公店盃马拉松 A Gong Dian Marathon. Every race had its own uniqueness and these 3 marathons each has its own highlights. I won't say if one race is better than the other but to share with you the highlights so you can decide for yourself if this is the race for you. :)
信義鄉葡萄马拉松 Sinyi Grapes Marathon (5 Oct 2014)
The town (信義鄉) hosting the race was about 2-hour drive by car from Taipei. Sam, who helped me to register all my 3 Taiwan Marathons, arranged his friend, 邵老师 to pick me up in Taipei City. After meeting up with the rest of the runners in the town late afternoon, we went to a nearby restaurant for a carbo-loading dinner. Dinner was great and we returned to the hotel for an early rest, especially for those who completed a marathon earlier that Saturday.
The hotel provided early breakfast for the marathon runners, which comprised of porridge, chinese-styled salad and some simple dishes. But it was delicious, just like another carbo-loading session! As there was limited parking space at the start point, we had to leave the hotel immediately after breakfast at around 5:30am for the 30mins drive to the start. Luckily for us, the traffic police opened up more car park spaces in Schools, and other government agencies and we managed to find a parking lot just 1.5km from the start line.
The weather was really nice. There was a mass warm-up exercise led by the locals. At a corner of the starting line, we saw a group of volunteers busy barbequing potk! And we could count that there was a lot of pork to be barbequed! Sam told us that after the marathon, every runner would be given a set of food items, including some pork to fill our stomach. After more photos and toilet breaks, we proceeded to the start and waited patiently for the organisers to flag us off, which they did so at 7:00am sharp.
Prior to the race, Sam prepared us about the race course. From the start to the half-way point of the marathon, it would be hilly and undulating. Thereafter, it would be mostly downhill. The highlight of the race would be the running through the 6 local villages. As I had not been training for a speedy marathon (which to me is a sub-5 marathon), I knew this would be a tough race although I should have no problem in meeting the cut-off of 6hrs 30mins. True enough, after 2km, the hills would just come up upon you before leading you down again and the cycle went on and on. I saw the front runners ran past me to enter the first village.
Before reaching the first village, there was a rather steep uphill - and so came the chance to take a walk break. At the village entrance, children were excited to see us and put their hands out for a hi-fived! This was also where the water station stationed. After passing through the village, it was downhill and most runners, including me flew down it as fast as we could. The pattern stayed the same for the other five villages: uphill to enter the village and after passing through the water station, downhill till we came to another uphill. At the third village, I saw Sam and his friends power-walking the upslope. I was not surprised.
True enough, by the time I passed though the six villages, where Sam said it would be downhill for a few kilometers, I was unable to run down fast as my quads were totally trashed. Sam and his friends flew passed me one by one. In fact, Sam flew past me so fast that he almost tripped over a pothole! That was around the 34km mark. I decided to take it easy as my knees were hurting. A check on my watch confirmed that I was ahead of the 6hrs 30mins cut-off. At the 40km mark, I took a cup and filled it up with grapes. Then I ate and enjoy the last 2km walking and jogging to complete the race in just a few minutes after the 6 hours mark.
At the finishing line, we were able to get a our Finisher Certificate printed on the spot, as well as collecting our lunch entitlement, which include the barbequed pork and bamboo rice. Overall, I enjoyed the run as I was able to get close-up and personal with the locals, which I would never had the chance of meeting even if I signed up a tour package as that was not the typical touristy place of interest where tour agencies would recommend. Not a must-do race but certainly an interesting race where you can see the other part of Taiwan and the beauty of its people.
Course: Hilly and undulating terrain.
Weather: Nice, cool and not humid.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: While water and food choices were limited, they never ran out of them! There were also many locals supporting and cheering us. Excellent!
Verdict: If I had been traveling alone and making my own arrangement from Taipei to the town, and to/back from the race, it would have been very tough. This was due to the small race setup and the town was not accessible via public transport (even though there was a train station next to the hotel we stayed). 7/10
The hotel provided early breakfast for the marathon runners, which comprised of porridge, chinese-styled salad and some simple dishes. But it was delicious, just like another carbo-loading session! As there was limited parking space at the start point, we had to leave the hotel immediately after breakfast at around 5:30am for the 30mins drive to the start. Luckily for us, the traffic police opened up more car park spaces in Schools, and other government agencies and we managed to find a parking lot just 1.5km from the start line.
Top Left: Carbo-Loading Session; The Rest: At The Start Prior to Start of Marathon!
The weather was really nice. There was a mass warm-up exercise led by the locals. At a corner of the starting line, we saw a group of volunteers busy barbequing potk! And we could count that there was a lot of pork to be barbequed! Sam told us that after the marathon, every runner would be given a set of food items, including some pork to fill our stomach. After more photos and toilet breaks, we proceeded to the start and waited patiently for the organisers to flag us off, which they did so at 7:00am sharp.
Prior to the race, Sam prepared us about the race course. From the start to the half-way point of the marathon, it would be hilly and undulating. Thereafter, it would be mostly downhill. The highlight of the race would be the running through the 6 local villages. As I had not been training for a speedy marathon (which to me is a sub-5 marathon), I knew this would be a tough race although I should have no problem in meeting the cut-off of 6hrs 30mins. True enough, after 2km, the hills would just come up upon you before leading you down again and the cycle went on and on. I saw the front runners ran past me to enter the first village.
Before reaching the first village, there was a rather steep uphill - and so came the chance to take a walk break. At the village entrance, children were excited to see us and put their hands out for a hi-fived! This was also where the water station stationed. After passing through the village, it was downhill and most runners, including me flew down it as fast as we could. The pattern stayed the same for the other five villages: uphill to enter the village and after passing through the water station, downhill till we came to another uphill. At the third village, I saw Sam and his friends power-walking the upslope. I was not surprised.
True enough, by the time I passed though the six villages, where Sam said it would be downhill for a few kilometers, I was unable to run down fast as my quads were totally trashed. Sam and his friends flew passed me one by one. In fact, Sam flew past me so fast that he almost tripped over a pothole! That was around the 34km mark. I decided to take it easy as my knees were hurting. A check on my watch confirmed that I was ahead of the 6hrs 30mins cut-off. At the 40km mark, I took a cup and filled it up with grapes. Then I ate and enjoy the last 2km walking and jogging to complete the race in just a few minutes after the 6 hours mark.
At the finishing line, we were able to get a our Finisher Certificate printed on the spot, as well as collecting our lunch entitlement, which include the barbequed pork and bamboo rice. Overall, I enjoyed the run as I was able to get close-up and personal with the locals, which I would never had the chance of meeting even if I signed up a tour package as that was not the typical touristy place of interest where tour agencies would recommend. Not a must-do race but certainly an interesting race where you can see the other part of Taiwan and the beauty of its people.
Course: Hilly and undulating terrain.
Weather: Nice, cool and not humid.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: While water and food choices were limited, they never ran out of them! There were also many locals supporting and cheering us. Excellent!
Verdict: If I had been traveling alone and making my own arrangement from Taipei to the town, and to/back from the race, it would have been very tough. This was due to the small race setup and the town was not accessible via public transport (even though there was a train station next to the hotel we stayed). 7/10
Running Through The First Village!
Running Through 久美 Village!
Supporters and Performers from Two Other Villages (Left and Right)!
Top: Bamboo Rice; Bottom Left: Pork; Bottom Right: Beef Noodle (Bought)!
艋舺盃马拉松 Monga Marathon (26 Oct 2014)
This marathon was held in the Taipei City and was organised by a good friend of Sam - 宝哥, whom I got to meet after the aborted Taroko Marathon in 2013. (宝哥 was also the one who arranged the Ping Tung Marathon in Nov 2013 too.) Although I couldn't say I knew 宝哥 long enough, I knew it would be a well-organised race. The race was held within the 華中河濱公園 - something like our Park Connector. Sam and Nancy chose the nearest hotel which was across the other side of the bridge, about 30mins walking.
On race day, we checked-out from the hotel and lugged our luggage to the race start. There, I handed over my "over-sized" luggage to the volunteer who placed it nicely according the bib numbers. Sam and Nancy introduced me to their friends, a few of them either ran very fast or ran a lot of marathons (mostly completed 100, 200 or even 300 marathons). Most of them were marathon maniacs who could run double marathons (one on Saturday followed by another one on Sunday) or multi-day marathons. I was very impressed and yet intimidated by their achievement.
The race organisers flagged us off at 6am sharp. This was a 2-loop course in a figure-of-8: comprising of a shorter 9km small loop and a longer 12km out-and-back loop. The morning air was cool but I felt humid. As the path was not wide, it got a little congested at the beginning of the race. But soon, after 3~4 km later, the crowd started to disperse and we even see the top runners ran past us. Since this being a 2-loop course, I decided to concentrate on running the first loop and taking photos for the second loop. The course was pancake flat with 3~4 insignificant slopes. The first water station (also serving runners going back to complete the small loop) came at around 3km and the second one came next after 5km. After completing the small loop, we ran past the starting point and proceed to do the longer out-and-back loop which had 3 water stations (serving runners in both directions).
I usually had a cold start and this marathon was no different. During the second loop, I stopped at every water stations to snap photos. I also noticed they served fruits that I never seen before, like salted eggs, limes, 豆干, pomegranate, etc. Just before completing the small loop the second time, I caught up with Nancy - which was a surprise because Nancy was a stronger runner than me. Just before the u-turn point for the out-and-back loop, I was even more surprised to pass Sam. Perhaps their exertion in yesterday's marathon took a toll. Or perhaps they wanna run/walk with their friends and have fun. I told myself since I was younger and fresher than them, I better run faster. With some determination, even with the weather getting hotter, I managed to psycho and push myself to run all the way, only stopping at water points for a quick sip of water, before completing the marathon in 5hrs 29mins gun time (5hrs 26mins nett time).
With the marathon done, the next part of the event was a huge surprise! At least to me! Runners were grouped in table of 10s and served with a 10-course lunch! Beers were also served freely and everyone were either busy enjoying the sumptuous food or happily cheering everyone with free beer. It was certainly something very different from the rest of the marathons I ever completed. I could replenish my body with food almost immediately after the run which would aid my recovery process. This is one race that I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoy running a marathon and feasting after the hard effort! :)
Course: 2 loops of rolling terrain but otherwise 99% pan-cake flat course.
Weather: Cool in the early morning but hot when the sun rises.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: Plenty of water and sports drinks. Food choices were plentiful and you better watch your time spent at each aid station. There were also volunteers on mobile bike replenishing aid stations with ice. The mobile bike also stopped to ask any runners who needed ice. However, there was little support from the public as the run was held in a park
Verdict: The race was held in the city of Taipei so traveling to and from the race start/finish was fairly simple, even for a tourist. Although the race commenced at 6am, the sun was out in full-force by 9am. However, never miss the highlight of the race: a 10-course lunch (FOC for the runners) held after the race! 9/10
On race day, we checked-out from the hotel and lugged our luggage to the race start. There, I handed over my "over-sized" luggage to the volunteer who placed it nicely according the bib numbers. Sam and Nancy introduced me to their friends, a few of them either ran very fast or ran a lot of marathons (mostly completed 100, 200 or even 300 marathons). Most of them were marathon maniacs who could run double marathons (one on Saturday followed by another one on Sunday) or multi-day marathons. I was very impressed and yet intimidated by their achievement.
At The Start Of The Monga Marathon (艋舺盃马拉松)!
The race organisers flagged us off at 6am sharp. This was a 2-loop course in a figure-of-8: comprising of a shorter 9km small loop and a longer 12km out-and-back loop. The morning air was cool but I felt humid. As the path was not wide, it got a little congested at the beginning of the race. But soon, after 3~4 km later, the crowd started to disperse and we even see the top runners ran past us. Since this being a 2-loop course, I decided to concentrate on running the first loop and taking photos for the second loop. The course was pancake flat with 3~4 insignificant slopes. The first water station (also serving runners going back to complete the small loop) came at around 3km and the second one came next after 5km. After completing the small loop, we ran past the starting point and proceed to do the longer out-and-back loop which had 3 water stations (serving runners in both directions).
I usually had a cold start and this marathon was no different. During the second loop, I stopped at every water stations to snap photos. I also noticed they served fruits that I never seen before, like salted eggs, limes, 豆干, pomegranate, etc. Just before completing the small loop the second time, I caught up with Nancy - which was a surprise because Nancy was a stronger runner than me. Just before the u-turn point for the out-and-back loop, I was even more surprised to pass Sam. Perhaps their exertion in yesterday's marathon took a toll. Or perhaps they wanna run/walk with their friends and have fun. I told myself since I was younger and fresher than them, I better run faster. With some determination, even with the weather getting hotter, I managed to psycho and push myself to run all the way, only stopping at water points for a quick sip of water, before completing the marathon in 5hrs 29mins gun time (5hrs 26mins nett time).
Food and Fruits Served At The Water Stations! My Taiwanese friend, RD and Me!
With the marathon done, the next part of the event was a huge surprise! At least to me! Runners were grouped in table of 10s and served with a 10-course lunch! Beers were also served freely and everyone were either busy enjoying the sumptuous food or happily cheering everyone with free beer. It was certainly something very different from the rest of the marathons I ever completed. I could replenish my body with food almost immediately after the run which would aid my recovery process. This is one race that I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoy running a marathon and feasting after the hard effort! :)
Literally Like Attending A Wedding Dinner - 6 Of The 10 Dishes!
Hungry Runners Feasting (Top Left); Rest of the 4 Dishes!
Weather: Cool in the early morning but hot when the sun rises.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: Plenty of water and sports drinks. Food choices were plentiful and you better watch your time spent at each aid station. There were also volunteers on mobile bike replenishing aid stations with ice. The mobile bike also stopped to ask any runners who needed ice. However, there was little support from the public as the run was held in a park
Verdict: The race was held in the city of Taipei so traveling to and from the race start/finish was fairly simple, even for a tourist. Although the race commenced at 6am, the sun was out in full-force by 9am. However, never miss the highlight of the race: a 10-course lunch (FOC for the runners) held after the race! 9/10
阿公店盃马拉松 A Gong Dian Marathon (14 Dec 2014)
This race was held somewhere near Kaohsiung (高雄) City. To reach Kaohsiung, you need to take the high speed rail from Taipei Station (near airport) and the whole journey took about 1hr 40mins with 5 stops along the entire journey. Once you reach Kaohsiung City (左营站), you need to change to their local MTR system (about 9 stops) before taking a cab (about 20-25mins journey) to nearby hotels. I decided to take part in this marathon because I was fascinated by the uniqueness of the marathon name. I thought the shop at the marathon location was called A Gong (Grandpa). Turn out I was wrong. The name A Gong Dian (阿公店) is truly the name of a local place in Kaohsiung. In fact, the dam near the location was named A Gong Dian Dam. After reaching at our hotel, we went for a quick dinner before returning for an early rest.
The weather at Kaohsiung was warmer than Taipei as it was further south, which was cooler as compared to Singapore's weather. But of course, no matter what, weather in Taiwan would never be cold enough for me. Still, it felt cool early in the morning before the sun rise. Sam, 邵老师, 宝哥, Bayson and me squeezed into a taxi who drove us to the stadium about 10mins drive away. Once we arrived outside the stadium, we went to the bag deposit area. Sam and Bayson found it too cold for their liking and decided to delay the depositing of the bag until 5mins before flag-off! I enjoyed the light breeze blowing across the stadium, which was the end point of the marathon. At 6:25am, both of them knew they had to deposit their bags. Once done, we quickly made our way to the starting line. We reached just in time for the organizer to flag us off at 6:30am.
The race took us around the city for 3km before we enter their military air force school! Although there were signages that forbid us for taking photos, runners did not take heed. Me included! Being in the military air force camp, there was nothing much to see except that the camp was pretty big with a huge field. The aid stations were about 3-4km apart serving a variety of food. In total we ran about 8-9km inside the camp compound before exiting back to the city. There, we ran till the 14km mark before the half-marathoners made a right turn to go back to the start while full-marathoners ran across a small bridge before turning left. With the half-marathoners gone, the run felt more lonely. Along the bridge, the breeze suddenly got very strong, before dying down when I reached the end of the ramp. At the 17km mark, I saw a runner on his way back!
From then on, it became a rather mental race as there was nothing much to see except for the occasional fishing ponds and cheering by the locals. The other highlight was the entry into a power plant station just after the 23km mark. It was supposed to be the biggest power plant in Taiwan using coal to produce power (or I could be wrong). We ran slightly more than 2km within the power plant (which showed how big it was) before exiting from the other entrance. After that, I slowly plodded along till I caught up with 邵老师 and his group of friends, who were walking, at the 30km mark. A couple of photos later, I excused myself as I wanted to continue running. Further up, I managed to latch on a group of middle age uncles until we came to the slope after the half-marathoners left us earlier that morning. Then, I could finally overtake them.
It was less than 8km to the finish point after the bridge. I managed to maintain my pace although I saw 邵老师 and his friends not far behind (after yet another u-turn). The sun was out by then and it was rather warm. Luckily, the water stations were still at regular 3-4km apart. Just after the 40km mark, I heard something like the sound of firecrackers exploding from the direction of the stadium! I looked at my watch which showed that I just ran 5hrs 30mins. Surely that was not the cut-off time as I recalled Sam told me the cut-off time was 6hrs 30mins. I panic a little and decided to pick up my pace and ran towards the stadium, which I crossed at a time of 5hrs 40mins (gun time). Luckily, the cut-off time was really 6hrs 30mins. So I was not sure what the firecracker was about. Perhaps it didn't come from inside the stadium after all. :)
I went for a quick bath at the tentage nearby provided by the race organiser instead of walking over to the stadium for a hot shower. Then, I met up with the rest of the gang and went to redeem our food item. Yes. Most marathons in Taiwan provide food for their runners after the run. For this marathon, runners can choose between vegetarian, mutton, 風目魚 (a type of fish) and 石班魚 (another type of fish). I got myself a mutton beehoon soup and gobbled down the delicious meal before following my friends to catch a train back.
For this marathon, I noticed quite a few runners who cross-dressed as ladies and they were not shy to pose a picture for you. In fact, most of them could run fairly fast and even when they ran at the back, they ran effortlessly, probably to encourage the back-of-the-pack runners. Also, there were quite a few runners who use this marathon to qualify for their 100-marathons, 200-marathons and 300-marathons achievement! It was inspiring and very intimidating. I couldn't see myself completing 200 marathons in my lifetime, let alone 300. I will continue to dream towards my 100-marathon achievement so kudos to them.
Course: Loop course and about 99% flat.
Weather: Cool and breezy in the early morning. Not as humid unlike running in Taipei. However, once the sun is out, could get warm.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: Aid Stations were about 3-4km apart and serve with enough water and sports drink for the slower runners. Food choices were pretty standard: banana, water melon, biscuits, although they have macarons. One unique thing you will see in this race was the cross-dressing of male runners wearing beautiful or sexy ladies outfit.
Verdict: The race was held near the city of Kaohsiung so one needs to factor time to travel to and from Taipei for overseas runners since most international flight to Taiwan is through Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. The food provided at the end was delicious although not as sumptuous as the Monga Marathon in Taipei. 8/10
The weather at Kaohsiung was warmer than Taipei as it was further south, which was cooler as compared to Singapore's weather. But of course, no matter what, weather in Taiwan would never be cold enough for me. Still, it felt cool early in the morning before the sun rise. Sam, 邵老师, 宝哥, Bayson and me squeezed into a taxi who drove us to the stadium about 10mins drive away. Once we arrived outside the stadium, we went to the bag deposit area. Sam and Bayson found it too cold for their liking and decided to delay the depositing of the bag until 5mins before flag-off! I enjoyed the light breeze blowing across the stadium, which was the end point of the marathon. At 6:25am, both of them knew they had to deposit their bags. Once done, we quickly made our way to the starting line. We reached just in time for the organizer to flag us off at 6:30am.
At The Start And Just After Starting!
The race took us around the city for 3km before we enter their military air force school! Although there were signages that forbid us for taking photos, runners did not take heed. Me included! Being in the military air force camp, there was nothing much to see except that the camp was pretty big with a huge field. The aid stations were about 3-4km apart serving a variety of food. In total we ran about 8-9km inside the camp compound before exiting back to the city. There, we ran till the 14km mark before the half-marathoners made a right turn to go back to the start while full-marathoners ran across a small bridge before turning left. With the half-marathoners gone, the run felt more lonely. Along the bridge, the breeze suddenly got very strong, before dying down when I reached the end of the ramp. At the 17km mark, I saw a runner on his way back!
R.O.C. Air Force Academy!
From then on, it became a rather mental race as there was nothing much to see except for the occasional fishing ponds and cheering by the locals. The other highlight was the entry into a power plant station just after the 23km mark. It was supposed to be the biggest power plant in Taiwan using coal to produce power (or I could be wrong). We ran slightly more than 2km within the power plant (which showed how big it was) before exiting from the other entrance. After that, I slowly plodded along till I caught up with 邵老师 and his group of friends, who were walking, at the 30km mark. A couple of photos later, I excused myself as I wanted to continue running. Further up, I managed to latch on a group of middle age uncles until we came to the slope after the half-marathoners left us earlier that morning. Then, I could finally overtake them.
Local Support (Top); It's A Lonely Run (Bottom Left); Power Plant Entrance (Bottom Left)
It was less than 8km to the finish point after the bridge. I managed to maintain my pace although I saw 邵老师 and his friends not far behind (after yet another u-turn). The sun was out by then and it was rather warm. Luckily, the water stations were still at regular 3-4km apart. Just after the 40km mark, I heard something like the sound of firecrackers exploding from the direction of the stadium! I looked at my watch which showed that I just ran 5hrs 30mins. Surely that was not the cut-off time as I recalled Sam told me the cut-off time was 6hrs 30mins. I panic a little and decided to pick up my pace and ran towards the stadium, which I crossed at a time of 5hrs 40mins (gun time). Luckily, the cut-off time was really 6hrs 30mins. So I was not sure what the firecracker was about. Perhaps it didn't come from inside the stadium after all. :)
I went for a quick bath at the tentage nearby provided by the race organiser instead of walking over to the stadium for a hot shower. Then, I met up with the rest of the gang and went to redeem our food item. Yes. Most marathons in Taiwan provide food for their runners after the run. For this marathon, runners can choose between vegetarian, mutton, 風目魚 (a type of fish) and 石班魚 (another type of fish). I got myself a mutton beehoon soup and gobbled down the delicious meal before following my friends to catch a train back.
For this marathon, I noticed quite a few runners who cross-dressed as ladies and they were not shy to pose a picture for you. In fact, most of them could run fairly fast and even when they ran at the back, they ran effortlessly, probably to encourage the back-of-the-pack runners. Also, there were quite a few runners who use this marathon to qualify for their 100-marathons, 200-marathons and 300-marathons achievement! It was inspiring and very intimidating. I couldn't see myself completing 200 marathons in my lifetime, let alone 300. I will continue to dream towards my 100-marathon achievement so kudos to them.
The Cross-Dressed Guys (all photos less Bottom Right); Mutton Beehoon Soup (Bottom Right)!
Course: Loop course and about 99% flat.
Weather: Cool and breezy in the early morning. Not as humid unlike running in Taipei. However, once the sun is out, could get warm.
Aid Station / Volunteer Support: Aid Stations were about 3-4km apart and serve with enough water and sports drink for the slower runners. Food choices were pretty standard: banana, water melon, biscuits, although they have macarons. One unique thing you will see in this race was the cross-dressing of male runners wearing beautiful or sexy ladies outfit.
Verdict: The race was held near the city of Kaohsiung so one needs to factor time to travel to and from Taipei for overseas runners since most international flight to Taiwan is through Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. The food provided at the end was delicious although not as sumptuous as the Monga Marathon in Taipei. 8/10
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