台南古都馬拉松

Tainan Ancient City International Marathon (台南古都馬拉松). This is the second time the event is being organised in this city in southern Taiwan. According to the organisers, the event managed to attract some 4,800 local and foreign competitors in the 10-km, 21.075-km and 42.195-km categories.

I arrived in Tainan on 23 February (Saturday) evening, after a 2-hour ride from Taipei on the High Speed Rail (HSR) and a 40-minute free shuttle bus ride from Tainan HSR station to the city centre. In Tainan City, I stayed in Premier Hotel (首相大飯店) which is located within walking distance of the Tainan Train Station. As I had booked my accommodation online, I was entitled to a pleasant 30% discount for my standard single room. It's a small hotel, but it's one which pays a lot of attention to details. It's also extremely environmentally friendly and safety-conscious. My room came equipped with a few cannisters of oxygen, just in case there's a fire and I need fresh air to breathe. :)

During my first night in Tainan, I strolled the neighbourhood and sampled some local fare. But as I wanted to rest early for my half marathon the next day, I did not stay out too late.

I woke up at 4.30 am on Sunday morning, 24 February. The hotel staff kindly arranged for a cab to pick me up to send me to Tainan City Government, where the race would commence. At their own initiative, the hotel staff suggested that I share the cab with another participant in the marathon who was also residing in the same hotel. I glady took their suggestion.

And so, together with my fellow hotel-mate, a Taiwanese gentleman from Changhua County, I arrived at the runners' pre-race gathering area at around 5.15 am. It was drizzling, cold and very windy. Freezing, in fact! :) But thankfully, the rain eventually stopped though the biting wind continued to be quite a menace.

The race flagged off promptly at 6 am, with the runners of all categories (except the Fun Run which was due to start at 8 am) dashing off into the darkness. I decided to give all the other runners a 3-minute headstart, since I wanted to avoid the congestation. So, at around 6.03 am, I set off.

Honestly, the route wasn't the most spectacular. We cut through a quiet suburb and then we were running across the rural plains. Not enough challenging slopes, and no fascinating sights. But the air was remarkably fresh, and I loved the feeling of simply inhaling all of it in.

For the first two-thirds of the journey, I think I managed to keep to a good pace. I reached the 10-km mark within a hour and the 15-km mark within another 30 minutes. But the furthest that I had ran for my (rather dismally irregular and limited) training was about 14 km. So by the time I got to 16-17 km, my legs turned into lead. It was such a torture just trying to lift them! But I guess that's the whole point of running long-distance :) It's all about overcoming the physical with the mental. And so I pressed on.

Eventually, I neared the finishing line. And I heard the sirens behind me. The first full-marathoner to complete the race was just behind me. It was Bernard Mutai, a Kenyan runner. I stopped, took a picture of him as he passed me by, and then I tried to catch up behind him. I crossed the finishing line with a champion chip timing of 2:14:59.

After the race, I was cloaked with an event towel and given a medal for my efforts. Sweet :) I got a picture taken with Mutai, and he also graciously autographed my race bib :)

Because there were not as many participants in this event, I guess the logistics were easier to handle. Many of the runners came prepared with the local running club's racebag (which you could identify by your race bib number), so baggage storage was a breeze. I swapped my champion chip for my deposit, which I then used to pay for a taxi ride back to the hotel.

And then the sightseeing began! Tainan is formerly the capital city from 1683 to 1885. It's a cultural haven for anyone interested in history, oriental religion and architecture. I visited the Chih-kan Tower (赤崁樓), Great Queen Mother Temple (大天後宮), God of War Temple (武廟), Confucius Temple (孔子廟), Heavenly Altar (天壇), the ruins of the Great South Gate (大南門城), just to name a few. I also explored the Tainan Museum of Literature, which was illuminating.

That evening, I took a short 20-minute train ride at a cost of NT$18 (less than S$1) to Nanke Station (南科), located in Shinshi Village (新市鄉) in Tainan County, to attend the Taiwan Lantern Festival (台灣燈會) in the nearby Solar City (陽光電城). What an incredible sight! There were all sorts of lanterns! Traditional, new-age, religious, cartoon, and there were some mammoth-sized ones too. Mix in some lively fireworks, bumper car rides, theatrical performances, street dancers, food stalls and a massive crowd of visitors, and you can imagine how charged up the entire atmosphere was. :)

Alas I could not stay too late, for I was returning to Taipei first thing the following morning. And so, with a heavy heart, I left Solar City, caught a train ride back to Tainan City, walked back to my hotel, and slumped into the massage chair in the hotel's gym. Shiok! :)

When Monday morning came, it was time to head north. And the call of work beckoned in the distance.