10th Taroko Gorge Marathon

I took part in the 10th Taroko Gorge Marathon (half marathon category) this morning. Taroko Gorge National Park (太魯閣國家公園) is one of seven national parks in Taiwan, and its name "Taroko" means "magnificent and beautiful". Indeed, it was one of the most beautiful runs that I have ever done, and despite the challenging slopes, the sight was worth every step of the way.

I got up at around 0400 hrs, washed up, and then took a ride at 0500 hrs with some friends in a chartered tourist coach to a parking lot in Sincheng City. There, we transferred to shuttle buses arranged by the race organisers to travel to the entrance of the Taroko Gorge National Park.

There was a crowd of about 6,500 half-marathoners and marathoners, and another 3,500 5-km "fun run" participants. The race flagged off for the full- and half-marathoners at 0700 hrs sharp, while the fun runners set off at 0800 hrs. It was relatively good weather in the morning -- the air was cool and fresh, with clear blue skies.

The route began with a 5-km loop, with the Asia Cement Factory as a turning point at the 2.5-km mark. It was then a gradual upslope run into the embrace of Taroko, with steep and spectacular marble rock faces lining the way with mountains covered with lush greenery in the background. The route took me past Changchunci (長春祠), Ningan Bridge (寧安橋), Baisa Bridge (白沙橋) and into the Sipen Tunnel (溪畔隧道), the end of which was the turning point for 21-km. By the time I entered the tunnel, my legs were heavy like lead, tired from the uphill climb. But the return leg downslope was much more relaxing, and I managed to pick up my speed again from there.

Due to the lack of training prior to the race, I could feel my legs beginning to give way at around 17 km into the race. I could feel the nascent onset of cramping in my left quad, but I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to maintain my (albeit slow) momentum. So I kept pressing ahead to the end.

I crossed the finishing line in about 2 hr 10 minutes. It was an exhilarating feeling. Not a bad timing for such a challenging terrain and given the inadequate training. :) Perhaps I might consider doing a full marathon next year.

I managed to take a few pictures with some of my friends, including some visiting runners from Singapore, such as tarepanda, ST, yankee and joanna. Everyone had a good time :) But it was a bit of a dampener that a heavy shower poured out of the skies at around 1000 hrs to 1100 hrs, which made it sort of difficult to take photos, and it was verging on being too cold for comfort.

Overall, the logistics of the event were pretty well managed. There were sufficient water points, sponge stations and medical stops along the way, not to mention very enthusiastic crowds cheering the runners along :) At the end of the race, finishers of the full- and half-marathons also received a medal and a free lunch box (rice and some ribs) on top of the regular complimentary isotonic drinks. In the pre-race race pack, there was also a nice big race towel. Not a bad deal at all, for a race that costs about S$30 :)