วิ่งไม่หยุด: 2008 Taroko Half Marathon Race

Activities/Actions:
Ran 13.1 Miles up and down hill; started 7a

Stat:

My Official Race Certificate

Detailed race result.

Race Record: 1:59:53 hours; the 326th place overall and the 94th place in age group of 30-39 year old men.

3,732 half finishers (1125 finishers in my age group) and 1,669 full marathon finishers triumphed this morning!

Course condition:
The course traverses up the mountain along Taroko Gorge. Drizzling rain for a short duration of the beginning; the temperature overall was very nice.

How I felt:
(the 5-point scale)
Physically 4
Mentally 5
About my nutrition 4
(big fest at the HuaLien Night Market yesterday night; a little soy milk in the morning)
About my sleep 3.5

How hard did I work? 9
(the 10-point scale)

Note and reflections:

Making the second turn in dimly lit Si Pen Tunnel, the highest point of 2008 Taroko Half Marathon Race, I have climbed ~225 meters for the total of almost 14 kilometers. The tunnel’s dim light makes me have to pay an extra care not to hit others. Just an hour ago, “The Bear” dropped off us (Yu-Hsiang, Dumpling, James and I) in front of Asia Cement, the first turning point of the course, because of street closure. Then, we had just less than 10 minutes before the race would start. We, along with at least 15 people, had to run ~3 km as a warm-up run. Yes, yes, and yes! Along the run, police and traffic controllers kept telling us that it was not too far. Seeing the crowd of runners running towards us on the other side of the road around the halfway, we waved at them and sped up to the start line. Luckily, at the start line Ms. Zheng took our red Chinese Taipei Road Runner Association (CTRRA) bags to be stored. She said that we must start now; otherwise, the time would not be considered. She took the bag but did not give us the number to pick up the bags (I was worried a bit, then).

Dumpling and I ran through the start line (this was our “zero” turning point) and later found Yu-Hsiang but not James running ahead (James took the bag to the storage area). I was wondering whether James would take his camera on the course with him—after all, his main goal here was to photograph. Three of us ran pass other fellow runners of various ages. Two white teenager girls, as they reduced speed to walk, told their dad to go ahead instead of waiting for them. After the second kilometer, I left Dumpling and Yu-Hsiang and swiftly moved left and right trying to be at the front of the pack. I often ran on the shoulder of the road. The drizzling rain started falling down on my head, but my body’s temperature started rising. So, I took the inner shirt out to carry with the hat but left only the sleeveless Taroko Marathon jersey on just right after turning in front of Asia Cement.

Because of the empty road on the other side, I crossed the lane divider and made my way back through the gate of the original Central Cross-Island Highway (Highway 8),where I did “zero” turn about 20 minutes ago. The course after this point made a climb embraced by high mountains and traversing along the beauty of the Gorge on the right. At Water Station number 2, I stopped for a drink with a mixed feeling of tiredness, happiness and fun (actually, I stopped at all next aid stations). After this station, the number of runners by my sides was reduced and the rain had stopped, so this made it easier to run.

The course curves along the gorge as it climbs higher up the mountain. Often when we ran through either a long or a short tunnel, runners exclaimed with joy to listen to their echoing voices cheering back at us all. I said “Jia-yo! Jia-yo!” when passing other runners. A cheering crowd near the 9th km post at the tunnel ahead of NinAn Bridge lifted my spirit up and pushed my feet up at a faster pace as if these voices were their top-graded fuel. I was keeping a pace with a few runners and did not want to let them run ahead of me. At one point I passed a runner (I picked him as my rival) and kept this distance for awhile, but the lace of the right shoe was loose. He ran passing me then, but I would be ahead of him in just a few minutes.

A pair of runners—one with a bright orange curly wig and the other with a bright green one—won the fanciest outfit of the course in my opinion (I believed that they were advertising for ING Marathon). I told them “beautiful hair!” They smiled back and said thank you. Many runners stopped to take a leak on the road shoulder spuriously along the course. I felt a need to do it myself, so I stopped at a portable potty around the 11th km post, not at bush! The top runners of the Half were running back led by an official motorbike, passing me around here (~11 km post). “GO! GO! GO!” I shouted and clapped at them. My legs showed a sign of tiredness; I got help from the cream and spray to keep my legs warm and less-painful. I found that the organizers kept the record of runners who used the cream and spray. Cut bananas, granular bars, and cookies were provided at some Water Stations, which surprised me a bit, but I took them all.

The last climb before Si Pen Tunnel is steep, but I have tried hard. Now, as I am turning back out of the tunnel, I am feeling so happy leaving behind the echoing loud cheering voices of fellow runners. After stopping for drinks, I run fast downhill. I see Yi-Chiao first, followed by Dumpling and then Yu-Hsiang. Yi-Chiao is at the midst of a steep section not too far from the tunnel. He looks a bit surprised to see me calling his name. Dumpling is giving me thump up, but Yu-Hsiang gives me five with a loud shout! The time on my watch then shows 1:27 hrs. I keep a good steady pace until I see a sign “The Last 4 KM.” Then, I am grining to myself and want to speed up; however, my legs do not want to. After this point, the course is not that much steep down. I am trying to push up..& push up… but my legs are too tired. Running down hill hurts my legs or pushes lot of stress on my knees, contributing to my current experience. The cream I put on earlier keeps my legs warm and feel less-painful. From now on, each kilometer feels very far.

Around the 9th post (or 19th post for me), many runners still either run or walk up the hill (some with dogs or a baby stroller). For the last two kilometers, I meet with 5KM-Fun Runners, including kids and dogs. I keep pacing with my two-three fellow runners running along my sides. Now, it becomes the last 1 KM, then last 500 meters, and then last 100 meters. For the last push to the finish line, I am trying hard but the course makes a little climb up hill (my legs are also tired), so I cannot push as hard as I want to. But finally under the bright, sunny, and clear sky, I get to the finish line under 2 hours!! Great!!

Right after I receive the finisher medal, The Bear is calling my name, which is great to see him at this spot. He has probably been waiting for awhile. After get some drinks, walking (I keep on walking), The Bear and I are eager to welcome the full marathon finishers. After many times of tricks by the announcing lady (she keeps telling us that the first finisher would come in such and such minutes, but later changes her mind), the first male runner from Kenya finally arrives around 2 hours and a half. Our next mission (possible) is finding my red CTRRA bag. We are asking around many places and finally find Ms. Zheng and the bag.

Later, Yu-Hsiang shows up wearing a big smile on his face. He is proud of his first—especially, Taroko—Half Marathon race! Dumpling shows up a bit later and is followed by James. We are all satisfied with our accomplishment. We all made it! We now agree that ING race in Taipei will be a piece of cake! (Later, Yu-Hsiang says that he will register for the race on the first day in Taipei!) We are sharing our stories of the race as we are finishing our lunch box, shopping for clothes and later going meet Yi-Chiao and his family! Many stories have been told: how James and Dumpling were trying to run along or speed up to catch cute girls, how hard we were trying to run up the steepest section before Si Pen Tunnel, how Yi-Chiao and the family got to the hotel late last night, and how The Bear walked here after parking the car. James takes many photos of us, and we send postcards to ourselves and our friends before heading out on our 4-5 kilometer walk to the car!

Congratulations to all of us and to me for keeping my under-2-hr half-marathon record. Thank Yu-Hsiang, The Bear, James and Dumpling for making this 2-night-3-day trip in HuaLien fun! See the rest of the story of the trip on An Adventure on Formosa.

Photos:
Most are credited to James! Otherwise, noted.