Went back to do this race again, but not increasing the hour. Still went for the 12H daylight group. This time round my target was to hit 100k which I didnt managed to the last time.
The venue is still the same at the Xin Sheng Park. One loop is about 600m plus, but this time there were a few more other formats. There is an Ekiden relay to keep looping for the stipulated timing, also the 100km ( take your own sweet time run). You can always find the information about Taiwan races here:
http://www.taipeimarathon.org.tw/
Race pack on the spot
I decided to go for the same format of 12H run till drop, the sign up fee is about NT$3,100. This included the bib, support during the race, long sleeved race shirt. This time round I could feel the scale is larger and there were more attention given, there were media reports and also overseas star runners joining the race. This time round there were many elites taking part, the most outstanding one whom I felt was Joanna Zakrzewski, from England. She is an ultra runner who did the 48 H format run. In total she ran 411.458 Km within 48 hours. That is a good 8.5 Km per hour, I really wonder how her legs can take it and all that fatigue.
Race Pack Collection and D day
Finding your name in Chinese characters
The organiser sent the race entitlements to the local via courier services but for overseas runners, they can collect it on the spot when the race start. I reached the starting area at about 6:15 am on that day. The 48 H folks were still circling, while the night 12 H group were going to finish that shift. The organiser already put the race pack nicely for us to identify. After which, I headed to the rest tent to leave my stuff and get ready for the start. As usual 12H and 24 H format were all on the outer lane.
Items inside the race pack.
The goodie bag has a long sleeved tee shirt, bib , collapsable cup and gel shots. Although I do not take gel but it was labelled as vegan and preservative free. I decided to give a try. I could feel this year’s participants are well prepared type, like they know what is going on and are here for serious business. There is another 6H group which looked more rookie.
Race itself
Full support from family and friends
Before the start, weather was still windy and cold but as it moves on, the sun starts to get scorching. The race venue is also near to the Song shan Airport making it quite exciting to run under the plane.
Race start line, you will see this arch over and over again
Direction change took place around 3pm, roughly half way through the 12H. At around 2 pm, the 24 hours group came in to join. They will end together with the 48 hours on Sunday afternoon. Them being all fresh kinda give a boost to the 12H group on a hot afternoon. By 2pm, I could see the 12 H group getting smaller, I guess many are avoiding the sun or taking a short break. But there were a few hardcore goers still turning round and round non stop. Like the last time , saw this crazy dude going non stop and found out that he was the all time champion for this race. Could only see his name as 鄒宏傑, he seemed to be some sort of celeb in the running scene. Never changed up he just keep going and going, could guess that his marathon was a sub 3 type.
Bag deposit
The ladies are also not that bad, top lady looks strong, same thing she kept going. Her name was 周秀琴. Saw her a couple of times at the replenishment station near the start point but couldn’t get a chance to talk to her as she never really stopped.
This time round was a pretty quiet race for me beside meeting the volunteer lady, whose got the same name as me. We spotted each other on the number bib and took a picture together. I was too concentrated to really talk to her and get her contacts.
After a FM in the Vibrams, I switched to normal Jordan shoes. As I got older, I find it harder and harder to just wear Vibrams throughout, I guess it was from all the injuries sustain earlier part of my running path. I now know the reason of why some people focus a lot on the logistics and support for running and not just doing the sport itself. It does come back to haunt you as you grow older.
Food and Stuff
Ah bao, special delivery of the oyster noodles!
yummay Noodles
Must say the food is good having Lor Bak Rice and Oyster noodles ( without the oyster), tea break was some mixed grain congee. Besides that was a lot of fruits and replenishment of water, isotonic, bottles of coke. Coffee is also a must for me despite the hot weather.
Braised mince pork rice for lunch
I must say after the FM, I was more like dragging going rounds after rounds just motivating myself that the food counter is coming up. Went a few times to the portable toilet. The main toilet is still the same area but no showers. I doubt you will also want to shower on such cold weather.
Busy serving
After my first changed up, lunch was served, they had the famous Taiwan braised mince pork rice with egg and vege. People like me who are just for the fun actually stood there to enjoy a good bowl while seeing the rest going in circles. In between, the tea breaks had some cookies, chocolate, tons of fresh fruits like dates, oranges and bananas. They have water, isotonic, coke and hot coffee for the hydration portion. Really quite thoughtful.
Ending it
managed a cat prize again heng heng
To cut the long story short as I did about 133 rounds, scenery was all the same. Except it is from dark to bright to night. Having less and more and more planes flying above our heads. Was very glad that this time my mother, brought her rookies to give me support. Maybe because I told her it was doing hamster loop, so she could see me in real torture while if it was a race like Athens marathon, you probably only see the runner for a short while. But they stayed on till the end and even saw me at the prize giving ceremony. Category wise I came in 1st but overall was 8th. Total there were 20 women in the 12 hr run till you drop category. Organisers gave a finisher cert, medal and many perks like dried fruits sachet, water and on the spot dinner for all finishers. I went for a quick beer instead with my mother and her friends in a nearby shop. Probably will be another 5 years before I do this again, the real pain really comes in after the full marathon a bit of a torture. Oh well till then !