It all started a few months ago when my friend Andrea talked me into taking part in a marathon. So three or four times times a week (depending if I woke up on time), we would get up and train at 6am. It was tough at first, but thankfully, we got better.
The marathon was set in Taroko gorge, and is said to be the only marathon in a gorge.
I was looking forward to the run as I would be running amongst fantastic scenery, but I knew it was going to be tough as it contained lots of uphill parts. Unfortunately, the city I live in is as flat as can be, so we couldn't put in much hill training.
A local friend had relatives who lived near the gorge, so we stayed in a great aboriginal village in the mountains. The hosts gave us a tour of their village, introduced me to as many people as possible, and even talked us into a sing-a-long! (Thakfully Adrian saved the day and did most of the singing)
The race day was great, I'm sure there were over 8000 people that took part, which just made the whole thing buzz with excitement.
When it came to the finish line, Andrea and I had thought about ways of distracting each other so that the other would come behind (a little push, a leg out, or a funny comment). However, when the finish line appeared, we were both just so happy to have made it that far that we did not care who came in front, and so we crossed the line together.
The whole experience was fantastic and so now I am training for my next marathon which is going to be held on December 21st in Taipei.
Oh, and my time for the Taroko race was 02:34:37, position number 1736. One in front of Andrea, hahaha!!
And thaks to Adrian for taking photos of the race!
To see the whole results click here
1. Hualian 2. Adrian and Andrea with our host (whose name I never found out!)
Getting ready for the race
At the start of the race
And at the finish line
1. The Andrews, myself and the host. 2. And the view from his home.
The train ride home
The views from the train along the east coast
Getting near Taipei
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