Taroko park gets set for marathon

Taroko National Park will be the setting for the "2001 Taroko National Park Marathon'' on Nov. 24, and local and foreign athletes are welcome to participate, an official said.

Lin Chung-shan (林忠杉), an official at the Taroko park management office said that the event organizer will be accepting registrations until Oct. 20, and hopes to attract more sports lovers than last year.

Last year, 1,189 participants took part, including 16 athletes from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, the US, the UK and Malaysia. The title went to a Japanese participant.

Fang Ta-wei (方大維), a National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports offical and co-organizer of the event, told the Taipei Times that among the six national parks, Taroko would be the only one to hold an international marathon event this year.

Lin said that the Central Cross-Island Highway is so inundated by heavy traffic, tourists complain it is not safe to enjoy the landscape while hiking.

"Since the highway from Tien-Hsiang to Taroko will only be open for runners and hikers, participants and tourists will have the opportunity to take their time to enjoy the scenery of the entire gorge without being bothered by cars," Lin said.

The most distinguishing features of the Toroko marathon are the gradients and altitudes, which are from 50m to 575m above sea level.

The entry fee for the 42km event is NT$600 (NT$300 for students), and for the more faint of heart, NT$200 for the 5km event.

The contact numbers are as follows: The National Taroko Park:(Tel) 886-3-8621048 and (Fax) 886-3-8621083.

The Chinese Taipei Road Running Association: (Tel) 886-2-23579885, (Fax) 886-2-23579869.

The address of the official Web site is: marathon.taroko.gov.tw