About 28,000 runners yesterday morning hit the road in the annual Taipei Marathon, with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) saying that the event might be the only large-scale city marathon held in the world this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The runners, mostly wearing masks, gathered in front of Taipei City Hall in cold and rainy weather before sunrise as they waited for Ko to fire the starting shot at 6:30am.
Ko said that since its launch in 1986, the Taipei Marathon has become part of Taipei’s city branding and an important event to promote international tourism.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
A total of 3,692 foreign nationals from more than 60 countries attended the race in 2018, he said.
More than 37,000 people registered to join this year’s race, but to maintain quality, only 28,000 people were selected through a lottery, he added.
The Taipei Marathon is the first marathon in the nation to obtain the World Athletics Bronze Label Road Race certification, and its routes are certified by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, but the city government is still working to improve the event and obtain the Platinum Label, Ko said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The slogan of this year’s marathon was “Dare to breathe” to encourage the runners to challenge themselves and show gratitude to the disease prevention personnel for their efforts to protect people from COVID-19 so that runners could take big breaths and run toward the finish line, the organizers said.
“This event might be the largest marathon held in the world since the pandemic broke out,” Ko said. “We want to thank all the disease prevention personnel for their continuous efforts, so that we can have such impressive success in fighting COVID-19.”
Runners were required to wear a mask at the starting point and after crossing the finish line, while spectators were required to wear a mask at all times during the event.
Photo: CNA
Ko urged people to continue to wear masks and wash their hands frequently to maintain Taiwan’s good disease prevention performance.
The Taipei Department of Sports said that 12 top runners from other countries were invited to join the race this year.
They underwent a 14-day mandatory quarantine, during which treadmills were provided at their hotels for them to practice, and were tested for COVID-19 several times before the race.
Kenyan runner Paul Lonyangata won in the men’s division, finishing in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 18 seconds, setting a record for the Taipei Marathon, while Ethiopian runner Askale Wegi won in the women’s division, finishing in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 31 seconds.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China. “We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address. In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that
RSS