Thu, Apr 04, 2002 page15

• Toughing it out for Taiwan

  LOOKING UP Team Kwan Yang seemed unprepared for the rigors ahead in Saturday's Action Asia Challenge, but sometimes appearances are deceptive

  • By Ian Bartholomew / STAFF REPORTER
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Under the glare of Sanchung Athletic Stadium's floodlights last night, the three members of Kwan Yang (觀陽隊) team prepared for Taiwan's second Action Asia Challenge.

  The top-placed local team in last year's competition could once again be the country's best hope of success in this year's competition, to be held at Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County this Saturday.

  

  Liu Fu-cheng, a passionate distance runner, trusts in the team's strength in the running discipline to pull them through the Action Asia Challenge despite their lack of experience in other disciplines.

  PHOTO COURTESY OF STAR TV

  Though eager to take up the challenge, team members said their preparations had been too last-minute and they could find themselves at a disadvantage against well practiced teams from Hong Kong and Thailand.

  

  Team Kwan Yang's Kuo Chung-chih, 50, Lin Fu-cheng, 45, and Sun Jin-lung, 42,on the podium after completing the first Action Asia Challenge in Fuhsing, Taipei County last year. They came first in the Evergreen category and fifth overall.

  The three men, Kuo Chung-chih, 50 (郭宗智), Lin Fu-cheng, 45 (林福城), and Sun Jin-lung, 42 (孫金龍), came first last year in the Evergreen category of the Action Asia Challenge, which requires a combined age of 120.

  Good record

  

  Kuo Chung-chih, team leader of Kwan Yang, is a former national marathon champion. According to team members, it was their speed on the running sections of the course that allowed them to finish so strongly.

  PHOTO COURTESY OF STAR TV

  Despite a number of missteps during the race -- it was the first time any of them had taken part in an adventure race -- they also managed to place in the top five overall.

  "We basically just toughed it out," said Lin, a keen distance runner who works as a taxi driver. They certainly had few advantages going into the race.

  The three had been in a kayak just once before and Sun rappelled for the first time during the race, from a 30m-high bridge.

  "We weren't even carrying water," Sun said, "Thank god it rained or we would have died of thirst."

  Last year, contestants were not required to provide equipment, but this year it will be different, as the competition gears up to the same level of competition found in Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia.

  Although kayaks will be provided by the competition organizers, contestants must provide their own climbing harnesses, carabiners (to fasten ropes), figure eights, gloves, helmets and mountain bikes.

  During its interview with the Taipei Times the team spread out its equipment on the Sanchung Athletic Stadium pitch, with most of the items still in plastic wrapping and the price tags not yet removed. "We were only told about this a couple of days ago," Lin said.

  The three men met as running partners and Kuo, the team leader, has already become part of Taiwan's sporting history.

  In his mid-20's he was crowned Taiwan's marathon champion four times and two years ago, aged 48, he broke the national record for the 100km, or ultramarathon, while racing in Holland.

  Breaking the mould

  By winning the national championships, Kuo was one of the first ethnic Chinese to break into a field that has traditionally been dominated by Taiwan's Aborigines.

  He currently works as a public servant at Taiwan Rail.

  "We decided to take part in the race simply to do something different," Kuo said, adding that he was not interested in becoming more proficient in more disciplines.

  Last year in the kayaking leg, Kwan Yang was observed spinning around in the water before capsizing.

  Asked if they had done any kayak training since then, Lin shrugged and said, "Well, we don't have a boat, do we! At least on Sun Moon Lake we won't have to deal with rapids."

  So, they will be relying on luck and their strength in the running sections to do well. "Basically if you are not fast in the running legs, you don't have much of a chance," Lin said.

  The addition of the mountain biking leg is also troubling the team, who with the exception of triathlete Sun, have little bicycle experience.

  Even Sun, who races on a road bike, said he had to borrow his teenage son's bike for this race.

  The team had gone on its first and only off-road cycle the day before and Lin said it had been pretty scary. "Actually, we might be faster if we simply carry the bikes and run," he said ruefully.

  "We have been given very little time to prepare," said Lin, adding the problem was exacerbated by the lack of a regular adventure race circuit in Taiwan.

  According to Lin, last year teams were given more time to prepare, because of the role played by the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association (中華民國路跑協會) in helping organize the race.

  This year, with those duties taken over by international sporting giant IMG, local groups have been denied the benefit of pre-race demonstrations in disciplines they may not be familiar with.

  Otherwise, the return of veteran teams -- such as Asia Non-Stop, Ford No-Boundaries and Team FEAR -- should ensure that the race is run at a cracking pace.

  Kwan Yang's team members, however, are unfazed. "I think there are some really good people in Taiwan," Kuo said, "it's just that this is still so new."

  Participating primarily for the fun of it and confident of the team's physical condition and team spirit, Lin said. "It will be all right when the time comes."
• Most Popular

  • 1

    LA Dodgers beat Braves to secure 7th straight win

  • 2

    Memes, social media disinformation fuel support for Burkina junta leader

  • 3

    CIA releases two Mandarin-language videos inviting officials to spill secrets

  • 4

    Notes from Central Taiwan: Taiwan’s health system is going to erode, not collapse

  • 5

    MAC flags CCP-linked essay contest