MapTaroko GPX
| Run | Marathon |
| Name | Taroko Gorge Marathon |
| City | Hualian |
| State | Hualien County |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Registration | We registered through a friend Sam |
| Transportation | Shuttle bus to Starting line |
| Lodging | Stayed at Cullinan Hotel |
| Comments |
• Registration : Friend of mine SP asked me if we wanted to run there. We could through Sam’s help get our registration done .. Thanks a thousand of times because 2013 edition had been using a ballot to determine marathon participants. Pretty much sold out in hours simply because Taroko Gorge Marathon is the only marathon to take place in a gorge surrounded by mountains. • Lodging : We stayed at Cullinan Hotel 4 nights which was booked through Agoda , • Expo : Taroko Gorge Marathon is organised by the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association. Sam collected our Bibs on our behalf . We meet him at station , got our Bib , Tshirt , Towel , Shuttle bus ticket then walked to Expo to buy NTW 100 the only Bag drop accepted on race day . !sic! We didn’t have to worry about anything except that on Oct 31, Halloween day; Hualian got shaken by a Huge 6.6 Earthquake, the organisation then decided out of nowhere to make the following announcement … Dear fellow runners! According to the earthquake that happened yesterday, the event will still be held tomorrow but all the 42.195KM runners will have to change to 21KM; only for your safety … Thank You! • Race day : Taking place annually Taroko Gorge Marathon runs through world-class heritage site Taroko National Park’s gorge surrounded by mountains in Hualien county in Taiwan. Race transportation will bring you down to both full and half marathon as they share the same starting point at the gate of the Cross-island Highway . Learned the night before that we will be missing the best part of the park. Hotel arranged a taxi to pick us up at 4:15 am. • Route : Normally the route swings along Taroko National Park’s marble walls, magnificent waterfalls winding its way by frantic canyons offering incredible views of the Gorge’s strenuous rapid and many other heavenly treasures letting you experience one of the world’s most impressive and breathtaking marathons. Hard to believe . • Finish line : It’s nothing else then Taroko National Park headquarter. Various Drinks such as Water or local Essence of Chicken, Bento Boxes are given to you right after the finishing line along with some freebies food samples the Nice Solid Medal is hard to swallow on that occasion. Bags were kept dry and can be easily collected. ParK Headquarter allow you to change under roof cover protecting you from the rain, that a positive thing ! Note : 3 out of 5 toes due to Frustration |