Post-Race Report: 2020 Taiwan Shackleton Ultramarathon

[IAU Website Article Link] 
Prepared by Frank KUO and Samantha YING-HSIU WANG

General info

Race name: 2020 Taiwan Shackleton Ultramarathon
Race place and date:  Nantou Puli to Qingjing, Taiwan, April 25, 2020
Race distance:  50K Road

Introduction

As Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”  We held the 2020 Taiwan Shackleton Ultramarathon to implement Mr. Mandela’s idea last weekend.

The expert of John Hopkins University predicted Taiwan might be devastated because its proximity to China. But as of April 29, Taiwan has had 429 confirmed cases, 6 deaths. This success is no coincidence. A combination of efforts by medical professionals, government, private sector and society at large has armored our country’s defenses.

The Taiwan Shackleton Ultramarathon is a short edition of Run Across Taiwan Ultramarathon (RATU) which is a 246 kilometers coast to coast race. We pick the hardest section started from Nantou Puli, the heart of the island, to Nantou Qingjing, accumulated altitude 2471 meters in 50 kilometers distance to inspire and challenge the runners. 41 runners and 15 teams, total 77 participants took part in the race. The team participants need to finish the race together and demonstrate the spirit of Sir. Shackleton.  The following are the details.

The 50K race starts at 6 AM.  (Photo: CTAU Staff)

Participants need to wear the face mask and measure the body temperature while gathering at the venue.  (Photo: CTAU Staff)

Runners’ presentation

A young runner, Mr. CHU Hung-Jen wins 50 km ultramarathon. Successful participation in such a race presupposes hard physical work, mental strength and experience. Mr. CHU is a running club coach. Since his classes have been paused, he took the opportunity to train himself to prepare for his 100K challenge. He leads the field in personal category from start-to-finish in a really fast time of 5 hours 16 minutes. 

While in team side, Mr. HSU Ko-Jen and Mr. WU Yen-Te, set the team course record by 5 hours 46 minutes. When they arrived the finish line, Mr. WU gives his partner Mr. HSU a big thank-hug for the encouragement along the route, that really help him keep the pace and finally successfully get the first place in team category.

The next ultra-race of CTAU is the Taiwania Ultra Trail 100K in Cilan Forest on September 19-20, 2020. It will be the beginning race of 2020-2021 seasons.

The Shackleton race let runners run as a team and challenge the race together; they need to encourage each other and show their partnership. (Photo: CTAU Staff)

Along the route, the runners will run pass through the “May Snow” wonderland where Tung trees are in full blossom, it looks as if it had snowed on the mountains. (Photo: CTAU Staff)

Race report

Team Top 3 Results

1. HSU, KO-JEN & WU, YEN-TE (TPE) 05:46:05
2. Jack LIU & CHYAU, WOEI (TPE) 05:52:54
3. XIAO, CHUN-LIN & MAO, GE-MIN (TPE) 06:20:55

Male Top 3 Results

1. CHU, HUNG-JEN (TPE) 05:16:25
2. CHEN, CHING-CHIH (TPE) 05:34:10
3. YANG, CHIH-CHUAN (TPE) 05:37:34

Female Top 3 Results

1. LAI, LI-ZHEN (TPE) 06:54:40
2. LIU, DeNise (TPE) 07:44:40
3. SUN, TSUN-LIN (TPE) 07:46:15