Sports in Taiwan

I just came back from an adventurous run throughout the Tianjhong region on the Baguashan mountain chain (Changhua and Nantou counties) and came to the realization that running in Taiwan is vastly different than running in any of the 50 states in US. I have been running for most of my life and have made physical fitness central to who I am. Since my father was a fitness nut, most of my early childhood memories are of traveling with mom, a day’s bike ride ahead of dad, and waiting for him to come into view as we would eagerly anticipate his arrival on foot or cycle. Needless to say, running, cycling and surfing have been close to my heart since I was in diapers.

I have run all over the world, from Hawai’i to Washington, DC, from the riverbanks of Strasbourg and Paris, France to the streets in Verona, Italy and through the small streets and countryside of central Germany. However, the most memorable running moments come from Croatia, where dad and I ran throughout what were once war-torn conflict zones of the mid-90s. As life has thrown me to this wonderful island nation of Taiwan, I have experienced something that I have not witnessed anywhere else in the world.

When running in America, or cycling, people are quick to judge and chastise. Cat-calls, “hey babies,” and laughter are usually what awaits for a tired runner or cyclist that has decided, god forbid, to wear anything that might resemble tight fitting. I remember, as a kid, making fun of my father’s cycling outfits, thinking that spandex was hilarious. However, cycling throughout the hot mountains here, I have found myself in similar attire. What awaits us solo fanatics here is not calls and jeers, but shouts of support. Be it running or cycling, I have yet to meet a passerby that has not thrown me some form of encouragement.

Running throughout the trails of Baguashan, I was greeted with a familiar “Ji Oh” (literally, put gas in it in Chinese/Taiwanese). This familiar expression is all too frequent here in Taiwan and can be heard with the thumbs-up sign from grinning farmers and school children that are awaiting a bus on a dirt road. Taiwan truly encompasses the Aloha spirit of Haiwai’i and the southern hospitality of the Deep South, combining these symbols of acknowledgement and creating something unique; Taiwan love. There is a spirit of excellence here in the motivational words of those who inhabit this small island nation.