The Good and the Bad in Taiwan: Trail running in preparation for a 100 miler

Great things are done when men and mountains meet. This is not done by jostling in the street.

-William Blake

Getting to the trails. I'm really glad I have a scooter because there's no public transportation to where I want to run.

I recently completed my first 100 mile foot race in November 7, 2015 which was call Rio Del Logo in order to qualify for the Western States 100 lottery. Once you complete a qualifying race it is not likely that you will be able to actually race. For example this year there were about 8000 people registered in the lottery and only about 350 names were picked for the race. So your chances of getting in are very slim but if you're persistent and register every year you might get to race in the next 5 to 15 years down the road.

The finish line at the Rio Del Lago.

In the meantime it's important to train to run those distances and since I'm totally new at this I figured I should try to register for any race I can. So after spending a long time looking at a website called Runners Plaza I finally found an 100 mile race to train for. It is called The Race Across Taiwan (as far as Google translate is concerned).

This is a road race and I've never spent much time running on roads. With this said it isn't necessarily going to be easier than my last 100 mile race. The course starts at around 1500 feet and climbs up to 10,800 feet by around mile 50. This is going to be especially challenging training for elevation since I'm living near sea level and there are no really big mountains nearby. But if I don't get altitude sickness I'm looking forward to seeing what big mountains in Taiwan look like.

I prefer being on trails so it's a new area for me but it is always good to see new places and do new things. The only problem is all the information about the race is in Chinese and I really don't know what I am getting into. I have no idea if there's going to be aid stations or how far apart they will be. All I know is that this the distance and the basic route. The road that I will be taking goes through Taroko National Park which is famous for its road with steep cliffs and tunnels. You can view that information about the race here but probably won't make much sense even if translated.

With this event in mind I have been spending a good deal of my vacation exploring trails in the close proximity to where we live (which means 20 to 45 miles traveled on my scooter). I should be running on the road for my training but I really don't like it especially here in Taoyuan where there is no shoulder in many places, lots of traffic, and drivers that don't look where they're going. I've already been hit by one car on a rainy day. Even though it wasn't going fast and I didn't get injured I still am wary whenever I hear a scooter or car coming from behind me.

One of the ladders to get up and down the steep parts.

Most of the trails here are too technical for running long distances. You spend most of your time climbing / power walking up or down steep slippery slopes but it's still fun to get out there.

A surprise to see a sign in English.

There are only a couple of places with trails that I've found that are close to Yangmei, one is Manyueyuan National Forest recreation area and Dong Yan Shan National Forest. I mentioned both of these places because I've only been there twice and most recently I ran to Dong Yan Shan National Forest then turned around and went to Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation area. These are probably my favorite places to run around. It was pretty secluded and on my last trip I saw wild monkeys, pheasants and an animal that looked like a possum but had a bushy tail. There are also supposed to be Formosan bears, leopard cats and yellow throated martens but haven't seen any of these critters yet.

Beware of the Monkeys and Vipers. Luckily I haven't encountered any vipers or other deadly snakes but have seen some skins discarded here and there.

Saw a group of wild monkeys. This one was confused why I was hanging out so long.

There are lots of huge spiders around. When you run into them it feels like fishing line.

There are also a lot of really old trees hidden in the labyrinth of trails in this area and not really close to any popular roads which makes it nice. I got to this part of the trail as the sun was going down and the trees reminded me of the ones in the movie Avatar in some ways.

One of the cool trees hidden away on the trails. They look very old and a lot different from anything that I've seen in different countries.

Some mushrooms growing on the trail.

They had some fossils on the mountain where crabs used to live.

Once you got further away from the roads parts of the trail were a little sketchy.

Plenty of steep climbs along the way.

A nice creek area that I passed as the sun was going down.

So many roots along the trail. I tried to move them a couple of times with my feet but they didn't budge.

More roots.

The other trail that I spend much more time running and hiking on is near Shih-men reservoir. At the reservoir there are a lot of different hiking trails but most of them are very steep with lots of ropes to aid your way up and down the terrain.

Lots of nice vines going on the trees on the trail next to Shih-men.

Plants with lots of thorns.

View from a clearing.

Banana trees but no ripe ones yet.

These dogs live on the top of the mountain away from any houses or roads. Luckily people bring them food.

Trail from Shih-men Mountain to the reservoir gets pretty busy on the weekend. Was difficult getting around the crowds at times.

A monument at the lake.

Another view from the trail.

Weird statue in front of the abandoned monastery.

A secret way to the trail past an abandoned monastery.

I even went from the reservoir to the outskirts of Taipei but the last 10 miles of the trail were pretty overgrown and hard to navigate. With all that said I'm grateful to have these trails around. It is nice to see banana trees and bamboo everywhere.