It was a gorgeous Sunday. Pristine trails in the mountains of Kenting National Park, open ridge trail running with the blue sea as a backdrop, a course with stunning views yet also tests your will…
That was my experience on March 31, 2019, when I took part in a 26km trail race organized by XTERRA Taiwan. Let’s just say it was an all-around great time, and I’ve decided that XTERRA Taiwan Trail Run is now one of my must-go events and it should be yours too!
Not persuaded? Here are 8 great reasons why: 1. Let’s get Tropical Kenting is located at the Southern tip of Taiwan, and well-known for its tropical climate. Warm weather year round combined with beautiful beaches and clear water, you can plan an awesome vacation around the trail race. 2. The Course is Oh! So! Fun! As a Taipei-based runner, my weekend runs are 80% on steep ups and downs plus slippery rocks. Super technical terrain and minimally-maintained trails. The majority of XTERRA Taiwan’s course consists of runnable dirt tracks with just the right touch of technical and challenging elements. 3. Elite Organization As trail race organizer ourselves, we know all the difficulties of putting on a good show in Taiwan. Great volunteers, happy venue atmosphere, impeccably-marked course, more than sufficient medical personnel and water stations, just to name a few remarkable things of the event. 4. Impossible to Get Lost Every junction that could have caused confusion was clearly marked and with a volunteer posted. All wrong paths were blocked off with XTERRA-marked tape as well. If you still got lost, you only have yourself to blame. 5. International Affair From the diversity of the participants and well-managed course to the resource invested in the venue, XTERRA Taiwan was truly a world-class event. It reminded me of the well-known races I was fortunate to run in Colorado, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. 6. Rookie Friendly The trail race offers thress distances. In 2019 it was 26km, 10km and 5km categories, so even if you are a newbie to the trail scene or just want to take on a shorter challenge, it has something for everyone. 7. Family Time Besides the trail race, XTERRA also set up an area for a push bike competition for little kids. Cuteness overload. The Kenting area is also very suitable for a family vacation. Plenty to do for everyone. 8. The Host of Asia-Pacific Championship The day before the trail run is the Asia-Pacific Championship for the off-road triathlon part of the weekend. It was exciting to watch badasses from around the world duking it out in the water, on mountain bikes and running on trails. Some of these elite athletes, despite recovering from a grueling triathlon, also participated on the trail run on Sunday. XTERRA Taiwan just announced the dates for 2020. March 28-29. Follow XTERRA Taiwan on Facebook. Hope to see you there next year!!! https://www.facebook.com/xterrataiwan
It was a gorgeous Sunday. Pristine trails in the mountains of Kenting National Park, open ridge trail running with the blue sea as a backdrop, a course with stunning views yet also tests your will…
That was my experience on March 31, 2019, when I took part in a 26km trail race organized by XTERRA Taiwan. Let’s just say it was an all-around great time, and I’ve decided that XTERRA Taiwan Trail Run is now one of my must-go events and it should be yours too!
Not persuaded? Here are 8 great reasons why: 1. Let’s get Tropical Kenting is located at the Southern tip of Taiwan, and well-known for its tropical climate. Warm weather year round combined with beautiful beaches and clear water, you can plan an awesome vacation around the trail race. 2. The Course is Oh! So! Fun! As a Taipei-based runner, my weekend runs are 80% on steep ups and downs plus slippery rocks. Super technical terrain and minimally-maintained trails. The majority of XTERRA Taiwan’s course consists of runnable dirt tracks with just the right touch of technical and challenging elements. 
3. Elite Organization As trail race organizer ourselves, we know all the difficulties of putting on a good show in Taiwan. Great volunteers, happy venue atmosphere, impeccably-marked course, more than sufficient medical personnel and water stations, just to name a few remarkable things of the event. 
4. Impossible to Get Lost Every junction that could have caused confusion was clearly marked and with a volunteer posted. All wrong paths were blocked off with XTERRA-marked tape as well. If you still got lost, you only have yourself to blame. 5. International Affair From the diversity of the participants and well-managed course to the resource invested in the venue, XTERRA Taiwan was truly a world-class event. It reminded me of the well-known races I was fortunate to run in Colorado, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. 6. Rookie Friendly The trail race offers thress distances. In 2019 it was 26km, 10km and 5km categories, so even if you are a newbie to the trail scene or just want to take on a shorter challenge, it has something for everyone. 7. Family Time Besides the trail race, XTERRA also set up an area for a push bike competition for little kids. Cuteness overload. The Kenting area is also very suitable for a family vacation. Plenty to do for everyone. 
8. The Host of Asia-Pacific Championship The day before the trail run is the Asia-Pacific Championship for the off-road triathlon part of the weekend. It was exciting to watch badasses from around the world duking it out in the water, on mountain bikes and running on trails. Some of these elite athletes, despite recovering from a grueling triathlon, also participated on the trail run on Sunday. 
XTERRA Taiwan just announced the dates for 2020. March 28-29. Follow XTERRA Taiwan on Facebook. Hope to see you there next year!!! https://www.facebook.com/xterrataiwan
