The MIZUNO Cup Kaohsiung's 2010 International Marathon / 2010 MIZUNO 高雄國際馬拉松
The MIZUNO Cup Kaohsiung's 2010 International Marathon
◎English text by Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photos courtesy of Pao Chung-hui, Kao Chia-tse, Education Bureau
The MIZUNO Cup (Kaohsiung's 2010 International Marathon) took place on February 28, 2010. The marathon was broken into three catagories each with a men and women's division. Over twelve thousand registered for the 5K category, two thousand eight hundred runners, from twenty-five countries, registered for the half marathon (28.238 km) and one thousand six hundred registered for the full marathon (42.195 km).
The marathon began in front of The Main Stadium for World Games 2009 and the entire route was encompassesed within the city's parameters. This allowed for residents to have greater access to the event and did not entail closing down any large freeways. Thousands of folks came out waving flags and cheering on the athletes. The athletes also got the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of Kaohsiung as the route took them through scenic parts of the city.
The Marathon was held during on 228 Memorial Day. Mayor Chen Chu felt this gave the marathon a deeper meaning and was symbolic of peace. She felt this was also very fitting, as she hopes it will be the first of many, much celebrated, annual marathons. Besides the many "usual" spectators that came out, there were also school cheerleadering squads, lion dance troupes, drummers and parades organized by temples. This definately added a unique local culture and flair to the whole event.
The marathon was also headed up by a motorcade. Leading the motorcade was "Apollo 5", a solar powered car built by students from National Kaohsiung University of Applied Science. This is the first time a marathon in Taiwan has deployed a motorcade led by a solar powered vehicle. This was also symbolic of Kaohsiung's commitment to environmental protection and beneficial to the runners that did not have to breathe in Carbon dioxide emissions.
Many of the top runners in the marathon were Taiwanese. In the full marathon women's division, 7 of the top 10 runners were from Taiwan and Taiwanese runner Li Siao-yu took the gold. 27-year-old Kenyan runner Richard Mutua Mutisya won the gold for the full marathon men's division, while Taiwanese runner Wu Wen-chien won the silver.
All the runners were touched by the warmth and friendliness of the people who cheered them on from the sidelines. Next year's Kaohsiung International Marathon is scheduled to be held on February 20, 2011. The thousands of multi-national runners all promised they would return again next year.
2010 MIZUNO 高雄國際馬拉松
◎文／王大衛
◎照片提供／鮑忠暉、高嘉澤、教育局
「2010 MIZUNO高雄國際馬拉松」於２月28日在世運會主場館前正式鳴槍起跑，吸引來自全球25國約１萬６千名的馬拉松好手共襄盛舉，沿途民眾夾道加油，熱情揮舞各式旗幟，場面盛大。高雄市長陳菊表示，馬拉松象徵和平意義，所以高雄市選在二二八和平紀念日舉辦活動，希望往後年年都舉辦，成為高雄的傳統。
此次賽事全程組(42.195公里)逾1600人報名，超半程組(24.238公里)有2800 人，而健康組(4.5公里)更吸引超過1.2 萬人參加。更特別的是，不同於許多城市的馬拉松比賽將路線拉上高速公路，高雄國際馬拉松全程在市區繞行，包含民眾、學校出動的啦啦隊、醒獅隊，沿途熱情地為選手們加油打氣，還有廟宇的開路鼓、陣頭等，極具在地特色。
此次擔任選手前導車的是高雄應用科技大學太陽能車「阿波羅５號」，這也是國內首度有太陽能車前導的馬拉松賽事，不但展現高雄對生態、環保的重視，廣受選手好評。友善、熱情的高雄人和沿途優美的城市景觀讓選手們對高雄均留下深刻的印象。
台灣選手在高雄國際馬拉松賽跑出佳績，全程馬拉松女子組方面，台灣選手在前十名席次中就獲得７席，冠軍由台灣選手李筱瑜拿下；全程組馬拉松男子組，冠軍由27歲的肯亞選手Richard Mutua Mutisya奪得，亞軍則由台灣選手吳文騫拿下，為地主國保住銀牌。
第二屆高雄國際馬拉松預定明(2011) 年２月20日舉行，各國選手相約明年高雄再見。