Dec
11
Tripped-Out Running – Tapping through Taipei
Photo Credit: IMG 4089 by Flickr user Jimmy Yao, used under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 Generic license.
The cities of Asia can be both challenging and rewarding for the runner determined to maintain his or her regimen while traveling. Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (Republic of China) is typical of such cities, balancing the challenges of crowded streets, smog, and few open areas with the joy of finding the rare gem of a running route in the city.
Taipei’s humid-subtropical climate is conducive to year-round running – so long as you have a tendency to get out early and don’t mind a bit of oppressive humidity (and an occasional downpour) even when you do. The high temperatures reach 19 (January) through 34 (July)º C (66 – 94º F) with overnight lows around 14-24º C (57-76º F), throughout the year. In fact, getting out early really is the only option, as the city grows crowded with not only pedestrians and cars, but also the ubiquitous scooters that buzz by on both road and sidewalk from the morning rush hour (beginning before 8:00) through late at night.
It is also important to note that the sidewalk conditions in Taipei present other challenges. Many shops have raised the sidewalks in front of their doors or installed glazed tiles, making for hazardous conditions. This is especially true after an all-too-frequent rain shower, or when the streets are a bit grimy from the summer heat (though this has seemed less of a problem on more recent visits). Beyond just the risks of slipping or tripping, the harder-than-anything surface is challenging to spend lengthy periods of time on, so you will want to seek more traditional asphalt if you are planning on an extended stay.
I have been to Taiwan a total of eight times, and on each stop I have spent at least one night in Taipei. In the early 2000’s, the hotel of choice was always the Grand Hyatt Taipei in the Xinyi district, near the new Taipei 101 (formerly the tallest building in the world – now the third tallest), Convention Center, and City Hall.
Route map to Da'an Forest Park and the CKS Memorial (click to expand)
While one could always choose to just weave their way through the streets (which are laid out in a relatively logical grid-like fashion), a short jaunt of around two miles easy on Xinyi Road takes you to Da’an Forest Park. This offers the opportunity for running uninterrupted loops of a mile each while observing the morning Tai Chi practitioners. The loop may get repetitive, but it is a far cry better than the constant start and stop of the city intersections, and the need to weave your way around scooters and early-morning shopkeepers, both of which occupy significant portions of the sidewalk.
Further along Xinyi Rd. is the Chiang Kai Shek (CKS) Memorial Hall, which provides another opportunity for uninterrupted loops of just around 1.25 miles. This is just a mile further than Da’an Park, and both locations are accessible from multiple locations around the “old” city, with a little bit of preparation.
Route map to the Tamsui River path (click to expand)
The most recent trip to Taipei provided an opportunity to base my morning run out of a new location, the Taipei Evergreen Laurel Hotel, in the Jhongshan District. This is a bit further east from the heart of the city, and thus closer to the river. Not realizing how close it also was to the CKS Memorial Hall, I opted to head for the Tamsui River to see if there were opportunities for uninterrupted sections of the route.
Taking Songjiang Road north to Minsheng West Road (Nanjing Road is also an option), I eventually found my way to the river – unfortunately it was a good two miles to get there, and with a desire to take it easy after the 20 hours on planes the previous day, this only gave the opportunity for a mile or so along the river. It was worth it – there is a bike path that heads in both directions and, while the scenery isn’t all that great (as you are looking out more on the “suburb” of New Taipei City than any historical or grand buildings), the asphalt path gives a nice break from the stop-and-go of the city. And, best of all, there are no scooters allowed.
The path along the Tamsui River
As with most cities in Asia, it helps to plan your route well in advance and carry a copy with you, as well as some cash and the name and address of your hotel written in the local language, as most taxi drivers don’t speak English. But the opportunities for running in Taipei are just good enough to make it worth doing if you should get the chance to visit this bustling city.
If you are interested, there is a small set of photos from my latest predawn run along the Tamsui River posted on Flickr
