The Jioutian Folk Performance Troupe yesterday succeeded in achieving its goal of running a 250km ultramarathon across the Sahara while carrying a statue of the Taoist deity Nalakuvara, better known in Taiwan as santaizi, or the Third Prince.
Ultramarathons are a huge test of human ability, involving running long distances in extreme conditions and inhospitable environments, but the members of the Jioutian Folk Performance Troup took the challenge to another level by having its members take turns carrying the 17kg statue of Nalakuvara in an effort to show the world the beauty of Taiwanese folk art.
The team included eight runners, seven coaches and two team leaders.
Photo: CNA
The youngest team member was 16-year-old Tsai Yi-kai (蔡奕凱), while the only female member was 20-year-old Chen Kuan-ying (陳冠瑩).
In order to endure the extreme climate of the Sahara — which can see temperatures as high as 50?C — for the duration of the seven-day marathon, team members trained for the past six months under the midday sun in temperatures of 35?C to 38?C prior to their departure for the Sahara on Sept. 28 for the ultramarathon, which began last Sunday.
Their training included altitude training on Hehuanshan (合歡山), which is more than 3,000m high, as well as running in the sand in high temperatures in Kenting (墾丁), Pingtung County, and in Penghu County.
In Penghu, team members ran 100km within 24 hours. Team members also ran 40km from central Taichung City to Dadushan (大肚山) and back as part of their training.
Chen, who in the past had been caught gambling by police, but turned her life around two years ago, said the training, including weight lifting and a daily 15km run, was very challenging.
“Chen Kuan-ying and Tsai Yi-kai are all better than me,” said Lee Kuang-cheng (李光正), administrative manager of the troupe and one of the team members. “I fainted during the training in Penghu, but they completed the course without a problem.”
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
A man in Tainan has been cleared on charges of public insult after giving the middle finger during a road rage incident, as judges deemed the gesture was made “briefly to express negative feelings.” In last week’s ruling at the High Court’s Tainan branch, judges acquitted a driver, surnamed Cheng (程), for an incident along Tainan’s Nanmen Road in September 2023, when Cheng had spotted a place to park his car in an adjacent lane. Cheng slowed down his vehicle to go into reverse, to back into the parking spot, but the car behind followed too closely, as its driver thought Cheng
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS