Taiwanese ultramarathon runner Tommy Chen on Friday won the men’s division of the 230km For Rangers Ultra in Kenya.
Chen completed the five-day race, which started at 8am on Monday, with a time of 21 hours, 18 minutes.
Chen documented his experiences from the race on Facebook with posts about his progress and the challenges the runners faced.
Photo: CNA
The athletes not only faced a changing climate, high altitudes and diverse terrain, but many sections of the route required both hands and feet to traverse, he said.
Part of the course was through a wildlife reserve, where animals roamed freely, he wrote.
Athletes had to stay alert for possible encounters with lions, elephants, giraffes and other wildlife, he wrote.
Photo: CNA
At one point, three lions were 200m from him and two other runners, Chen said.
In addition to the environmental and climate challenges, Chen also experienced gastrointestinal discomfort after taking medication to ward off malaria before the race, which made it difficult for him to sleep, he said.
He even got lost on the fourth day and was forced to run an extra 2km, he said.
Chen won every stage, but on the fifth and final day, he fell behind American Ken Rideout and Russian Evgenii Ustyugov, only overtaking the pair in the final 8km of the ultramarathon.
Ustyugov finished second with a time of 21 hours, 28 minutes, while Rideout was third in 22 hours, 47 minutes.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
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