Pan Yongcheng runs a marathon every day with his backpack on, and today he will arrive at Kaohsiung’s Xiaogang Airport to fulfill his dream of running around Taiwan.
According to Taiwanese media reports, 36-year-old Hong Kong triathlon coach Pan Yongcheng arrived in Taiwan early last month with a six-kilogram backpack, embarking solo on his “marathon-around-Taiwan” dream. Using Google Maps, he set a goal to run a marathon each day. By yesterday, he had completed 26 days and run over 1,100 kilometers. Yesterday, he ran to Guanmiao District in Tainan City, and plans to run back to Xiaogang Airport today to complete this remarkable feat.
“Three days earlier than the expected 30 days!” said Pan Yongcheng. Each day after running over 40 kilometers, he would rest at his accommodation, document the day’s experiences on Facebook, look for the next place to stay, choose his running route on the map, and calculate the distance. He stayed at churches several times in eastern Taiwan, but mostly opted for affordable homestays. His food and lodging expenses for the past month totaled just over NT$20,000.
Pan Yongcheng said that running with a backpack was more strenuous, and because he wanted to enjoy Taiwan’s scenery along the way, he didn’t set a fixed route or running pace. He ran five to six hours a day, and would even slow down to a walk when encountering beautiful views. But running with a heavy load and maintaining daily long-distance running made him quite tired, so he’s very happy to have fulfilled his dream.
“The air is much better than in Hong Kong, and there’s such strong human warmth!” Pan Yongcheng noted. Strangers often showed concern, cheered him on, and some even ran alongside him for a while. The only unexpected issue was that some homestays doubled their prices during the Lunar New Year.
Pan Yongcheng developed a love for Taiwan after participating in the Taipei Marathon years ago, and after running in several competitions here, he dreamed of circling the island by marathon. He decided to make it happen before last year’s Taipei Fubon Marathon, and took a one-month leave earlier this month. Having finished the run three days ahead of schedule, he plans to spend those extra days sightseeing.