2010 Standard Chartered & TAIPEI 101’s Run-Up Race DeGasperi exacted his revenge by besting his arc 2010/6/4     Moving towards its sixth year, the 2010 TAIPEI 101 Run-Up Race has witnessed the most intense competition ever since its initiation. The weather cooled considerably thanks to the heavy shower and made the temperature just right for the race. Experienced runners from 38 nations around the world flew to Taipei to take part in the event, which kicked off after the starting gun fired by Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Tuo Chung-Hwa, Ministry of Finance Administrative Deputy Minister Tseng Ming-Chung, Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) President Sunil Kaushal and TAIPEI 101 Chairman Harace Lin. As it turned out, winners in both the men’s and women’s categories reshuffled with impressive results. In this year’s men’s category, spectators were treated to a brilliantly played revenge by Italian runner Marco DeGasperi. DeGasperi has lost to German runner Thomas Dold for two years running. The fruit of defeat for DeGasperi in last year’s race was particularly bitter since he finished only 10 seconds after Dold. And this year, DeGasperi started anew and won his place on the throne with a personal best of 11 minutes and 9 seconds. DeGasperi leapt with joy when he heard his results and claimed, “This is a sweet victory. What matters most to me is that my results improved!” Despite his status as a veteran runner and renowned athlete around the world in various road run competitions, it was the first time for Jonathan Wyatt (first runner-up) from New Zealand to take part in a run-up race. Though not particularly well-known in Taiwan, Wyatt emerged as a dark horse in the race and managed to stay ahead for a considerable stretch. In the end, Wyatt secured second place with a result of 11 minutes and 23 seconds. Wyatt noted that even he was surprised by his own performance and added “The Run-Up Race is a very interesting event!” On the other hand, Thomas Dold, the champion in 2008 and 2009’s TAIPEI 101 Run-Up Race from Germany, had certainly lost his spot under the limelight. Despite his best efforts during the race, Dold clocked 11 minutes and 28 seconds when he reached the finish line and collapsed from sheer exhaustion. Dold had to settle for the third place in the race and he certainly made no effort to conceal his disappointment as he put his hands on his head and sighed when receiving his prize. As for the women’s category, New Zealand runner Melissa Moon, who has just won the prestigious Empire State Building Run-Up Challenge earlier this year, continued her streak of impressive performance by coming in first place in the TAIPEI 101 Run-Up Race (women’s category) at 14 minutes and 16 seconds. Taiwanese runner Lee Hsiao-Yu certainly deserved honorary mention for her outstanding performance; she came in second place only 13 seconds behind Moon (at 14 minutes and 29 seconds). Intense competition was certainly not limited to just the individual categories; even the group category was not spared from the heat. When the race was over, Taipei City Fire Department regained its honor by beating Kang Hsuan Educational Publishing Group to emerge as the champion of the group category (Taipei City Fire Department lost to Kang Hsuan in the race last year) and Taipei County Fire Bureau came in second. The third, fourth and fifth runner-ups were GFC, China Airlines and VisEra Tech respectively. One of the most attention-grabbing contestants of the event has to be the 94-year-old Mr. Peng Hung-Nien, who would be participating in the event for the 6th year. For a moment everyone thought the senior contestant would not make it for the race when he showed up slightly later, but Mr. Peng managed to make it after all. With steady steps, Mr. Peng finished the race at 38 minutes and 5 seconds. When Mr. Peng made his way to the finish line, he received thunderous applause from everyone. Not only that, two of the youngest runners from the self-challenge individual group also performed impressively- the 15-year-old girl Chou Yu-Lun finished the race at 17 minutes and 20 seconds; the other 15-year-old chap Chen Yan-also received much praise when he completed the race at 33 minutes and 9 seconds. The participation of former Health Minister Yeh Chin-Chuan to challenge his limits at the race also drew substantial attention. He managed to finish at 25 minutes and 43 seconds, which is fairly impressive in terms of overall results. During the interview, he remarked, “The results have never been my main concern; what mattered most is challenging myself!” With regards to the 11 groups of visually impaired runners sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank, all runners were able to complete the race with the company of their running partners. The spirit of overcoming their physical limitations and to challenge themselves that these athletes have shown truly deserves our admiration and respect. When the visually impaired runners reached the outdoor observation deck on the 91st floor after climbing 2,046 steps of stairs, they could barely contain their excitement as they cheered jubilantly. Their rapture was well founded – by completing the race, these athletes have accomplished another seemingly impossible challenge in their lives. The online registration for the 2010 Standard Chartered Bank & TAIPEI 101 Run-Up Race took place over a period of seven days and it was met with unexpected enthusiasm from runners around the world. Within merely a week’s time and a vacancy of 2,500, more than 6,000 runners signed up to participate in the race. It set a new record for the race in terms of the number of interested participants for the past 6 years. It is also interesting to note the diversity of participants’ nationalities, as runners from 38 nations and regions across the world have signed up for the race. These countries include: Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, Israel, Hungary, India, Czechoslovakia, Jordan, Peru, Slovakia, Portugal, Germany, the United States, Japan and so forth, making the 2010 Standard Chartered Bank & TAIPEI 101 Run-Up Race unique in terms of runners’ diverse nationalities. The event came to a successful conclusion, and all participants have helped to vindicate the extremely rewarding experience of challenging oneself through the race.