Taipei, May 21 (CNA) A half-marathon held Sunday in Jinhu Township in the island county of Kinmen to boost tourism attracted more than 1,600 runners.
Ho Chin-ping finished the 21.1-kilometer half marathon in 1 hour 17 minutes and 32 seconds to take first place in the men's division, while Fang Yun-ju won the women's division in a time of 1:52:23, according to the Kinmen County government.
The event, which also included a 10-km fun run, was the latest in a series of races aimed at boosting tourism in Kinmen's five townships.
Sunday's run was the fourth in the series following the first one held in Lieyu Township on Oct. 7, 2016, the second one held in Jinsha Township on Dec. 4, 2016 and the third one held in Jinning Township on March 5 this year.
The final run in the series is scheduled for Nov. 26 in Jinsha, and the county government said that after seeing participation in the runs grow from one race to the next, it was considering making the circuit an annual event.
Kinmen has long positioned itself as a center for distance-running, and the five-run series, beyond showcasing tourism, was the latest effort in the county government's campaign to promote the sport.
Its signature event, the Kinmen Marathon, was certified in 2007 by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), an association of long-distance running races, making it the first of Taiwan's outlying islands to meet international standards for marathons, according to the county government.
