Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) The top five finishers in both the men's and women's division of the 2019 Taroko Gorge Marathon held Saturday were Taiwanese runners, with women's champion Huang Su-o defending her title from last year.
Huang fended off her rivals in a time of 3 hours, 4 minutes, 44 seconds in the 42.195-kilometer race held in one of Taiwan's most popular scenic spots, beating her time last year by nearly 6 minutes.
Su Chih-pin, who placed fourth in the men's division in 2018, finished first this year in a time of 2:38:48.
Each runner took home a prize of NT$80,000 (US$2,603).
The Taroko Gorge Marathon, now in its 20th year, attracted 15,000 runners, including more than 1,000 overseas participants, according to the Hualien County Marathon Road Running Association, the marathon's organizer.
In keeping with the marathon's eco-friendly theme, the race featured 8,000 reusable cups at two water refill stations, marking the first time the cups have been used at a marathon, association Chairman Wang Chin-te said.
The cups, which were first used at the Sun Moon Lake Swimming Carnival in September, will be sanitized before being used at the next event, Wang said.
