Taipei Marathon

The Taipei Marathon is an annual marathon held in Taipei, Taiwan, on the third weekend in December. The event has an Elite Label from World Athletics and has been held annually since 1986. It is the preeminent long-distance annual running event in Taiwan. On December 22, 1985, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association organized a road running demonstration event that served as a warm-up for the first Taipei International Marathon. The first Taipei International Marathon begins on March 9, 1986, with over 2,000 participants, including elite athletes from seven nations, running through the streets of Taipei. All of the starting and finishing points are on Ketagalan Boulevard. The Taipei International Marathon ran until 1989, when it was forced to halt due to the construction of the Taipei Metro. It has spawned a new marathon race, held on National Freeway 3, which is currently closed to traffic. After the Taipei International Marathon resumed, the event was renamed "Taipei Freeway Marathon" and relocated to National Freeway 1. Taipei International Marathon returns on November 14, 2001, with the starting and finishing points relocated to Taipei City Hall Square. The event was renamed "ING Taipei International Marathon" until 2008 after ING Aetna Insurance became the title sponsor in 2003. Fubon Financial Holding Co. became the sponsor of the Taipei International Marathon in 2009. This year's race has 12,100 participants, the highest number in the event's history. The running route has also changed significantly, with the addition of a section of riverside park from Nangang to Songshan in 2011.