The second EVA Air Half Marathon, the first to launch the world run race concept, kicked off in front of the Presidential Office Building on the 27th, with the end point at Dajia Riverside Park. The event attracted 20,000 participants. Gary Wang, President of Eastern Group, has always been a sports enthusiast and he participated in the 3 km race. He led the upper management and shopping experts of Eastern Group to participate in the marathon, and the Eastern Natural Beauty cheerleading team was also at the finish line to cheer them on. Gary Wang led by example in the hopes that more people can fall in love with exercise.
Coincidentally, since it was also the 30th anniversary of EVA Air, the 20,000 openings for the EVA Air Half Marathon had been long sold out. After the event, a total of ten EVA Air international long-haul and short-haul economy class tickets with no layover restrictions were given out. At the same time, twenty additional economy class tickets for domestic flights on Uni Air were also given out in the lucky draw. Local long-distance runners Hsieh Chien-ho and Tsao Chun-yu both participated in the competition, and Chou Ting-yin served as the starter pistol official for the 3 km run.
The event was divided into the half marathon, 10 km, and 3 km categories. President Gary Wang of Eastern participated in the 3 km race, and this was his first street run experience ever. Gary Wang also mentioned, “Today is the first time I have participated in a street run. I feel very happy. I trained quite a few times for this marathon and I also ran a test lap last week. I completed the 3 km run in 22 minutes, it was very tiring, but I am confident that I can finish the race.”
He also specifically talked about choosing the EVA Air Half Marathon for his first street running experience. “My hope is that all the employees can participate in healthy activities such as this. Secondly, EVA Air is our long-term partner, so if they organize an event, we would like to show our support.” In fact, Gary Wang maintains a good habit of regular, daily exercise. “I speed walk for 40 minutes every morning and walk 10,000 steps every day. Regular exercise is very important for a healthy body.”
Gary Wang set off immediately after serving as the starter pistol official for the 3km race, and he easily reached the finish line in about 20 minutes. The Eastern Natural Beauty cheerleaders were also cheering on the participants at the finishing line. “I made it two minutes faster than last time, I’m really happy and I feel good. People should run as exercise to maintain good physical health and keep their families happy.”
EVA Air Chairman Steve Lin also fired the starting pistol together with many of the VIPs today. He was very glad to see that the event was so popular. “First of all, I am very happy that this event has been such a success. It is a good sign that everyone showed up and it is also very beneficial to the development of tourism in Taipei. President Wang also thought that this was a good event, so he also came to participate in person.”
Lin further revealed, “The EVA Air Half Marathon will continue to be held in the future. At least the third half marathon will be held next year because the permit has already been obtained and the dates have also been confirmed. Next year, we will also try to increase the incentives and add more plane tickets, but there are limited spaces available. I hope everyone can come and sign up!”
In addition, Eastern Natural Beauty also set up a tent in front of the main stage of the event. If the public took a photo with the cardboard cut-outs there and shared it, they received a free sunscreen lotion. Many people, both male and female runners, took pictures with the cardboard cut-outs. The senior participants also enthusiastically took photos to get their free sunscreen lotion. It was obvious that this promotion was very popular, since after the race, the small tent was crowded with runners taking photos.