On March 9, the starting pistol for Anding District’s 2019 Run for Health was fired at 8am, sending off runners who started the race at Anding Junior High School’s front gate. The weather wasn’t cooperating though, so the organizers only had the community and non-district resident divisions run, as they were concerned about the health and safety of children competing in the junior high and elementary divisions. With the crowd cheering for the runners, Anding District Chief Liu Shih-Hsiung and Anding Junior High School’s Principal Chen Hui-ju were at the opening ceremony to fire the starting pistol. Those at the event weren’t afraid of chilly springtime temperatures, and after the last group of participants finished running the ground was still soaked with water.
Anding District Chief Liu Shih-Hsiung expressed that Anding District Office promotes the concept of all citizens getting exercise, and every year in the springtime the district office and Anding Junior High School put on a road run together. On top of encouraging everyone to get outside as the weather gets warmer and flowers bloom, the district office also wants people to do activities that involve health and sports. Therefore, this event helps spread the message of exercise while introducing Anding’s beautiful sights and down-to-earth residents to people from outside the district. Anding literally means “calm and orderly” in Chinese, and so events like this ensure Anding District is a happy community that lives up to its name.
This year’s race was separated into four divisions: elementary, junior high, community (i.e. Anding District residents), and an open division for people who aren’t district residents. The elementary and junior high divisions were postponed to a later date, so only the community and non-resident divisions completed the seven-kilometer run. This year’s overall champion was once again Mr. Han Ching-te, who was part of the non-resident division and finished with a time of 25:31:96. The other division winners are as follows: Li Hsin-lung, first place in the men’s community division at 25:33:17; Lin Ya-fen, first place in the women’s community division at 36:31:98; and Chan Chia-hsin, who won first place in the women’s non-resident division with a 34:21:17.