Over 15,000 runners from nearly 20 countries, including the USA, German, Japan, Netherlands, etc., participated in the first Annual Taiwan Marathon. At 5:30 a.m. May 3rd, Chiu Ching-Chun, the Hsinchu County Magistrate, Chang Chen-Rung, the Speaker of Hsinchu County Council, and Ji Zheng, the president of Hope Foundation, fired the starting gun for Full Marathon division, Half Marathon division, 12 km division and 3 km division individually in front of Hsinchu County Stadium on Guangming 6th Road. In addition, for the first time, there were over 800 runners from China, including runners from Golden-IAU-labelled Xiamen International Marathon. The first Annual Taiwan Marathon was held by Dong Zhan Sports Equipment CO., LTD., and was directed by Hsinchu County Government.
The event was opened by the famous vocalist Hsu Wen-Long. Magistrate Chui and other guests waived hands and cheered on the runners at the start. Hsinchu County Government was particular grateful for the event organizer Dong Zhan Company and the help from policemen and volunteers who made the event ran smoothly. It also welcomed athletes from nearly 20 countries to Hsinchu County for the contest. It was also Tung blossom season in Taiwan during the event. The athletes could enjoy beautiful scenery of falling white Tung flower as they ran through Hsinchu County.