This guide is for regular human beings like me—middle-pack runners who sometimes have too many beers with friends and then decide to attempt something a little outside their comfort zone. I’m Tom from Runivore, a good friend of the Beast Runners, and a volunteer for Formosa Trail since its inception. My official title is the MC, I also help out as the guy who sends runners out on the course at 4 AM on Saturday and then greet them as they return over the next 28 hours. I’ve seen people come back from this adventure noticeably changed. First come the badasses—running gods, not regular humans—returning smiling and still looking strong. Later, many zombies shuffle to the finish, wearing a look of disbelief about what they’ve just accomplished.
In the class of 2024, the year I participated in the 104, the official results show 54 runners finished out of the 75 who started. That statistic skews the finishing rate high, though, because many switched to the 75 km category if they were falling behind cutoff times. I was the 29th finisher in the group with a time of 24 hours and 3 minutes – three minutes past my estimated finishing time.
Below is my guide to attacking race day. You can also visit the abridged version with Chinese and Japanese options on the formosa website.
What This Guide Skips
I’m focusing here on race day itself. I’m skipping details like:
- Five months of preparation:
- Losing about 10 kg—mostly by quitting drinking from June to November.
- Signing up for every trail race I could find to build endurance and confidence; the longest was an 80 km trail race on forest roads—nothing compared to Formosa Trail, but a good endurance test.
- Getting and learning to use hiking poles (highly recommended).
- Spending time with Coach JP (a four-time FT104 finisher) and absorbing as much knowledge as possible.
- My gut feeling of what was the most helpful training: doing a 400 m-elevation hill near my house as many times as possible as race day neared. It’s quite vertical, and proximity to home gave me zero excuses not to do it three or four times a week. I also helped Petr with some trail preparation which included the first big climb of the race.
- Losing about 10 kg—mostly by quitting drinking from June to November.
Pre-Race Day
Friday before the race
My recommendation is to get to Puli as early as possible. Breathe in the air, soak in the weather, and chill. Eat some good grub, stay hydrated, and plan to maximize your sleep before the event. The usual rule applies: try to get as much solid sleep as possible the week before—bank up those hours.
I was the first person to pick up my pack (benefits of knowing the organizers), acting as their guinea pig while they tested the process of checking mandatory equipment, fitting me with the GPX tracker, and giving last-minute instructions. All went smoothly. After receiving my bib, I prepared my drop bag (you can pick it up at CPC, around the 45 km mark). I included extra nutrition, a warmer long-sleeve shirt, socks, Vaseline, and a Red Bull.
Race Day
I slept at the venue (a beautiful campground) and woke up around 2:30 AM. I swallowed some oatmeal, drank water, gathered my belongings, and made it to the start area just after 3 AM, where runners for the 104 km and 75 km categories were gathering. This is a time of well-wishing, a bit of anxiety, and shared nervousness. Time flies, and before you know it, 4 AM arrives—and it’s time to rock and roll.
Below, I’ve organized my race thoughts section by section, checkpoint to checkpoint, based on what my watch recorded.
You can check the official distances and cut off times at https://formosatrail.com/course/, Beast Runner Petr has also published an abbreviated guide for regular humans here: https://formosatrail.com/article/how-to-guide-104km-race-formosa-trail/
Start to CPA: Let the FUN Begin
- Distance: 14 km
- Elevation Gain: 1 413 m
- Highest Peak: 1 669 m (Old Wujieyue / 舊武界越)
It starts as a nice 4 km nighttime jog through the city of Puli as you make your way toward nature. Once you hit the trees, you’ll immediately encounter the first big climb. Enjoy those first 4 km of flatness—you won’t see much of it for a while. The climb lasts and lasts—about 5 km of distance and 1000 m of elevation gain—before anything feels even remotely flat. You’ll summit Old Wujieyue (舊武界越) at 1,669 m, then hit “Point X” on the official Formosa Trail map. My suggestion: find a smooth climbing groove and don’t push too hard—it’s going to be a long day (and night). I definitely relied on my poles here to keep moving; there are a few slippery spots, and poles help with stability and spreading some work into your upper body.
After Point X, take a left and head toward CPA. From X to CPA, it’s a bit of up and down, with some sections quite runnable. In all, it took me about 3 hr 9 min to complete: roughly 6–7 min/km on the flats and 15–25 min/km on the ascents, with the rolling section around 11 min/km on average.
Tip: CPA is a prime spot for Instagram shots in the tea fields—Beast Runners usually place an official photographer there. Get ready to smile and celebrate finishing the first big climb of what might be a very long day 🙂.
CPA 1 to CPA 2: Get into the Groove
- Distance: 9.5 km
- Elevation Gain: 450 m
- Highest Point: 1 544 m
Refill your bottles and brace yourself for a runnable out-and-back section. As I started this stretch, I saw the eventual winner finishing—he was about 9 km ahead of me by then. I gave up any hope of podiuming and settled into this 9.5 km of rolling forest roads. There’s a great view at the turnaround—take a quick glance and head back. It took me about 1 hr 40 min for the round trip. Make sure to refill fully before heading out again, because more technical trails await.
When you return to CPA 2, you’ll see 40 km runners—most will be happy and smiling. Soak up those smiles; they’ll energize you. I ran into an old friend here, and we headed to the next checkpoint together, catching up and making the kilometers fly by.
CPA 2 to CPB: Getting Kind of Wild
- Distance: 11.5 km
- Elevation Gain: 1 430 m
- Highest Point: 1 640 m
After refueling, get ready for trail variety—Petr (the organizer) calls some upcoming sections “Wild.” Make sure you top off your water, as temperatures might start warming up. Although this section is under 12 km, it took me 2 hr 45 min to complete—the technical terrain makes it challenging. You’ll run along a ridge with nice views to your right, but do not stray from the marked course: the drop on your right is quite dramatic. The section finishes when you hit a farm road with more stunning scenery (there is no lack of nice views in this race). My average pace here was about 15 min/km—mainly due to the highly technical second half.
Another thing to note: on this section, you’ll suddenly find yourself surrounded by excited 40 km runners. They’ll come in both directions at various speeds, so let faster people pass and yell a friendly “jie guo” (借過) if you need to move through.
You’ll also pass two critical junctions: Point X—where you might see some poor souls (they did not train properly) from the 40 km race approaching from the right—and Point Y, the turn toward CPB. If you finish the 104 km, you’ll come back to Point Y later in the day/night as a changed runner.
It was in this section of the race where I latched onto Coach JP, an experienced FT104 runner, and stayed with him until the finish. I’d like to say we helped each other conquer obstacles, but in reality, his experience and never-give-up attitude helped me successfully finish the course.
CPB to CPC: Keep the Party Going
- Distance: 10.6 km
- Elevation Gain: 550 m
- Highest Point: 1 605 m
Refill, eat, and say goodbye to your 40 km runner friends—this is where the field thins out. You have fewer friends now, but the friendships you have grow closer. The next 11 km are mostly on country roads, featuring beautiful views. It was the fastest section for me, with an average pace of about 11 min/km. I was already fantasizing about my drop bag goodies at CPC and a fresh pair of socks.
Warning: CPC is a little dangerous. It feels cozy: there’s warm food (they really cook up a storm), your drop bag, and a last chance to switch to the 75 km. So take care of business quickly and hit the road. The biggest challenge of the race awaits—make sure you fully stock up on nutrition and electrolytes.
CPC 1 to CPC 2: This Will Not Be Easy
- Distance: 27 km
- Elevation Gain: 1 610 m
- Highest Point: 2 017 m
You’ll remember this 27 km for the rest of your life. You start at CPC 1 (45 km mark) and don’t return until 72 km—a 6.5-hour stretch for me. There’s a small Support Point D that officially offers 1 liter of water per runner (unofficially, some cheerleaders bring extra beverages and snacks).
When you reach CPC, grab your drop bag, change socks, and eat—CPC has really good food. You’ll be back to CPC after about 27 km, so plan to use that drop bag one more time.
When you leave CPC, you’ll head downhill for 5 km into a little town—which is a rarity on this course. After that, you get a flat, totally runnable section for about 5 km to Support Point D. Take full advantage of every drop of water or snack at D, because the tough part cometh next.
Shortly after Point D, you leave the road and head up a trail toward Dajian Mountain (大尖山). ChatGPT tells me this translates to “Big Sharp Mountain” or “Great Pointed Mountain” (and it’s not wrong). You’ll start at about 645 m elevation and climb to 2 017 m, all after running over 50 km—so all that hill training pays off now.
The climb up Dajian Mountain is really like three climbs:
- Section 1: Single-track forest trail.
- Section 2: Forest roads with shortcuts (straight up) to the next road section.
- Section 3: Bouldering to the peak.
Every one of those felt a little too long. The roads offered a small respite from pure climbing. For me, it started getting dark as we finished the second section and moved onto the boulders. It felt never-ending: you’d look up at “stars,” realize it was a runner bouldering hundreds of meters ahead, then look again and see the “stars” still there, still moving—and still far away. But there’s only one way to go, so you keep moving. Eventually, you make it, and you get a little giddy—you’ve conquered the toughest part of the course. (Fun fact: the last kilometer of this climb took me 50 minutes according to Strava.)
If you make it to the top, you’ll find a much more civilized way down—a runnable section back toward CPC. Head toward warm food, a fire, and your drop bag. You might be sleepy, but the party must go on.
CPC 2 to CPB 2: I Want to Go Home
- Distance: 18 km
- Elevation Gain: 830 m
- Highest Point: 1 500 m
The hardest part here is leaving CPC. There’s a cozy fire and warm noodles, but my partner in crime was vigilant about the time. After what felt like five minutes, he reminded me we’d already rested for 15 minutes. So we took off. The next section is all dark, on not-so-technical trails that eventually open onto a wide road. We ran into the town of Wujie, where locals were partying outdoors, cheering for runners and offering local foods and drinks (be careful if you indulge). Wujie also has a couple of small shops still open where you can get a cold caffeinated beverage.
After you leave the town, stuff gets real again. There’s a climb Petr marks as “steep” on the official map—and he’s not kidding. My hiking poles were super helpful as we made our way up. It feels amazing to finish that “last climb” (spoiler: there’s always one more). Shortly after, you arrive at CPB 2 to be met by smiling volunteers. It was here I first believed I could actually finish.
This 18 km section took me over 4 hours: fast kilometers around 8 min on the running roads, and about 20 min on the steep climbs.
CPB 2 to Finish: F-YEAH!!!
- Distance: 14.6 km
- Elevation Gain: 360 m
- Highest Point: 1 580 m
After running 90 km, you hit CPB 2. The key is to soak up energy from the volunteers, who will pump you up—then hit the road. Baby, you’re coming home. At this point, I could only take in liquid calories; I had one small bite of apple, some Coke, refilled my bottles with more calories, and hit the trail.
You’ve already done the next 2.5 km trail section during the climb to CPB 2—this is truly the last climb (there will only be little hills afterward). After about 4 km, you’ll hit a gravel road, and then it’s all about surviving the never-ending, a little too steep downhill.
If you survive that, you’ll come back to Puli and nice flat roads. Just 4 km later, you cross the finish line. In my case, I laughed deliriously, got hugged by my loved ones and friends, and checked my watch—realizing it took exactly 24 hr 3 min to become a finisher of Formosa 104 km.
Over the many years I’ve volunteered to greet finishers, I’ve seen many faces of satisfaction—but this was the first time I truly felt it myself.
Huge thanks to JP, my coach and mentor on this journey; Petr and Eva, who made FT what it is today; all the volunteers who make the event possible; my wife, for putting up with my running adventures; and my friends, for supporting and challenging me to try these crazy runs.
Below are some pics from our adventure together – picture credit to JP.