It’s in the details
Seven years ago Novotny and Lobo founded “Beast Runners.” This term, originally a nickname for Novotny, became widely known amongst runners and hikers after he broke the record for fastest time in the Lake Jiaming Trail Run in 2014, at 3 hours and 53 minutes. In addition his mountain rescue efforts, finding many lost hikers during the Covid-19 pandemic, made him a household name in Taiwan. Nonetheless, his core activity is organizing the annual Formosa Trail ultramarathon.
Novotny, who came to Taiwan by chance in 2012, is not only in love with Taiwan’s mountain forests, he also met his wife here and they fell in love and made a family together. This destiny created the opportunity for him to open a workshop in Taiwan and organize the Formosa Trail run.
From just a few hundred runners at the beginning, the event has grown into a major race with 1,000 to 1,500 competitors including international runners from more than 40 countries. The core organizing team comprises only Novotny and his wife, though each year more than 120 volunteers from all over Taiwan work with them to help make this large-scale event proceed smoothly.
Lobo says that the reason Novotny has always been “chief cook and bottlewasher” for the Formosa Trail event is perhaps connected to the personalities of his parents. His mother is a very cautious and precise person, and his father is accustomed to being hands-on and doing things himself.
On the day of our interview with Novotny, we find him carrying a grass trimmer, and as he tells us interesting facts about the race course he also meticulously clears away vegetation that has been growing for a year and is now as tall as a person.
It looks like a simple task, but Novotny is very earnest in his approach. He calls up a map on his mobile phone on which are multicolored pathways, and precisely records the month and day on which he goes into the mountains, how much time he spends there, and the state of the growing vegetation.
Novotny loves making plans for everything he does, and whether for search and rescue work or race planning, he does comprehensive research on his computer and then uses it to draw up a detailed plan.
Being so detail-oriented, he seeks perfection in every aspect of the ultramarathon, and even puts up cloth trail markers himself.
After clearing vegetation from the marathon course, he personally ties trail markers with the Beast Runners logo on them along the route. Moreover, he does not place them randomly, but carefully considers the characteristics and manner of thinking of runners on each stretch of the route and does his best to ensure that the markers effectively guide the athletes in the right direction.
The detailed planning that goes into the Formosa Trail marathon—from things as small as how fruit is cut up, the placement of water stations, and the types of food provided at aid stations, to things as big as the closing time of each checkpoint and the staggering of start times to ensure that runners in the different groups do not obstruct each other—has caused many runners to provide extremely positive feedback, and the event’s reputation has spread like wildfire.
Besides being in sound physical condition, all runners must carry essential gear to deal with situations that may arise on the trail. (courtesy of Beast Runners)
Participants meeting on the marathon course give each other encouragement. (courtesy of Beast Runners)
Petr Novotny, who is Formosa Trail’s “chief cook and bottlewasher,” even handles the marketing of race merchandise himself. During our visit he took some time to take some publicity photos.
The “eye of the ancestors” motif from indigenous culture appears on most Formosa Trail merch.