“Congratulations, everyone! Our class has logged a total of 87 kilometers. That means we’ve run all the way to Hsin­chu City. Can anyone tell me what foods Hsin­chu is famous for?” “Rice noodles, meatballs, and persimmon cakes!”

The fourth graders in Class 4–4 at Zhang­shu Elementary School are in the middle of their “Getting to Know Taiwan” class. Today’s subject is Hsin­chu, and the kids are amazingly eager to share what they’ve learned about Taiwan’s “Windy City.”

The exercise is no mere recitation of local knowledge gleaned from books. Instead, it’s a part of the school’s “island marathon.” This “race” has kids imagine their athletic field as a map of Taiwan and themselves as runners in a relay making a circuit of the entire island. Their “marathon” began in Tai­pei City and will finish in New Tai­pei City’s Xi­zhi District.

Zhangshu is getting even more mileage out of its “island marathon” by encouraging teachers to run with students and integrating the race with its “Getting to Know Taiwan” class.

Students compete in this class-based Taiwan “marathon” between classes and after school, and may log no more than three 200-meter laps per day each. Assuming every class has 30 students, that means that classes can log a maximum of 18 kilometers per day.

Given that a circuit around Taiwan is 1,148 kilometers in length, diligent teams on which all the members pitch in can complete the “marathon” in 63.7 days.

But getting kids excited about running took more than just turning their athletic field into an imaginary Taiwan. Zhang­shu had to develop other incentives.

One of these was integrating the Taiwan marathon with the school’s “Getting to Know Taiwan” class. When the runners “arrive” in Hsin­chu, for example, they study the city and even learn how to make lei cha, a traditional Hakka gruel made from tea and other ingredients. When they hit the 268-kilometer mark, they’re in ­Chiayi and begin learning about that city’s culture and customs, as well as the legend of Emperor Jia­qing’s visit to Taiwan.

Zhangshu is getting even more mileage out of its “island marathon” by encouraging teachers to run with students and integrating the race with its “Getting to Know Taiwan” class.

The school uses prizes to get kids excited about participating. The first classes to reach Taiwan’s major cities have their names entered in a morning drawing, the prizes for which consist of “local specialties” of the place in question, such as dried tofu from Daxi, sesame cookies, Yi­lan cookies, Qigu cakes, and ring cakes.

The first class to complete its circuit of the island also wins medallions and tokens that it can use to gain access to a game room usually kept closed. The tokens enable the kids to spend part of their lunch time playing arcade basketball and baseball games, or on a Wii.

Zhang­shu Elementary has worked so hard to cultivate student interest in running for one purpose: getting the kids in shape.

Lin Shu­fen, director of student affairs at Zhang­shu, says that the school introduced its “island marathon” five years ago in an effort to encourage its students to be more active, and to counter the tendency of city kids to be nearsighted, overweight, and physically unfit.

Lin, a graduate of the University of Tai­pei’s Graduate Institute of Sports Pedagogy, developed the “marathon” by building on ideas about “innovative physical education” picked up from her advisor, Professor Chou ­Chien-chih. In so doing, she transformed ordinary running into an educationally meaningful activity welcomed by the teachers at Zhang­shu and studied by other schools.

Lin says that when physical activities have no objective, kids become bored and don’t want to bother. Clear-cut goals help them feel challenged and engaged.

Teachers are very important to this approach. If they exercise with their students, they have the opportunity to model activities, which yields better results with less effort. The island marathon’s rules therefore state that if a teacher runs with the students, the teacher gets to log triple the distance they run. This transforms teachers into important team members, improving student-teacher relations.

The marathon also offers children from disadvantaged families opportunities for a kind of vicarious travel.

Principal ­Huang Yu­hua says that Xi­zhi’s Zhang­shu­wan neighborhood, where the school is located, has long been home to large numbers of Amis and other migrant urban Aborigines. In fact, Zhang­shu Elementary has more Aboriginal students on its rosters (175, who collectively account for 20% of the school’s student body) than any other primary school in Taiwan.

The majority of these Aboriginal students come from disadvantaged families and are particularly enthusiastic athletes. The “island marathon” gives them an opportunity to gain a sense of athletic achievement, while also broadening their horizons by means of its virtual circuit of Taiwan.

Xiao­hui is a fit fifth grader who can run 10 laps without breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, her parents’ lack of stable employment has left her without any opportunities for travel outside of Tai­pei.

“Every time we reach a new city, the other kids start explaining what you can do and eat there,” she says, her eyes wide. “It’s like going around the island with them. I hope I can go to Ken­ting with my family some day.”

Zhang­shu Elementary has given new significance to running, making it interesting to students while also using it as a tool to help them learn. We need more of this kind of innovation in Taiwan’s physical education programs.