馬拉松路跑是一項對運動員體力競賽的挑戰，自從1897 年波士頓舉辦城市馬拉松路跑之後，越來越多城市競相主辦，現今風行世界各大城市，動則上萬名選手參賽，參賽者可以邊跑邊欣賞路邊風景與沿路景觀。大部分業餘選手非為獎金而比賽，目的是享受路跑的過程，因此馬拉松路跑現已經被視為另類的休閒遊覽活動，不僅有助個人身心健康，也達到休閒遊覽的附帶功效。由於馬拉松路跑是在戶外舉辦，天氣狀況直接影響參賽者成績，因此本研究以2014 和2015 年台北國道馬拉松賽事的實際天氣現象和溫濕指數探究對選手成績好壞的影響，結果發現2015 年賽事的溫濕指數出現大幅變化，使得15 位選手中的最後7 位在人體體感舒適度為「稍熱」至「熱」的情況下完賽，均比2014 年溫濕指數平緩變化的完賽時間增加9~18 分鐘，顯示天氣變化對馬拉松選手成績的影響十分相關。而大量外地參賽者的食、宿、交通等消費也為當地帶來極大的經濟效益。再者，馬拉松路跑也能有效提升當地的知名度與能見度，對城市行銷甚有助益，因此是值得倡導的新興休閒運動產業。 Nowadays Marathon sport is quite popular in the world, and it's a sort of competitions full of challenges in physical strength. The Boston Marathon, begun in 1897, is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's best-known road racing events. Currently, there are more than ten thousands of people to attend the races in the world every year. Most of the participants are amateurs, just pursuing for fun. They run along the long road not only for body health, but also for scenery appreciation. And, it is regarded as one of the leisure activities. Because the Marathon is an outdoor game, the weather conditions can influence the performance of players significantly. This study focuses on the effectiveness of the weather conditions on the performance of competitors based upon two Taipei Expressway Marathon events in Taiwan. The 2015 race which had significant variation in discomfort index affected the participants' performance obviously compared with the 2014 race. Also, the requirements of food, drink, lodging and transportation are enormous benefits for the local economy. Furthermore, Marathon events can increase the host cities' reputation and attraction and enhance the urban marketing. Therefore, it becomes a new sport business and is worth to promote.
