
In the middle of that night, Lobo woke up to find Novotny missing. Lobo also took Novotny on a visit back home to Puli Township in Nantou for a trip.Īccording to Lobo, her husband did not unlock his "beast mode" until a drunken escapade initiated by her relatives who relentlessly plied Novotny with alcohol upon meeting him. The couple soon fell in love, prompting Novotny to return to Taiwan and officially enroll at NTU's Institute of Applied Mechanics. Three months after his arrival, Novotny met Lobo on her birthday during a chance encounter when the latter was out in town celebrating with friends. The Czech national first came to Taiwan in 2012, when he was part of an exchange program at the National Taiwan University (NTU). The story behind how he came to unleash his inner beast in trail running was thanks to love. "While the Czech Republic is not as wild (as Taiwan), I did a lot of exploring and camping." "I like to go places," Novotny said during an interview with CNA on Sept. As a teenager, he enjoyed scouting (camping and hiking) a lot as he is an explorer at heart. He is also a regular on mountain search missions all over the country.īefore he came to Taiwan, Novotny was just a casual athlete and outdoor lover. Nicknamed "Beast Runner," the 36-year-old Czech national is arguably a legend amongst outdoor lovers and athletes in Taiwan, having set multiple amateur trail-running records across the island. Her tracker husband, on the other hand, is from the Czech Republic.įans and fellow trail runners would have a better chance of finding Petr Novotny speeding through the mountains and hills around Taiwan rather than in populated areas. Lobo, 42, is an indigenous Taiwanese from Nantou County whose parents hail from the Atayal and Seediq peoples respectively. This time, he was in the Gaotaishan mountain range in Hsinchu County. However, the images were a normal sight for Lobo whenever her husband is gone on rescue missions to help locate individuals missing in mountains. Looking at photos on her phone, Eva Lobo could see that her husband's legs had multiple scratches, and that he had encountered venomous snakes numerous times. By James Lo, Tyson Lu, and Hsiao Po-yang, CNA staff writer and reporters
