When tragedy strikes, we all lament, cry, and ask why. But until tragedy happens, many of us complain: why did they cancel the race?, why did they shorten the course?, I didn't pay my registration for this!
Yesterday, 21 ultramarathoners died after a storm caught them off guard in a mountainous area of the Yellow River Stone Forest 100k race course taking place in Gansu, China.
According to reports, the wind gusts were so strong that people had difficulty staying on their feet. Those winds were accompanied by freezing rain and even hail. Many runners lost their way in such adverse conditions and the temperature on the mountain dropped abruptly, everything conspiring toward a tragic end.
"The rain kept getting stronger and stronger," participant Mao Shuzhi told Reuters, who was at the 24-kilometer mark of the race at that moment. Shivering from the cold, he decided to turn around and go back before reaching the highest section of the course.That decision ended up saving his life.
"At first I felt regretful, thinking that maybe it was just passing rain, but when I saw the strong gusts of rain and wind from my hotel window I felt very fortunate to have made that decision," said Shuzhi.
Despite rescue efforts by local authorities,21 of the 151 participants died on site, including elite Chinese runner Jing Liang, who had won the three previous editions of the race.
According to the specialized site irunfar.com, this is the greatest tragedy in the history of ultramarathon sport. And it is a strong wake-up call for all of us who love trail running and specifically ultramarathon: it is a magnificent sport that takes us to epic places, but it is tremendously dangerous if we make poor decisions.
In April of this year, the organizers of Volcano Ultra Marathon here in Costa Rica decided to suspend one of the stages due to poor weather conditions, as well as shorten the route of one of the events that originally would have been 160k. Although most participants received the news with positive resignation, there were those who complained and showed hostility toward the decision.
Reading this sad news that reaches us from China, we must ask ourselves: what could have happened if the VUM organizers had not taken those measures? Of course we will never know, but we have received a cruel reminder thatdespite how fun it is, trail and ultras are not a game. We all want the event to take place in full and as planned, but it is even more important that we all come out alive from the experience.
