Twenty-one people died Saturday in China while participating in an ultramarathon that was struck by drastic changes in weather, according to multiple reports.
“At 1 p.m. on Saturday, the wind got stronger. It was hard to stand up straight and move forward. When the wind was the strongest, I had to grasp the ground with both my hands to avoid being blown over,” said a survivor, who requested anonymity.
“I felt nothing but cold at the time,” the participant said. “I just ran about 30 kilometers and quit the race ahead of the third checkpoint. I fainted halfway down the mountain.”
The race was called off after several hours, by which point a number of runners reached a particularly challenging stretch that climbed to upward of 6,500 feet above sea level. Hundreds of rescue personnel who reportedly took part in search operations found their efforts were impeded at times by the rugged terrain, a landslide and falling temperatures overnight.
Among the reported dead were two acclaimed distance runners: Liang Jing, a 31-year-old ultramarathon champion, and Huang Guanjun, who won the men’s hearing-impaired marathon at China’s 2019 National Paralympic Games.
“As the organizer of the event, we feel a deep sense of guilt and remorse. We express our deep condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families and the victims,” said Zhang Xuchen, the mayor of host city Baiyin, who fired the starting pistol.
The deaths reportedly sparked outrage on Chinese social media, with questions about whether organizers paid enough attention to differing forecasts or made sufficient contingency plans.
“At around noon, the high-altitude section of the race between 20 and 31 kilometers was suddenly affected by disastrous weather,” Zhang said at a briefing. “In a short period of time, hailstones and ice rain suddenly fell in the local area, and there were strong winds. The temperature sharply dropped.”
Six participants were aided by a local shepherd who guided them to a cave dwelling, per the Paper of Shanghai. Other local villagers brought quilted blankets to help warm runners, many of whom were suffering from hypothermia.
“The rain was getting heavier and heavier,” runner Mao Shuzhi, who said she turned back after approximately 24 kilometers because she feared the prospect of hypothermia, told Reuters.
“At first I was a bit regretful, thinking it might have just been a passing shower,” she said, “but when I saw the strong winds and rains later through my hotel room window, I felt so lucky that I made the decision.”
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