China race disaster is a reality check – trail running is still an extreme sport with inherent uncontrollable risks despite becoming mainstream
- Trail running is becoming so popular that running 100km at altitude is normalised, but we need to remember the risks and ask ourselves where responsibility lies
- A storm strikes a race in China killing 21 people, raising questions about the standards race organisers should set to keep runners safe
The disaster is a reminder that the sport we love is an extreme sport. Trail running has exploded in popularity over the last 10 years, and with it you see people from all walks of life on the startline, from elite athletes to first-time runners. The realm of ultra and mountain running was once the domain of a crazy few, but now it has been normalised. If you finish a 50km, you almost inevitably get asked “have you done 100km yet?” like running 100km is the most natural thing possible.
But the tragic event in China this weekend is a reminder that no matter how prolific ultra running becomes, there are dangers like any other mountain sport where Mother Nature rules.
It is great that so many people are finding the wonders of nature, and wanting to push themselves outside their comfort zones. It is great also to see prize money, as professionalism extends opportunities to new groups. Long may both continue. But trail running is not, and will never be, just a casual sport.
The difficulty is knowing who is responsible for making sure the most extreme races are as safe as possible – the runners who enter them, the race organisers or the government?
The victims in Gansu are not to blame. And even if they did not meet pre-race requirements, it is the race organisers’ responsibility to stop them from starting.
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Maybe the investigation will find there was no stopping the disaster, no matter the level of organisation. Trail running is packed with inherent and uncontrollable risks. The weather is first and foremost among them. There are things you can do to mitigate the risk of poor weather. Having the proper clothing and equipment is the minimum. The race organisers in Gansu are already being questioned online for their mandatory gear list. In fact, it was not even mandatory but “recommended gear”: sports drink, water, energy food, cap, sunglasses, bandana, hiking poles, wind breaker or waterproof jacket, warm undergarments and a first aid pack. Chinese races usually have very high requirements for mandatory gear and enforce the rules vigorously.
The conclusion of the investigation remains to be seen, but no doubt this disaster will have an affect on the sport for years to come. Maybe, race organisers will start requiring runners to have more experience before entering their events. The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), the most high-profile race of the year, requires runners to have completed a certain number of designated events, though that is at least partly because it is so popular that they need to filter the applications.
Other lower-profile events have similar standards for safety. The Rinjani 100 in Lombok, Indonesia, requires runners who want to compete in the 117km race to have already done the 75km race. Those that want to do the 75km race have to have done at least a road marathon or a trail race of 21km.
The Chinese race disaster is reminiscent of the 1996 Everest disaster. A storm engulfed the mountain and killed eight people. Climbers, governments and people who had never thought about climbing before began to question the commercialisation of summiting Everest with the Sherpas doing all the heavy work. High fees pressured climbers to keep going when they should have gone back, and low experience levels combined with the unexpected weather resulted in a tragic end.
It sparked a lot of the same conversations we will surely have in the coming days: who is to blame? Should the government have been more strict with its permits? Should the guide companies set higher standards? Are some of the climbers themselves to blame for wanting to skip straight to Everest without proper experience?
What was particularly shocking about 1996 was that it was not just a bunch of haplessly inexperienced climbers lost on the mountain. Among the dead was Rob Hall, a New Zealand guide who had summitted Everest multiple times.
The same is true of this weekend in China. Liang Jing, one of China’s best ultra runners and a rising star on the international scene, who finished second at the Hong Kong 100, was one of the victims in Gansu. Other runners, like Hoka One One-sponsored athlete Huang Yinbin, were very experienced too and are not to blame for their demise or the demise of others around them.
Experience mitigates risk, but it will not eliminate it.
There will be a period of introspection about risk in trail running, and accountability. Runners will have to grapple with their own mortality. Climbers have to justify the risks to themselves and their families, so too will runners. Race organisers will have to ask themselves if they should do more, or what they can do while maintaining the integrity of the sport.
The lessons trail running needs to learn will not be clear until the investigation is over – time will tell where the buck stops. No one wants a sterile sport or a knee-jerk reaction where runners have to carry massive packs of mandatory gear. But there is no more denial, the risks are real and no matter how much of a mass participation sport ultra running becomes, the weather is still king.
