Survivor Recounts Brutal Conditions That Killed 21 Marathon Runners

Ultramarathon runner Zhang Xiaotao noticed something was off about a quarter into the 100-kilometer (60-mile) race in northwestern China on Saturday.

The wind picked up as he climbed the mountain in Baiyin, Gansu province, and he started to feel rain and hail hitting his face. 

He passed Huang Guanjun, a champion runner who was deaf and mute. Huang didn’t look well, Zhang wrote in an account posted on his Weibo social media page on Sunday. He saw another runner, Wu Panrong, trembling in the freezing cold. They ran together for a while until they separated on the slippery road. 

Zhang pushed ahead, hoping the weather would improve once he arrived at the other side of the mountain. But his body was stiffening. He kept falling, until he could no longer get up and used his remaining strength to wrap himself in a blanket and send a distress signal using his GPS tracker. Then he passed out.

Zhang would turn out to be the lone survivor among the six front-runners in the ultramarathon competition that left 21 contestants dead in extreme weather. The tragedy, one of the deadliest running events in recent memory, has devastated the victims’ families and left a deep scar on the survivors.

The staggering death toll—one in eight of the 172 athletes who joined the race did not survive—has prompted public outrage in China and raised questions about the competence of the event’s organizers.

The ultramarathon was hosted by the government of Baiyin city at the tourist site Yellow River Stone Forest and kicked off on Saturday morning. 

Signs of trouble became clear three hours into the race, when calls for help started popping up in a chat group on the messaging app WeChat, according to screenshots shared by runners with Chinese media. 

“We are in a valley. A female athlete cannot move due to severe hypothermia. Requesting help,” one message said. 

“The organizer is doing search-and-rescue,” said a reply. “But location tracking is not accurate in the mountains. Everyone please stay warm, and wait with patience.” 

“Several people have lost consciousness, with foaming at the mouth,” another person said. “Quickly come to the rescue.”

At about 1:30 p.m., according to a timeline compiled by the state-run news agency Xinhua, some local villagers joining the rescue effort found three dead contestants. Organizers called off the race at 2 p.m.

Hundreds of rescuers eventually spent some 20 hours searching for the rest of the contestants. The last victim was found the next morning.

At a Sunday press conference, Baiyin mayor Zhang Xuchen, who a day before fired a pistol in the air to kick off the race, said the incident was caused by a sudden deterioration in weather conditions at a high altitude. He apologized and promised a thorough investigation. 

Many internet users are furious about the deaths. The deceased athletes include Liang Jing, a 31-year-old marathon champion, and 34-year-old Huang, the hearing-impaired athlete who had won in the 2019 National Paralympic Games. Huang had been living on the prize money he got from various races, his friend told Chinese outlet Thecover.cn. 

According to a briefing posted on the WeChat page of the ultra-run event, participants need to pay 1,000 Chinese yuan ($156) to join the 100 km race. Those who ranked below 10th would receive 1,600 yuan if they completed the entire trail, while the top 10 runners would get cash rewards ranging from 2,000 to 15,000 yuan ($311 to $2,300). 

The spokesperson of the Baiyin government could not be reached for comments on Monday. 

China has experienced a marathon boom in the past few years, with the number of races held annually skyrocketing from 134 in 2015 to 1,828 in 2019, according to the Chinese Athletics Association. Taking part in jogging events has become a symbol of both fitness and social status for urban consumers. In the meantime, smaller cities have sought to boost their profile by hosting marathons, which also helps bring in tourism revenues and foreign investments. 

The Chinese public has questioned if lapses in safety protocols contributed to tragedy. The daughter of Lu Zhengyi, who was among the dead contestants, posted a series of questions for the organizers on her verified Weibo account, asking why they did not prepare runners against potential hostile weather conditions and deploy more staff along the trail.

“The image of my dad foaming at his mouth, hands turning purple from the cold, was deeply imprinted on my brain,” she wrote. “I hope someone will step up, and give the people who slacked off at their jobs the punishment they deserve.

“I hope the marathon races my dad loved will pay more attention to safety protection, and don’t let other people’s fathers pass away.” 

Following the deaths, China’s sports authority held a meeting on sports safety on Sunday, requiring organizers to set up “circuit breaker” mechanisms that will shut down competitions in case of emergencies, according to state broadcaster CCTV. 

Wong Ho Chung, an ultrarunning champion in Hong Kong, said he felt sorry about the deaths of fellow runners in China. Although he is not able to determine the cause of the deaths, Wong said it’s essential for organizers to inform ultrarunners about potential changes in weather conditions, so participants can bring all the gear they need. 

“Ultrarunning is not a dangerous sport,” Wong said, adding that he has also encountered extreme conditions such as water depletion and freezing weather during past races. “But participants should be cautious, make sufficient preparations, and have veneration for nature.”

Zhang, the surviving runner, was spotted by a local goat herder after being unconscious for two-and-a-half hours, he wrote. The herder, Zhu Keming, brought him and five other contestants into a cave, and made a fire to keep them warm.

After Zhang woke up, the runners walked downhill and met with the medical workers who came to rescue them. In the Weibo post, Zhang said he only suffered minor injuries and was planning to reunite with his family.

“I express my grievances to all the deceased fellows. Rest in peace,” he wrote. “Finally, the one I should thank the most is the uncle who saved me. Without him, I might have been left there.”

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