On May 23, a piece of bad news came, shocking not only the domestic marathon circle.

　　The mountain marathon cross-country race held in the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Spot in Jingtai County, Gansu Province encountered extreme weather. At present, 21 people have unfortunately died. It can be called one of the worst disasters in the history of domestic marathon events.

The scene of the game.

Image source: Baiyin Daily

　　At 9 a.m. on the 22nd, the 2021 (4th) Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-kilometer Cross-Country Race was fired at the Nanshan Square of the Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai County.

The reporter learned that the executive unit of the event is the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Area Management Committee and Gansu Shengjing Sports Culture Development Co., Ltd. There are three groups of healthy running, 21 km cross-country and 100 km cross-country.

　　This game that caused a huge tragedy is not a "pheasant race".

In particular, the mountain marathon 100-kilometer cross-country race was awarded the "Natural Ecological Feature Event" and "China Marathon Bronze Medal Event" by the China Athletic Association.

　　However, it is precisely this kind of event that has been successfully held for three times and has a certain influence in the running circle. After a shot, what is ushered in is not the joy of victory after the successful collision of the players, but shock. The sadness of the whole country.

Tournament route map

　　The competition conditions issued by the organizing committee clearly stipulate that cross-country contestants must be 18 years old before May 22, 2021, and the age of the 100 km group must be less than 60 years old.

Players need to submit to the organizing committee a certificate of completion of the competition of the same level within the last year.

100km group: 50km and above completion certificate (nearly one year), 21km group: halfway or more finish certificate (nearly one year).

　　Some runners commented that this track has a certain degree of difficulty. The overall elevation is about 2000 meters, and a large part of the track is in no man's land.

The 20-hour closing time also has a certain "threshold".

　　This is also true, whether it is the rigid rules of the competition or the difficulty setting of the competition, they have to a certain extent isolated the participation of cross-country "Xiaobai" players.

In other words, most of the runners participating in the competition have relatively rich relevant experience.

The event executive unit has issued a recent weather reminder

　　One of the executive units of this event, "Gansu Shengjing Sports Culture Development Co., Ltd.", once released the event's recent weather forecast on its official account called "Shilin International Marathon".

　　The weather forecast suggests that on the day of the event on May 22, the weather will be cloudy during the day and cloudy at night, with a maximum temperature of 19 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 9 degrees Celsius.

　　In the warm reminder section after the weather forecast, it was prompted that “the temperature difference between day and night is large, and colds are easy to occur. Please pay attention to adding or reducing clothes appropriately to strengthen self-protection to avoid colds. It is recommended to wear thin coats, cardigans and jeans. Appropriate clothing should be added, jackets, thin sweaters, etc. are suitable."

　　When the time came to around 1 noon on the 22nd, the high-altitude stage of the 100-kilometer cross-country race was between 20 kilometers and 31 kilometers. Affected by extreme weather, there were severe weather such as hail, freezing rain, and strong winds, and the temperature dropped sharply. Some participants lost contact due to physical discomfort, loss of temperature, etc.

　　According to a runner named "Living in the South", the second check-in point to the third check-in point was "8 kilometers to climb a 1,000-meter mountain, motorcycles can't go up, wind of seven or eight, wrapped in rain like The bullet hit the face, and I couldn't stand up... the more you climb, the greater the wind, the greater the rain, the lower the temperature, and the lower the body temperature."

　　After receiving the local report, the Gansu Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government convened a special meeting as soon as possible, immediately activated the emergency response plan, established a lost connection rescue headquarters, and organized more than 700 rescue forces to join the search and rescue operations.

　　As of 8 am on the 23rd, a total of 151 participants were searched and rescued, of which 8 were slightly injured and received treatment in the hospital.

The 21 participants had lost their vital signs when they were found.

According to media reports, the victims included Liang Jing, the leader of the Chinese Super Marathon ring, and Huang Guanjun, the Paralympic marathon champion.

On-site rescue picture source: CCTV News Client

　　Rescuers in front told the media that the terrain along the 100-kilometer cross-country race is very complicated, with many mountains and gullies, and the participants participating in the cross-country race are very thinly dressed, and the local temperature is very low, and the temperature on the mountain may be close to zero.

　　In addition, because the terrain height difference of the scenic spot is between 60 and 200 meters, the communication signal in many areas is very poor, which also caused certain difficulties in search and rescue.

　　Faced with the inability to obtain external rescue in time, the self-response ability of the players becomes the key to whether they can successfully get out of trouble.

　　"Living in the South" recalled: "(I) put my finger in my mouth, feeling it for a long time, but my finger still has no sensation, and my tongue is cold. At this moment, I decisively decided to retire and go down the mountain."

　　In the end, his decisive retreat allowed himself to be rescued in time and survived.

Runners trapped on the mountain.

The picture comes from the Internet

　　Over time, more and more details were revealed.

　　For example, the jacket was not listed as a mandatory equipment by the organizer, but was written into the competition manual as a recommended equipment; in addition, the survival blanket was blown by the wind while the players were waiting for rescue, which further deteriorated their physical condition.

　　Nowadays, in addition to remembering the unfortunate runners, we also need to reflect and ask about the tragedy. As an event that has been held for three times, is the weather service of the event meticulous?

Are emergency plans and medical insurance complete?

If the event organizer and runners can terminate the race in a timely manner after the abnormal weather is discovered, will they avoid causing a greater tragedy?

The players are in the game.

Image source: Baiyin Daily

　　Chen Penbin, who has completed 100 marathon feats in 100 days and has the title of "China's First Extreme Runner," learned of this tragedy, his first reaction was "unreliable shock and sorrow."

In an interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com, he pointed out that the occurrence of this tragedy has sounded the alarm for marathons held in China, especially for races and runners in high-altitude areas.

　　He analyzed that for marathon races held in high-altitude areas, the organizers should fully consider and master the local environmental conditions and meteorological conditions, establish unimpeded contact with the meteorological department, obtain the latest meteorological information in time, give warnings, and assume the role of the "whistleblower" Key role.

　　"The goal of the athletes in the competition is to do their best to finish the competition as much as possible. In this process, the organizer needs to make timely adjustments according to the weather and competition conditions." He said.

　　The reporter noticed that the media called Jingtai County Meteorological Bureau on the 23rd, and related personnel introduced that Jingtai County Meteorological Bureau provided information on the minimum temperature, maximum temperature, wind level and wind direction for this competition, "but there is no specific cold air transit information. "

　　Chen Penbin specifically pointed out that the life-saving blankets worn by many athletes were torn by high winds, which also reflects the lack of the organizers in preparing related materials.

　　In addition, Chen Penbin said that, unlike daily competitions in plain areas, runners who go to high-altitude areas should also arrive in advance and fully assess their physical fitness; and there should be no chance of luck during the race. The choice to withstand the limit.

　　The unfortunate fall of the top runners in the domestic marathon circle further confirms the importance of "following one's ability" in the competition.

　　As a senior runner in the circle, Xiaohui (pseudonym) said in an interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com that he usually prefers to participate in more mature, relatively well-known and well-organized competitions.

　　In the course of the game, "I will consider my physical condition, weather conditions, stage difficulty and other comprehensive considerations, and I will decisively choose to retire when I feel insufficient or in danger."

　　In his view, the key to this tragedy lies in sudden natural disasters.

At this point, his view is closer to "Living in the South".

　　Xiaohui analyzed to reporters that the organizing committee must have made mistakes: for example, when the weather was not good at the time of departure, you can consider delaying the game or changing the route; as for the mandatory equipment, there is no designated jacket, which may be arranged according to the weather of previous years. , But runners should choose to bring them for their own safety; CP3 does not have hot water or food in terms of supply, which can be improved.

Rescue scene.

Photo courtesy of Gansu Fire

　　"This is fine in normal weather, but it is troublesome when the weather is bad. It is impossible for the organizing committee to have no responsibility at all for such a big thing, but it is also possible to delegate all the responsibility to the organizing committee. Not suitable," Xiaohui said. "This tragedy reminds us once again that when we challenge ourselves, we must always be in awe."

　　In fact, similar tragedies are not a list.

Also in May of this year, in the 2021 Wumeng Mountain Super Cross Country, contestant Yang Lijie suffered a loss of temperature during the competition, and unfortunately passed away after being rescued.

The organizing committee stated in the announcement, "Yang Lijie fell on the track he loves and is a true warrior."

　　Strengthening the body and surpassing oneself is the purpose of sports, and the unfortunate death in the competition is the tragedy of the contestants themselves, and it is the pain of the family of the deceased.

We respect sportsmanship, but in any case we should not exaggerate the view that "falling on the track is a hero".

Screenshot of the chat of participating athletes

　　As some runners said: "The end of the marathon is to get home safely."

　　Whether it is the organizer, the contestants, or the public opinion, blindly pursuing the difficulty of the competition and the results of the competition, or even the distorted so-called "sportsmanship", undoubtedly lost the fear of sports, nature and even life.

The marathon "craze" is in the ascendant in China, but the continuous life torture has brought this popular sport to a crossroads.

　　It is time for every participant to make positive adjustments and changes.

(Reporter Wang Yu Lu Yan)