20+ XC ultra-marathon runners die in China tragedy

[chumley]

https://news.yahoo.com/20-runners-dead- ... 13647.html
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/22/china/ch ... index.html

Twenty-one people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a 100-kilometre cross-country mountain race in China, state media said Sunday.

I've got dozens of questions for which I expect few answers.

[ShatteredArm]

Given the reports suggest that many of the runners were in shorts and t-shirts, it seems a pretty good bet that underpreparedness among some of the runners was a factor here. I wasn't surprised to hear many of the more competitive runners were among the fatalities.

[chumley]

Repeated calls to Baiyin city propaganda department were not answered

At least they don't pretend it's anything else.

[big_load]

I read an article in the NYT today based on an interview with the only survivor of the lead pack, who was found unconscious by a shepherd and dragged into a cave to warm up. He said he had fallen and picked himself up about a dozen times before that. The lead group sounded similar to most elite ultra guys in their minimalism and their mental ability to push beyond the physical warning signs. I say "guys" purposely, since they also interviewed a woman who survived because she recognized severity of the situation and retreated down the mountain in time.

[FOTG]

Let’s not dwell too much on the tragic circumstances and focus on what’s most important here, any FKTs?