Recently, the “2024 Xuedou Mountain Jiangnan Hundred Miles Cross-Country Race” held by the Ningbo Municipal Government in Zhejiang Province was terminated due to severe weather conditions. According to participants, 49 athletes lost contact with the outside world for several hours as the GPS distress beacon system provided by the organizing committee failed to function properly.
The Xuedou Mountain Jiangnan Hundred Miles Cross-Country Race is part of the Jiangnan 100 series, which took place from April 13 to 15, 2024, at Wuling Plaza in Xikou Town, Fenghua District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. The race included five categories with distances of 168/110/85/60/35km, and a total of 3000 participants.
On April 14, the organizing committee suddenly issued a dissolution notice due to the race being affected by severe convective cloud clusters, resulting in thunderstorms with strong thunder and lightning activities and heavy to torrential rain. The race was terminated to ensure the safety of all participants.
According to a report by Dingduan News on April 21, 49 participants were reported to have lost contact with the outside world.
It was reported that on the morning of April 13 at 8am, athletes Liao Hongtao and Tie Mu (pseudonym) set off on time from Wuling Plaza in Xikou, Fenghua, Ningbo City, where they, having known each other for over a decade, were participating in the 2024 Xuedou Mountain Hundred Miles Cross-Country Race (referred to as “Jiangnan 100”).
Just as they started, Liao Hongtao felt anxious due to the congested track. This year’s Jiangnan 100 not only had a changed course but also had over 3000 participants from all categories starting together, causing a disruption in the rhythm of the cross-country run.
The bigger “unexpected” event occurred later when he and 49 fellow runners lost contact with the outside world at Fulong Temple in the local area for several hours. The GPS distress beacon system provided by the organizing committee did not function properly, and they were not informed of the race being dissolved during the communication blackout.
Liao Hongtao arrived in Xikou Town, Ningbo, a day prior (on April 12), and collected his gear, including the GPS distress beacon system. Both Liao Hongtao and Tie Mu emphasized the importance of the GPS distress beacon system repeatedly promoted by the organizing committee, which made them believe that the system would be crucial in times of need.
At 8am on April 13, Liao Hongtao, Tie Mu, and over 3000 other participants set off from Wuling Plaza in Xikou Town. However, the anticipated “overcast with occasional showers or thunderstorms” turned into more than three hours of continuous heavy rain and thunderstorms, during which Liao Hongtao and the other 48 participants went through a collective loss of contact.
According to Dingduan News, the 49 individuals who lost contact had all completed CP6 and encountered thunderstorms while en route to CP7. When Liao Hongtao reached the foot of Sanjianshan, he saw distant thunder and lightning flashing, and as they ascended to the mountaintop, the rain intensified along with the thunder and lightning.
Liao Hongtao mentioned that the weather forecast predicted a shower on the early morning of April 14. However, around 3 am, the thunder became increasingly loud, resembling as if it was going to break through the sky. Walking ahead of Tie Mu, they still felt the imminent danger of approaching lightning strikes, as the downpour turned into a torrential rain with no resistance against it.
After descending the mountain, Liao Hongtao continued running for another 3 kilometers before spotting a dimly lit temple in the distance. Upon entering, he discovered that there were already over ten runners ahead of him seeking shelter from the rainfall, and the temple’s lights were turned on afterward.
As the temple lacked signal reception for communication, Liao Hongtao’s group lost contact with the outside world from around 3 am. Tie Mu arrived half an hour later, and a total of 49 participants sought refuge in the temple.
After everyone had settled in, due to the lack of signal inside the temple, they decided to press the “SOS” button on the GPS distress beacon system provided by the organizing committee. Despite dozens of attempts made between 3 am and 6 am, they received no response.
Liao Hongtao and Tie Mu stated that they remained out of contact with the outside world until after 6 am on April 14.
By the morning of the 14th, with the guidance of local villagers, the participants managed to find a spot with weak signal reception in the village and finally established contact with the organizing committee through a call.
Eventually, all 49 individuals safely returned to Wuling Plaza. However, the night’s ordeal led to concerns among everyone regarding the issues present in the Jiangnan 100 race.
The experience of the Ningbo cross-country race echoed similarities with the mountain marathon cross-country race held in Baiyin, Gansu in 2021.
On the morning of May 22, 2021, the 2021 (4th) Yellow River Shilin Mountain Marathon Hundred Kilometer Cross-Country Race and Rural Revitalization Health Run took place at the Yellow River Shilin Scenic Area in Jingtai County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province. The event saw nearly 10,000 participants in the race and health run, with 172 participants in the hundred-kilometer cross-country race.
Due to extreme and severe weather conditions during the event, 21 participants tragically lost their lives, including some of China’s top cross-country runners. Survivors revealed that the participants attempted to call the official rescue hotline, but there was no response until the evening. By that time, it was already too late for some.
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These incidents raise critical questions about the safety and emergency response mechanisms in place for such endurance races, urging organizers to prioritize participant safety above all else in future events.