Photo: Davis County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
All 87 participants in an ultramarathon race in Utah’s Davis County were rescued from the trails on Saturday after winter weather conditions made it impossible to continue.
Several runners were treated for hypothermia and released at the scene, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office said in apress release. Another runner was treated for a minor injury due to a fall in addition to hypothermia, and similarly released at the scene.
“Venturing onto the mountains, trails and bodies of water at this time of year can be dangerous because the weather changes rapidly and conditions can quickly become life threatening,” Sheriff Kelly V. Sparks said in the release. “Even a mild rain in the valley can translate to blizzard conditions at higher elevations.”
“The rapid and collaborative response of our Search and Rescue volunteers, race organizers, and first responders from multiple agencies, resulted in minimal injuries and all runners returning home safely today,” Sparks added. “I extend my deep gratitude to everyone involved in this rescue effort.”
Davis County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
TheDC Peaks 50race, a 50-mile ultramarathon, began at 5 a.m. local time Saturday. A few hours in, low temperatures and severe weather conditions settled in, including over a foot of snow and wind speeds of 30 miles per hour at Francis Peak,KSL Newsreported.
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“It was raining at the starting line, and it had forecasted rain,” race director Jake Kilgore toldThe New York Times. “Nobody had forecasted over a foot of snow at Francis Peak. Nobody.”
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In an interview withABC4 News, participant Alex Michael and his 17-year-old daughter Audrey recounted their experience getting to the aid station once they found out they would have to abandon the race.
“I don’t think we had fears as much as that painful trudging through, knowing we had to get to that aid station,” Alex told the outlet. “We had to get to the trucks so that way they could take care of us and it was more of just we had to get it done.”
“I think it is really nice to be at home after experiencing that,” said Audrey.
source: people.com
