The Most Disturbing Ultramarathon Disasters

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Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more. Ultramarathons are supposed to hurt. That's kind of the whole point. But in today's stories, two races went far beyond anything that the runners agreed to. And so first, we're going to the Australian Outback, where a 24-year-old runner found herself trapped in a place that no runner should have ever been sent. And then we're heading to China, where an ultramarathon turned into the deadliest race in history, and the fallout didn't end when the last runner was found. But first, I'm trying to get this show to 1,000 five-star reviews, and we're so close. So please do me a favor and leave that five-star review right now, and follow the show as well. It really helps our standing with Spotify. I'm Kyle Hates Hiking. Listen on if you dare. At first, I thought this story was about really, really bad luck. I thought it was just an unfortunate tragedy. But by the end of the story, I felt nothing other than just rage. This story pisses me off. And once you realize what they actually allowed to happen to her, I think you're going to be pissed off too. Hours into a 62-mile race through the Australian Outback, Tariya Pitt was lying on the ground, convinced that she was going to die. But when a rescue team finally reached her, she actually recognized one of the paramedics as her friend, Bonnie. In the most painful moment of her life, seeing a familiar face meant everything. However, Bonnie didn't recognize her back. And not because it had been a while since they'd last seen each other, but rather for a far more disturbing reason. In this moment, Tariya realized that what had happened to her while running through the brutal Australian Outback had left her without a face. And so how the hell does a healthy 24-year-old go from peak physical fitness to being unrecognizable in just the span of a few hours? And more importantly, who the hell allowed this to happen? Before the ultramarathon that would change her life forever, Tariya Pitt was living out her dreams. She had a job that she enjoyed as a mining engineer. She loved living in the Australian Outback, and she had great friends. And while all of that sounds like the perfect recipe for happiness, the true grounding force in Tariya's life was her boyfriend, Michael, whose steady love helped her believe that she could accomplish anything. I mean, seriously, whatever she decided to do, Michael was always there to cheer her on, even if it was something like running miles and miles through the desert, which, as it turns out, Tariya Pitt had signed up to do. And that might sound crazy, but Tariya was exactly the type of person who decides to take on a challenge like a desert ultramarathon. She was strong, she was confident, and maybe she was just a little bit insane. And I mean that in the best way possible. If you're not at least a little bit insane, then I have no idea why you would willingly sign up to run the race that Tariya signed up for. Just know that if I ever sign up for an ultramarathon, it means that I've fully lost my mind and need some help. But Tariya loved a challenge. And so in 2011, she signed up for the Kimberley Ultramarathon. This was such a seemingly simple choice, but as fate would have it, it would be the most consequential choice of her entire life. Now, a regular marathon is hard enough, but an ultramarathon is like next level. The Kimberley Ultramarathon was an especially difficult 62 mile or 100 kilometer race through one of Western Australia's most remote and hottest regions. And to make conditions even harder, the run took place during the area's dry season and the terrain throughout the Kimberley made the run even more challenging. There wasn't any natural protection from the scorching sun because, well, there were no trees along the race path or very few anyways. The 95 degree heat would beat down on the runners relentlessly as they pushed their way through 62 miles of red dirt, brittle grass and rocky gorges. Even the wind didn't even provide relief because it was so hot that it felt more like a hairdryer than an actual cooling breeze. This was far from a normal city marathon, which, as you know, has tents and medics and hospitals nearby in case there's an emergency. The Kimberley racecourse barely even had cell signal and runners could easily go hours, hours without seeing another human being. And yet, despite the risk, the danger and the treacherous conditions, the runners knew what they were getting themselves into. And besides, this was a sanctioned race after all. It's not just a free for all. I mean, yes, there was going to be some risk, and danger involved, but ultimately it was the Kimberley race organizers responsibility to put safety nets in place for the runners. Now, of course, the runners were responsible for aspects of their safety. They had to make sure they didn't injure themselves. They had to make sure they were physically prepared. They had to make sure they drank enough water. But the race organizers were responsible for the bigger, rarer safety threats, the things that the runners couldn't control. And so there's no way that these runners would be left to fend for themselves, right? Well, what Terea and the other runners didn't know was that something was going on behind the scenes. Something that would make this race even harder and even more deadly, potentially, than they could ever have expected. In the early hours of September 2nd, 2011, the 41 runners got ready to hit the trail. Temperatures were already climbing at this point, and they would keep rising as the day went on. But the runners had their water bottles and their backpacks filled up with any fuel that they would need during the race. Any water they would need, which was important because the dry air meant an extremely high risk of dehydration. And so the runners needed to be as prepared as they possibly could. Terea said goodbye to her boyfriend, Michael, with a tight hug and was excited to see him once she had crossed the finish line. She was sure that she would see his smiling face once she got there. Terea then took her place at the starting line, excited to finally put her training to test and get this thing going. But before the runners started, while they were all gathered there, the organizers of the race, a group called Racing the Planet, gave them a quick safety briefing, right? It felt quick and casual, almost like they'd done this a thousand times before, kind of like a formality. There was no detailed emergency walkthrough and no one handed out radios or communication devices to the runners. They were just assured that if something went wrong out there, someone would be notified and help would be sent immediately. And though this briefing was casual, this was an assurance that the runners should have been able to believe. I mean, they had no reason not to trust the organizers, right? They assumed that all the right protocols were being followed. But if they had known what was happening in that moment, just a few miles down the course, then they never would have started that race. But since they did trust Racing the Planet, the runners all took their spots behind the starting line and waited excited for the signal. This was the final moment of calm before a storm that none of them saw coming. And so as soon as they heard the bell, all 41 runners took off. In videos taken from the beginning of the race, Tariya was smiling and she looked happy. She found her rhythm and she was kind of just chugging along, right? She wasn't thinking about the 60 miles of brutal terrain stretched out in front of her. She was just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. As time passed, the sun rose higher into the sky. And it wasn't long before sweat was dripping down Tariya's face. Remember, the highs would reach around 95 degrees Fahrenheit or about 35 degrees Celsius by midday. And that was just the temperature, like in the shade. It was even hotter in the sun. And besides, the shade didn't even matter because there was no shade in sight anyways. The only vegetation around Tariya was this tall, dry grass that scratched her legs as she ran and some low bushes that didn't provide any shelter from the sun. After running for a little while, Torea finally reached the very first aid station. She stocked up on some water and supplies, and then she kept running and running and running. Eventually, it started to feel like she'd been running long enough that she should have reached the next aid station by now. The checkpoints felt too far apart for terrain like this, but she assumed that the organizers had measured everything properly. They'd done this before after all, and so why would she have any reason not to trust them? She must have tried to convince herself that the heat was just getting to her head or whatever. I can imagine her telling herself that the conditions were making this already incredibly long run feel even longer. She of course had no idea that there was actually something else at play here. Eventually, Taria looked up, and that was when she saw it. She finally saw the second aid station. Thank god. She could get some brief shade and restock her water and then continue on with the grueling race. But if only she hadn't left this aid station and had just stopped her run right there. If she had done that, then she could have saved herself. But of course, I mean, that's super easy to say in hindsight. How could she have known that this quick pit stop would be the last normal moment before her life would change forever? Listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling? Smart move. Another smart move? Bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Uninvited? Garnier's got you. With those savings, your next girl's night is basically free. It could be chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox, autobotulinum toxin A, headaches in adults with chronic migraine. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Why wait? Ask your doctor. The Illuminati has spent decades keeping lemon on top and lime in the shadows. 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Learn more on the Uber app. Taria was incredibly strong and determined, and so she kept pushing forward, right into a danger that she never saw coming. The afternoon sun was not as bright as it was yesterday, but the sun was still shining. The afternoon sun was now at its absolute peak, and so Taria was looking down as she ran in an attempt to escape some of the brightness of the day. And after a while, she began to get that same feeling that she had earlier, that she should have reached the next aid station by now. But before that thought could even sink in, she heard a sound. There was this loud rumbling just up ahead on the course. It sounded exactly like what's called a road train, which for my non-Australian viewers is a massive, like, road train. And it was a road train that was going to take us to the next checkpoint. It's something that's super common on remote highways in Australia. And so this led her to assume that she was near a highway, which led her to assume that she was close to the next checkpoint. Relief and a small break from the elements were almost within reach. Hell, Michael might even be there waiting for her to say a quick hello and to give her a very sweaty hug. And this thought gave her a boost of energy, and so she started running faster. Her path began to narrow, and she began to run faster. She began to run faster, and she began to run faster, and she began to run faster. She began to run faster, and she began to run faster. She began to run faster. And it funneled Taria into a deep, rocky gorge with no clear exit. And this made for a more dramatic and scenic run, but it was also the kind of place where you really hope that nothing goes wrong. I mean, you're kind of trapped in a sense. At the time, of course, there was no reason for Taria to think that she was in any danger. I mean, experienced organizers had planned the route through this gorge. They had been very intentional about where the trail goes, and so she trusted that it was safe. The ground at the bottom of the gorge was a very, very, very, very, very, very uneven, and so Taria continued to look down while running in order to avoid tripping. And this is when she started to notice that the air around her had gotten thicker. And it wasn't just all of the dust she had been kicking up, by the way. It was getting so bad that she began coughing and couldn't even see that far in front of her. And it was also getting way hotter, way faster. Like, it was already a hot day, but the heat started increasing dramatically. And so Taria finally looked up. And that's when she saw it. At first, her brain couldn't make sense of what she was seeing, but very quickly she understood. Directly in front of her, thick, dark smoke billowed out from an entire wall of flames. The sound that she had been hearing wasn't a truck, it was a bushfire, and it was growing incredibly fast. The hot winds and the dry vegetation meant that the fire was exploding in size by the second, and pretty soon, it was all around her. She couldn't just turn back the way she came now, it was much too late for that. The gorge that she was running through had essentially become a cage, and she couldn't see any way to escape it. And so almost instantly, Taria found herself in a life or death situation. And to be blunt, it was looking like death was the more likely outcome here. She only saw two potential options to keep herself alive. She could either stay where she was and just hope that the fire died down before the tall grass around her, or she could just stay where she was and just hope that the fire died down before the tall grass around her caught on fire, but it didn't really seem likely that the fire was going to go out any time soon. And so her other option was to run up the side of the gorge and continue uphill until she was out of the fire's path. But the issue with that plan is that fire travels much faster uphill, and so it would be difficult, if not impossible, to outrun it. Essentially, she could either stay where she was and die, or she could try to fight her way out for a very small chance of survival. And keep in mind, she had only been able to survive for a very small number of seconds to make this decision. However, in this moment, all she could think about was Michael. I mean, just moments earlier, she had anticipated seeing him at the next checkpoint, but now she realized that she might never see him again. And so, Taria had to act, and she had to do it right now. Taria moved as fast as she could to get herself out of the gorge, but there was no way that she could have outrun the growing flames, right? She tried, and then the worst-case scenario became her reality. Her skin began to catch on fire. She looked down, and she saw flames wrapping around her arms and legs. The pain was beyond anything she had ever experienced before. But she kept fighting, she kept trying to get away, and eventually, she ended up tripping on a rock, and at this point, you can probably imagine what happened. I mean, she was just engulfed by the fire, making an already excruciating nightmare even worse, somehow. Taria was screaming in pain and terror. She was thinking, this is it. I'm never going to see Michael again. Never again would she get to embrace the love of her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. I mean, all she could do was just sit there in agony until she took her last breath. However, that last breath never came. As Taria laid on the ground, waiting for the inevitable, she suddenly realized that the flames had gone out. She was still alive, albeit barely, but alive nonetheless. However, just because she hadn't died yet didn't mean that she wasn't going to die soon. The nightmare was far from over. In fact, if anything, the real danger was only now just beginning. Her life hung in the balance, and she had to shift to full-on survival mode. In what was probably a stress response, Taria's brain kind of detached from her reality. She looked down at her limbs again, and they actually seemed okay for what she had done. just gone through her body was filled with a rush of elation and she convinced herself that the fire hadn't actually burned her as badly as she first thought but what she didn't know was that her body was simply just in shock and this was her her brain's way of trying to protect her right make no mistake she was in severe danger she had just gotten third degree burns on over 65 percent of her body and the likelihood of her surviving these injuries was incredibly low if she wasn't rescued as soon as possible she was almost certainly gonna die toria figured that the race organizers racing the planet had medical helicopters on standby in case of an emergency since so much of the ultra marathons path went through these rocky gorges racing the planet must have planned for an air rescue right but then again if they had done that then where were those helicopters now there's no way that the organizers didn't know about the fire by this point so toria strained to listen over the sounds of the flames but she couldn't hear any chopper blades heading her way toria waited for an entire hour and a half before she finally heard a helicopter approaching I mean I can only imagine like the elation she probably felt at this moment I mean she was saved right I mean finally help was just around the corner she was going to make it out alive well as quickly as the sound of the helicopter arrived it disappeared toria couldn't understand what was happening I mean where had her one shot at getting to safety gone like why would the helicopter come that close and then just turn around well to answer that what she didn't know was that the first helicopter hadn't been equipped to land on the rocky terrain and something else that she didn't know at this moment although she probably was pretty close to figuring it out by now was that the race organizers might not have been as prepared as they had claimed to be while she waited for a rescue that she was now sure wasn't coming toria was in indescribable pain not only from the fire burns but also from the sun beating down on her exposed body I mean you might not have thought about that she's got these burns and she's just laying in the sun like oh man any positivity that she had felt earlier had disappeared completely by this point she was now back to thinking that she wasn't going to make it out alive and that Michael would never see her again all she wanted was for him to be there so he could tell her it was going to be okay but folks things were most definitely not okay and they just kept getting worse over the next few hours Taria accidentally sat on a bull ant nest leaving her burned skin now crawling with ants she did have a little bit of water left but she couldn't even drink it because it had essentially been boiled by the sun it was so hot out and the heat from the flames only added to it she was covered in third degree burns and just sitting out there in the sun with no shade no relief in sight Taria continued to wait and eventually she noticed something gruesome now I would skip the next like 10 seconds of the video if you're kind of squeamish just a warning you good okay so little bits of Taria's skin and her flesh had melted from her body and like down onto the ground in front of her and like I would have passed out by now but you have to remember Taria Taria was insanely strong much stronger than I am I mean she had to be insanely strong to even sign up for this race in the first place and so she's she's fighting to survive and she turned her mind back to Michael which was the only thing keeping her spirit alive at this point I mean she told herself to think of Michael's warm face think of his voice think of how his arms feel when they wrap around her she told herself over and over just keep thinking about Michael more time passed without rescue around four hours which probably felt much longer with how much pain she was in and by now the sun was starting to set and you might think that sounds like a good thing I'm talking about the sun hitting her burnt skin and all this stuff but it's not as good as you might think since the Kimberly region has a dry desert climate the temperature dropped drastically once the sun went down and so Taria went from being overwhelmingly hot to like freezing cold almost instantly and it was at this point that she really hits an all-time low this episode is brought to you by State Farm listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling smart move another smart move getting help from one of State Farm's 19 000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling just another way to save with the personal price plan prices are based on rating plans that vary by state coverage options are selected by the customer availability amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state gray roots and during the chat uninvited Garnier's got you Garnier color sensation retouch covers up to 100 of grays in just 10 minutes no ammonia no mess and the color lasts up to four weeks it's as easy to apply as shampoo plus it's vegan and cruelty free 10 minutes sensational color sensational price with those savings your next girl's night is basically free find your perfect match at walmart.com or at a store near you the Illuminati has spent decades keeping lemon on top and lime in the shadows their lemon agenda has infiltrated everything even our music that hit song named after the color of lemons not a coincidence big lemon has been pulling strings in the industry for years think about it but now seven up is fighting back with their new lime lemon soda now lime comes first seven up flip the sip chronic migraine is 15 or more headaches that can be treated with lemon soda never going to be the same. It would be a fight to even get Taria to the hospital. The ground was too steep to put her into a stretcher. And so she would have to like kind of limp herself over to the, to the helicopter. I mean, the paramedics carefully helped her stand and step as she made her way over this rocky ground. And after what must've felt like hours, I can't even imagine she was finally airlifted out, but the story doesn't end with her getting out of the gorge. In fact, that was only the end of like the first chapter. Surviving a fire in the outback was one thing, but finding out why Taria was left out there for hours was an entire other thing. Finding out how this even happened in the first place, right? And so this, this second chapter is where this whole circumstance stops being an unavoidable tragedy and starts to look more like a preventable disaster. Someone would have to be held responsible. But Taria would have to survive first before getting any justice that she deserved. The hospital was where her next battle for her life would begin. The second they got her off the helicopter, Taria started getting treatment and that would last for the next six months. She had over 200 medical procedures, including the amputation of seven of her fingers. But guess who was by her side the entire time? That of course would be Michael. His face was the first thing that she saw when she came out of the gorge. And so she was able to get out of the gorge. And so she was able to get out of the coma. And it was the face that she would see every single day of her recovery. Michael never once left her. Getting Taria better was a war that they were going to fight together. As Taria fought her way through painful recovery, questions about the race obviously began to surface. Questions like how did this happen and who let it happen? At first, it seemed like just a tragic, unavoidable accident. But the more people investigated, the more things just weren't adding up. The real story behind this disaster, the real story about why Taria had to fight for her life, was only just starting to emerge. The police and fire services immediately launched an investigation to answer the question that everyone was asking, a question you've probably been asking yourself, was this fire set deliberately? And ultimately, they determined that the fire had been a controlled burn that got, well, out of control. And so I guess it was set deliberately, but it wasn't a case of arson. It was a case of, well, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. There was no ill intent behind this fire. However, the investigation didn't stop there. And so they started looking into the race organizers racing the planet. And very quickly, a bombshell discovery was made. Early on the morning of September 2nd, 2011, before the ultramarathon even began, a local farmer named John Story flew his plane above the race path. He noticed that a bushfire had started directly on the path that the runners would be taking. And so John knew that he needed to warn the race organizers right away. And so he tried to radio them. He couldn't connect with them at first, but he kept trying. I mean, they had to know about this fire before the race started, obviously, so they could presumably cancel it, right? Eventually, John did manage to get a hold of them, and he let Racing the Planet know about the fire. He could now rest easy, assuming that he had just saved the runners from getting hurt or even much worse. And this is where things took a shocking turn. Despite this, John Story was able to get a hold of the runners, and he was able to get a hold of the runners. But this morning, despite the knowledge that their course was literally on fire, the race proceeded as planned? Like, what is that? Racing the Planet had the opportunity to, at the very least, investigate the fire and figure out what the hell was going on, but they decided to just not do that and proceed with the race anyways. And giving them the benefit of the doubt, this is extreme negligence at best. And okay, so they didn't cancel the race, but they must have at least canceled the race. And so, John Story was able to get a hold of the runners, and at least warned the runners about the fire, right? Well, no. The runners gathered for a literal safety briefing right before the race started, but the fire was never mentioned during this, and the race went ahead right on schedule. Now, Racing the Planet would later say that they did communicate with authorities about the fire before the race began, and after talking with the farmer who spotted the fire, they spoke amongst themselves and decided that since fires were pretty common in Australia, and this particular one didn't seem to be a problem, well, the runners probably weren't in any danger. They didn't even think it necessary to ensure a rescue helicopter was on standby. The most they seemed to have done was, like, remark the course a little bit. And by that, I mean basically sending one single volunteer to move a few things around without making any major changes to the route. And like, sending someone alone to do something that took them so close to the fire doesn't sound very safe at all. But then again, the runners clearly did not prioritize safety. Now, I'm criticizing them pretty harshly here. To be clear, I don't think that they, like, were trying to put the runners at danger. You know, I don't think they were like, you know, let's try to kill these runners. No, they weren't doing that. They were just being negligent, extremely negligent. And it quickly became obvious that their miscalculation had disastrous consequences. Because even though they claimed to have rerouted the course a little bit, it wasn't long before all of the runners started funneling into a gorge, one that was surrounded by a raging bushfire. When word reached organizers that several runners had been caught in the blaze, they should have immediately sprung into action, of course. But then, if that's the case, why did it take an hour and a half for a helicopter to be dispatched? And the answer to that is because even though they knew about the fire, they clearly didn't know how bad it was, but they knew there was a fire at the very least. The only helicopter they had on hand was one hired for filming, like a video helicopter. It wasn't equipped for emergency rescue. And so every second of that delay in sending out help meant prolonged agony for Taria. Agony that could have been entirely avoided if things had been handled a little bit differently. As the post-fire investigation continued, authorities uncovered even more concerning details about how racing put their runners in potential danger. It turns out that they hadn't even checked if their communication system worked. And obviously, a working communication system in Australia's remote outback could be the difference between life and death. I mean, how would anyone have been able to let medical know if something went wrong? What if someone collapsed from dehydration, or if they got injured and couldn't get themselves to one of the checkpoints? Oh, and speaking of those checkpoints, here was another example of how the organizers completely missed the mark here. The aid stations were, in fact, spaced too far. The organization was supposed to do everything it could to keep their runners safe, but instead, the organization pretty much failed them every step of the way. And they were going to pay for this big time. As I've said before, Taria is such a positive person who doesn't want to dwell on the negative at all. But I, for one, would have been pissed. Smart move. Another smart move? Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and the price of the car. Eligibility vary by state. Botox, on a botulinum toxin A, prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor. The Lemonati has spent decades keeping lemon on top and lime in the shadows. Their lemon agenda has infiltrated everything, even our music. That hit song named after the color of lemons? Not a coincidence. Think about it. Seven up. Flip the sip. With Share My Trip from Uber, you can send your live trip location to the ones who matter most. Like Dan and Hannah, who always wait up to make sure their daughter gets back to her college dorm room. Look, she's right there. She's three minutes away. I mean, the organizers fumbled this so terribly that she almost died that day. And so, ultimately, Taria ended up settling with them out of court for a multi-million dollar payout. And good for her. She did have some strong words about the settlement. She said, quote, There's no amount of money that could make up for what we lost. And, I mean, true. She had suffered unimaginable pain. She had to do years of difficult recovery and had to reckon with having her appearance changed forever. However, that's not to say that she is hung up on the money or bitter about what happened. Quite the opposite, actually. In a 2021 Sydney Morning Herald interview, she was quoted saying, At the end of the day, whether I got some money, no money, or a lot of money doesn't change what happened. It was really hard. At the time, because we settled out of court, I wasn't satisfied. I'm still not satisfied. But at the same time, pursuing it further would have made me really bitter. The injustice and the unfairness aren't palatable. But I feel like, having gone through what I've been through, having a beautiful partner like Michael and all of these other amazing people in my life, I actually do feel really lucky. The fires took a lot from Taria, but they didn't take everything. She has even started running again. And has since completed two Ironmans. And most importantly, the one thing the fires never took from her was Michael. The two of them now have built a beautiful life together, bringing two children into the world. Even after everything she's gone through, Taria continues to live a life that's led by love, not anger. And it's with that sentiment that I too am going to try to let go of my anger. Now, don't get me wrong. We can never forget what they did to her. And this pisses me off, obviously. But it seems like Taria is now at peace. And for that, I'm very grateful. Taria has made charity an important part of her story post-fire. And one of the groups that she's worked with recently is the Fred Hollows Foundation. They are an international development organization working towards eliminating avoidable blindness and improving indigenous Australian health. And they're also my give-back call-out for this video. I've made a donation to them, and I invite you to do the same, even if it's just a few bucks or whatever. It doesn't have to be a lot. I've got their link in the description. Taria's story shows us what can happen when warnings are ignored. But in our next story, those same mistakes were about to unfold on a much larger and much deadlier scale. I didn't even think this story was real the first time I heard it. In September of 2020, a man named Leong Jing crossed the finish line of the Yellow River Stone Forest Ultramarathon, winning it for the third consecutive time. A sweat dripped down his face. He was greeted by local politician and race promoter Lee Zuobi, who personally draped a medal around the champion's neck. The two men shook hands and posed for photos, a perfect political moment showcasing both athletic excellence and economic progress. Eight months later, both men would be dead. The 2020 Yellow River Stone Forest Ultramarathon may have ended in success, but the following year, this very same race, would end up killing 21 elite athletes in what would become the deadliest marathon in all of history. But the thing is, this isn't just a story about a race going wrong. This is a story about what happens when politics, ego, and complete and utter incompetence all collide with the wrath of Mother Nature. 21 people have died after extreme weather struck runners participating in a 100 kilometer ultramarathon. Rescuers are saying that one person, one participant is still missing. I'm going to take you hour by hour through this disaster as it unfolded on that fateful day in May of 2021. And I'm not going to stop there either, because this race was such a part of my language show that its carnage didn't even end once the race was over. By the end of this video, you're going to hear why the very same man who handed out the winner's medals would drop dead in a twist that nobody saw coming. At 6 a.m. on May 22nd, 2021, elite runner Yan Di Shion woke up in her hotel room to what appeared to be decent conditions. I'm talking blue skies, temperatures in like the 50s Fahrenheit, which is about 10 degrees Celsius. And yet, despite these optimal conditions, we'll say, and unlike many of her competitors, for that matter, she was able to get to the top of the race. And she was able to get to the top of the race. At one point, he had personally traveled to the Chinese capital of Beijing in order to promote this race in front of higher-up CCP officials. And it seemed like things were going pretty well. By September of 2020, Li's government had officially declared the county poverty-free. I'm not sure how that's possible. But regardless, this reoccurring, successful ultramarathon had been a symbol of that achievement. For the two previous years, the race had experienced nothing but pretty much perfect weather. Like, again, sunny skies and moderate temperatures. And the course, which wound through the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest, had drawn more and more elite competitive runners with each passing year. By 2021, the race featured a lot of China's top ultrarunners, which included three-time champion Liang Jing, who was largely considered the most famous trail runner in all of China. Anyways, going back to the morning of May 22nd, another runner who was named Zhang Xiao was also getting himself ready. Now, he had trained specifically for the desert heat, expecting conditions that were going to be similar to the race in previous years. The night before the race, the organizers had held this briefing, and they had only cautioned the runners about heat stroke and sunburns, you know. The organizers had held this briefing, and they had only cautioned the runners about heat stroke and sunburns, you know. By 7 a.m., with only two hours until the race was set to begin, the temperature was just about 60 degrees Fahrenheit or about 15 degrees Celsius. And yet, despite, once again, the mild temperature, those arriving at the starting area could kind of just feel that the weather for this year's race was going to be drastically different than years past. And a big reason for that was the wind. It was blowing like crazy, it was violent, erratic, and, perhaps most concerningly, is that it was growing stronger by the second. Wind gusts were slamming into the starting area with enough force to knock over race signs, rip flags from their poles, and send debris just kind of scattering across the ground, kind of like warning shots. Some runners, already shaking from the cold before the race had even started, well, they said, stumbled into a nearby gift shop, desperate to kind of just get some warmth and shelter, and maybe just a moment to collect themselves before they began running. Looking around the starting area, Yan Diashian noticed that she was one of the few runners that was actually dressed for colder temperatures. Most of them wore only, you know, shorts and a t-shirt. Having given up their warm clothing the night before, expecting to grab it at an aid station much later in the race. This was like a little system the race had going. Around 10 p.m. the previous night, Biyan, which is the town the race started in, had issued a wind warning, albeit the lowest grade of their four grades. grade system the provincial weather center had also warned about quote massive yellow dust and sand carried by winds temperature drops and precipitation and you'd think that would have been significant but these warnings were not passed on to the runners at least not explicitly we'll say instead race organizers like i just mentioned there had had offered to collect the runners night supplies and their warmer gear and place them at an aid station which was roughly you know some 38 miles or 62 kilometers into the race and most of the runners you know expecting another hot day like all the previous years well they gladly handed over their jackets and their their warm clothing i mean it would be much easier to run and therefore make you more likely to win if you weren't being bogged down by a bunch of extra weight that you didn't really need to carry at precisely 9 a.m the mayor of behind standing at the starting line raised a piss and pulled the trigger almost instantly 172 runners surged forward and began barreling off into the distance the race had started folks and by this point the weather had deteriorated even further but honestly the real challenge came at the very first turn in the race course so among the 172 registered participants in the race were runners like huang guanju who had won the men's hearing impaired marathon at the 2019 national paralympic games this episode is brought to you by state farm listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling smart move another smart move getting help from one of state farm's 19 000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling just another way to save with the personal price plan prices are based on rating plans that vary by state coverage options are selected by the customer availability amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state Gray roots entering the chat? 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That way, you know you're in the right car taking the right trip, and your driver knows you're the right passenger. Make sure your ride is your ride, with pin verification from Uber. Huang had spent much of his life kind of bouncing around between temporary jobs, doing his absolute best to make ends meet, but eventually he discovered that he could actually make a full-time living just from his race winnings. And Leon Jing, that three-time champion who I mentioned earlier, he was very much in the same boat. Years ago, he too had abandoned his daily job. He used to work as a delivery driver, and now he's working as a delivery driver. And he basically said, screw that, I'm going to become a professional runner. He discovered that he could make more money running ultra marathons than working a regular job. All he had to do was make sure that he won. For Huang, Leon, and many, many other runners, this was not just like a turkey try. This wasn't just some fun run. It wasn't even a serious challenge or just an opportunity to accomplish a personal goal. This was literally their job. Their livelihoods depended on winning, and they were going to do whatever it took in order to get that cash. So as the course left the stone road at the very beginning behind and turned sharply into a valley, all of the runners were suddenly hit with a massive gust of wind that sent hats and other clothing flying in all directions. The race had literally just started, and already Mother Nature had issued her most explicit warning so far. And yet, despite this warning sign, Leon Jing and all of the other elite runners at the very beginning charged ahead. As Zhang Xiao continued running, he too was affected by the extreme wind. However, he knew that these types of races were tough. Again, I've never ran an ultra marathon, but from what I understand, runners will often put up this mental wall that kind of allows them to push through difficult moments during the race. And presumably because of this, Zhang Zhang Xiao wrote the weather off as just kind of normal, right? It was just part of the challenge of an ultra marathon. Now, going back to Li Zuobi, though he was the race's biggest supporter and had a lot to benefit from the race politically, he did not run himself. As the county's CCP chief, he had other responsibilities that day, but of course, this race remained his vision, a showcase of what his leadership, his leadership specifically, had brought to this formerly impoverished corner of China. And so he was watching very, very closely by 10:00 AM, just one hour into the race. The apparent temperature at the third checkpoint, which, which sat higher up in the mountains had plummeted to 34 degrees Fahrenheit or just around one degree Celsius. I mean, just barely over freezing is what I'm talking about here. A fierce, unexpected cold front had just swept in, and it was beginning to hit the north facing slopes of the course. At 10:42 AM, Liang Jing reached checkpoint two. He had been in first place since the moment that he left the starting line. And at this point he was still leading the race, but by now the wind had gotten fiercer and to make matters even worse than that, a light rain had intensified into just a full on downpour. The section of the course between checkpoints two and three, which was the highest and most exposed part of the course, was rapidly becoming a death trap as temperatures continued dropping by the minute. And I promise you that is not just me being dramatic. By 11:00 AM, more and more runners were reaching checkpoint two, each facing the same critical decision. They either had to continue climbing, you know, climbing into increasingly dangerous conditions, or they had to turn back and give up on finishing the race entirely, let alone actually winning it. But by 11:09 AM, the first of only four runners who would eventually survive to checkpoint four reached this crucial juncture. Some runners began throwing in the towel at checkpoint two, turning back and turning around and heading back down the mountain, and warning others who were still coming up in the process. But at the same time, many runners decided to press on. I mean, they were competitors after all, they wanted to win or at least put up the best possible finishing time that they could, right? Conditions were bad, but spirits were still high. And after all, this was a professionally sanctioned race. I mean, of course, there should be people looking out for their safety, right? I mean, how dangerous could it really be? By 11:20 AM, the apparent temperature at checkpoint three had plunged well below freezing to 23 degrees Fahrenheit or -5 Celsius. It was also getting nearly impossible to see. I mean, visibility was rapidly decreasing as all of this fog and precipitation blew in. The wind was so strong that it was literally blowing away trail markers, which made navigating the already difficult course basically impossible. It's just a really bad situation. And then, at 11:50 AM, a desperate runner sent the very first distress message via their GPS. This message never received a response. And tragically, it was never received. And tragically, it was never received a response. It would not be the last. By 12:00 noon, the situation on the mountain had turned catastrophic. Heavy rain mixed with hail was now just pounding the exposed section of the course and runners caught between checkpoints two and three faced the worst of all the conditions. And once again, I want to remind you that most of them were only wearing shorts and t-shirts. They had left behind their colder weather gear so that they could pick it up further down the course when they thought that they would actually need it. The runners were left with absolutely no protection against the elements. At 12 17 PM, the first distress message that actually was received reached race officials. And then shortly after that at 12 30 PM, a haunting photo surfaced, which showed 10 runners huddled together with their emergency blankets. Again, the only protection they had being completely torn apart by the relentless winds. By this point, visibility had dropped to less than 15 feet. The trail had become increasingly slippery, a very bad thing to combine with the numerous dangerous cliff edges that were literally just one wrong step away for all of these runners. Multiple people began experiencing the classic symptoms of hypothermia, right? Loss of feeling in your extremities, uncontrollable, violent, shaking, mental confusion, and even partial loss of motor function. It was around this time that Zhang Zhang Xiao encountered two fellow runners that were in serious trouble. He tried to assist one of them, a racer, who just could not stop shaking. But after a failed attempt to kind of walk together, Zhang had no choice but to continue on all by himself. This decision would almost certainly end up saving his life. And yet at the same time, it of course would go on to haunt his conscience probably forever. Now, further back on the course, Yan Diashian had decided that she had enough. And so she joined up with another runner who was named Qi Li. And the two of them decided to turn back around and go back down the mountain, right? This sounds simple in theory, but in practice, it was extremely difficult. And eventually it got to the point where the two runners realized that they weren't even on the course anymore. They were completely lost. I mean, visibility was so bad that they had no idea where they were going and essentially just had to kind of hope and pray that they would stumble into some sort of safety. Yan knew that she was dangerously close to death at this point. I mean, one wrong move, one wrong move, one wrong move, one wrong move, one wrong move. That would be all it took. And as it turns out, this gut feeling that she had was right because this is the point in the story where runners began dropping like flies. By 1 p.m., the actual temperature on the mountain had risen to a balmy 39 degrees Fahrenheit or four degrees Celsius, which that's sarcasm, obviously. And just to add to that, the extreme wind chill, uh, that hadn't died down. That did not make things feel any warmer. Whatsoever. At 1 0 8 p.m. Liang Jing's sports watch recorded a heart rate of zero. The three-time champion and father had become one of the very first people to die on the mountain. GPS data would later reveal that his final kilometer took an agonizing 57 minutes. And it showed him basically just kind of moving around in this desperate zigzag pattern as he struggled to find shelter before eventually succumbing to the elements, which is very, very tragic. And folks, he would not be the last. Around 2 p.m. as elite runners began dying on the mountain, a shepherd named Zhu Keming was tending his sheep on a hill near the course when he spotted several collapsed runners on the trail off in the distance. Now, frankly, this was none of his business, right? I mean, he could have just kind of pretended that he never saw anything and then kind of slunk back into the shadows. Not wanting to get involved. It's not his problem. But instead of doing that, Zhu, who maintained a heated cave dwelling in the area, immediately sprang into action. He found multiple unconscious runners exhibiting severe hypothermia symptoms, and he carried them into this heated cave. Some of them regained consciousness and welcomed the refuge that the cave provided from the disaster unfolding back on the course. However, some of the runners never woke up. At all. While searching for other survivors, Zhu would soon discover three more runners who had already died, you know, just outside the entrance to his cave. Around 2 p.m., a private search team called Blue Sky Rescue managed to rescue 18 runners by guiding them to a lodge down the mountain. And at the same time that this effort was taking place, Yan Diashian and Ki Li, still kind of stumbling around through the whiteout conditions, barely managed to spot this cave through the fog off in the distance. And of course, as they got closer, they saw Zhu Keming standing there at the entrance. Zhu waved Yan and Ki inside the cave, and he was already sheltering another runner at this point wrapped in emergency blankets, you know, a runner that was clearly suffering from hypothermia. And upon seeing this, Yan immediately got to work making sure that she would not suffer the same fate. She stopped and took her wet socks and shoes, and she even tucked her feet under another runner's hips to kind of give her some warmth, right? Zhu told her that he had already called for help, you know, further down the mountain, but nobody had answered him. Yan then informed him that herself and the rest of the runners were almost surely going to die unless he started a fire. And of course, Zhu realized this himself, and so he sprang into action, quickly gathering up a bunch of firewood before putting it into this incredibly bright, crackling blaze, one of the only sources of heat and, frankly, hope in an environment that was rapidly turning more deadly by the second. At 2.30 PM, race administrators called the mayor of a nearby town with some very ambiguous instructions. They asked for, quote, winter supplies for the runners. Now, this vague and non-urgent directive was quickly kind of just delegated somewhere. It ultimately proved to be yet another glaring example of the terrible, incompetent communication on May 22, 2021. And around this same time, two more runners arrived at Zhu's cave, and their report was incredibly grim. They had found multiple unconscious runners on their way up the mountain, and they had even checked a lot of them for pulses. Some of them were still alive, but a lot of them were not. There were no pulses. However, they did notice that they there was a man who was badly cramping, you know, in bad shape, but still alive, located just a short distance away from the entrance of the cave. At 3 PM, a man named Kong Ming received a call from the race organizer asking to help a particular injured runner down the mountain. Kong courageously set out into these brutal conditions, and after hiking for what felt like an eternity, he finally neared the top of his climb. He was just about to crest the ridge when all of a sudden, he spotted smoke rising out from this nearby cave. Of course, we all know what cave I'm talking about here. So Kong and Zhu would end up briefly chatting kind of at the entrance to the cave, and Zhu told him about how dire the situation was. I mean, there were multiple runners, most of whom were in critical condition, all huddled inside of his cave. And in addition to that, Zhu knew that there were even more runners, a lot of whom were already dead. And so with this, Kong, who was only sent up there to rescue one, you know, individual runner, well, his rescue mission had now turned into this frantic scramble to save as many runners as he could possibly find. And so he left the safety of the cave and threw himself back into the dangerous wrath of mother nature. And it wasn't long until he stumbled upon a site that left him completely shocked. We'll say Kong found a runner laying on the ground with his eyes shut as if he was just kind of laying there sleeping. And of course, you guys probably know this already. This man was obviously not sleeping. He was dead. And so instinctively, Kong decided to kind of glance down at the dead man's bib number. And when he did this, his brain basically refused to process what he was looking at. This runner's bid number. Number one, the very first one. And that meant that the man that was collapsed dead in front of Kong was none other than Liang Jing himself, the most famous, the most talented and beloved ultra runner in the entire country of China. And as shocking as that was, it gets even worse because Kong knew that if a man of Liang's strength and endurance and physical fitness had succumbed to the elements, then surely there was going to be many, many, many, many more people who suffered the same fate. Folks, at this point, the Yellow River Stone Forest Ultramarathon was now flirting with becoming a full-on mass casualty event. Around the same time that this was all going down, Zhu went out on yet another rescue mission, this time to find that runner who had been reportedly cramping nearby the cave entrance, but still was alive, right? And Zhu, being the hero that he is, well, of course, he did manage to find this runner but that doesn't mean the prognosis was good the runner hardly even conscious at this point, kept whispering the same phrase over and over. He kept saying, I'm in fourth place. I'm in fourth place. I'm in fourth place. This runner was who else but Zhang Zhongshou. Zhang had been lying out there in the cold for over two hours by this point. And like many of the other runners on this fateful day, he had used his GPS to send out an emergency SOS. But just like many other runners on this fateful day, his call had not been answered. Zhu called out to Qi Li for help. And together, the two of them dragged Zhang back inside. He was barely responsive. He was completely disoriented. And he just continued to mumble about the race. They laid him just inside the cave entrance to avoid a bunch of smoke from the fire. And his clothes were completely soaked. His fingers were stiff. And his body, not just his mind, had clearly started to just shut down. I'm in fourth. I'm in fourth. I'm in fourth. Is what he kept repeating. Yan, who at this point had actually started to recover from her previous life or death state, well, she stepped in to help Zhang. And it wasn't just her, actually. She was assisted by all of the other runners who were stable enough to provide assistance. And so they removed Zhang's wet clothing and they placed them near the fire to dry. Yan also warned the others not to rub Zhang's limbs or to warm his hands. Because she knew that forcing cold blood back into his core too fast could actually end up killing him. And so instead, she offered him these small sips of water, whatever snacks that she could scrape together. And of course, she offered him some of those disgusting energy gels that runners use. Why do they use those? Little by little, Zhang started eating and slowly started recovering. And so we're going to go back down into town for a moment here. We're going to leave the cave. And this is when something incredibly frustrating happened. And so back down by the starting line, it was now about 3.30 p.m. And it was at this point that a local resident finally called in an emergency about the race. And like a proper rescue, mostly spearheaded by firefighters, was launched. 3.30. And they're finally realizing how bad things were. You know, they had some inklings before this, but 3.30 is when it actually set in. And they were like, whoa, we got to get to work here. And that might sound ridiculous to you that, you know, that it took this long. But the truth is that the organizers back on the ground, they just, I don't, I don't know why they didn't understand how bad things were until now. But that's essentially what happened. And then about an hour later at, say, 4.20 p.m., firefighters were finally dispatched. But they were located over 20 miles away from the course. So it was going to take them a while at 4.42. At 2 p.m., Zhu Keming was finally able to get some cell signal for the first time since the start of all of this. And he began to report the deaths back down to those who were in town. At 5 p.m., local villagers, you know, not trained rescue professionals, but just local people trying to help. Well, they arrived at Zhu's cave with blankets, hot water, hot drinks and other important supplies. Yan immediately sent them back onto the course to search for more runners where they would be better utilized. And then shortly after this, the weather finally relented and the survivors in Zhu's cave decided that it was time to get back down to safety before it got too dark. They wrapped themselves in towels and Zhu guided them down a short side trail that was not part of the race course. It was, you know, a shortcut to get back down, essentially. At 5.45 p.m. At 5.45 p.m., firefighters finally arrived at the fourth checkpoint. And then between 6 and 7 p.m., a local villager found and rescued a surviving runner who was literally foaming at the mouth. By 8 p.m., 60 able-bodied men from a local village had hiked up to the now infamous third checkpoint. And around the same time, Yan and other survivors finally arrived back at their hotel where they had a very tense and quiet dinner with fellow survivors. The only conversation topic, if you could even call it that, it feels weird calling it that, but the only conversation topic we'll say was about who might still be alive on the mountain. At 8.20 p.m., the last living runner was rescued off the course. At 9 p.m., firefighters hiked up to the third checkpoint with thermal imaging drones and radar. But of course, they got lost in the dark several times and ended up just relying on villagers. The firefighters weren't equipped or trained, for that matter, to identify hypothermia and did not attempt CPR on any runners who looked dead, whatever that means. Rescue efforts continued through the night, and at midnight, GPS data showed runner Wu Panrong was still moving, essentially walking himself in circles in order to try to keep warm. And tragically, despite the fact that rescue operations were underway. At this point, help never reached him, and he would end up dying during the night. At some point, that GPS track stopped, and he would end up being one of the last deaths of this entire event. But not the very last. The last death would come actually days later, and it wasn't even the death of a runner. But we'll get there. By morning, 18 runners were confirmed dead. With three still out there missing. And soon, the official death toll would be announced, of course, as 21 runners, 18 men and three women. All victims had been from the very beginning of the runner pack, like the people who started, you know, the quickest. And this just so happened to work out because the storm happened to hit when the lead pack was at the highest elevation on the course. In addition to the deaths, eight more runners were seriously injured but would go on to survive. And, astonishingly, only four of the 172 participants made it all the way to the fourth checkpoint. Most of the people who survived had been just further back in the pack and had just been lucky and missed the worst of the storm. Local officials that had championed, promoted, and overseen this race were now under incredible scrutiny. And Lee Zuobi, specifically, again, the county's. Chinese Communist Party chief, well, he was now facing the worst crisis of his career and, folks, it was actually about to get even worse for him, but once again, we'll get there. In the days that followed, the Chinese government launched an investigation into this disaster, and they also took the very bold step of suspending all extreme sports nationwide. Criminal investigations were open left and right, and as pressure mounted, it became clear that someone was going to be killed. Someone was going to have to pay. Like, someone was going to have to be held responsible for this disaster. And as pressure mounted, it became crystal clear that disciplinary actions against those responsible, including Lee Zuobi, of course, would be severe. The official investigation found multiple critical failures, including neglecting weather warnings, which I talked about, failing to require runners to carry warm clothing, which I also talked about, insufficient medical and supply stations along the course, poor communication channels for emergency calls, and poorly organized rescue efforts. For the survivors, the physical and psychological scars were just severe. Zhang Zhongxiao's left index finger stayed numb from nerve damage. He would even go on to suspend his social media accounts after facing harassment online from people who kind of questioned some of his work. And as for Yan Dixian, well, she would experience flashbacks and have trouble sleeping for months. She even kept in touch with Zhang and some of the other survivors for kind of just, you know, moral support. And she maintained contact with Shepard Zhu Keming, periodically sending him gifts in gratitude for saving her life. Oh, and speaking of Zhu, who saved at least six lives on that fateful day, the tragic irony. I mean, the same mountains that had provided him a simple life for decades had been transformed into this deadly showcase for economic progress or whatever they were trying to do. His humble cave, you know, heated by just simple fires, ultimately provided more protection to the desperate runners than all of the technological advancements and organizational infrastructure of modern China. And now for Li Zuobi. So, this race had symbolized everything he had worked for in his career. But now, as investigators dug deeply into this tragedy, it was clear that someone had to be held accountable for these 21 deaths. The pressure on all of the local officials was intense, and as the days passed, Li Zuobi found himself increasingly targeted. On June 9th, 2021, less than three weeks after the tragedy, the 22nd and final victim of the. the Yellow River Stone Forest Ultramarathon would end up dying. Li Zuobi ended. his own life by jumping from his high-rise apartment building and that very same day disciplinary actions were announced against 31 officials lee zuobi however was exempted from punishment after his death now many questioned whether he had been a scapegoat essentially kind of forced to shoulder the blame for all of these systemic failures and bureaucracy um and you know you can debate that but the man who had proudly promoted this race as a way to lift his region out of poverty had now been destroyed by it my heart goes out to all the victims of this race um once again i apologize for the pronunciation in this video as well i'll see all of you in the next video