I was born in Utah and lived in Salt Lake City until 1970. Currently, my youngest is living in Salt Lake. So, when I heard a national news story about a snowstorm causing issues with a Utah 50 Mile Ultra with a headline stating, “87 Saved …”, I needed to do more research into this race, which ran on October 9, 2021.
There was a recent Chinese Ultra that had many deaths. I wrote a post on that race titled “21 Dead in China Ultramarathon Tragedy“. I’m hoping that these news stories don’t stop authorities from issuing race permits.
Yes, Ultras can be dangerous, especially for those unprepared. From my experience living in Utah, it snows in the mountains in October, and storms on the western slopes of the Wasatch don’t suddenly happen. You can see the storms coming across the states to the west at least a day ahead of time.
The DC Peaks 50 started in Kaysville and ran the mountains in Davis County, up to 9000 feet, with a finish in North Salt Lake. Race organizers canceled the race at the 18-mile aid station. Between 12 and 18 inches of snow had fallen in the mountains, with heavy rains in the valley by that time.
Organizers did send snowmobiles out to help runners get to an access point. EMTs treated some runners for hyperthermia.
Local news reports called the storm “a sudden blizzard.”
The Davis County Sheriff Department release said: “some runners were in shorts and lightly dressed because they don’t want to carry any extra weight.”
Once started, I would have been highly agitated with organizers canceling in the middle. As a participant, I would have been prepared for my forecasted weather conditions. If needed, I would be wearing or carrying extra clothing.
From my research, some participants were prepared for the conditions and could have continued.
My daughter told me a friend had her seven-year-old in the snowstorm at Alta that day. Alta is about 2000 feet higher in elevation.
In the past, I have run the early, 5 am JFK start. Some of those races started with temperatures just below freezing with forecasted ten mph winds. Usually, in those conditions and a 7 am start, I would be wearing shorts, knowing that the temperature would be in the mid-40s in a couple of hours.
I always wore tights and had a few extra pieces in my bottle belt pack. Not as much to stay warm. I was prepared for a potential race-ending face plant.
There is the story of the 1974 JFK with freezing rain. Only 17% of the 1355 starters finished. In those years, cotton sweats were the norm. The term “tech fabric” did not exist. Those with crews had unlimited access.
Some runners dropped from misinformation that organizers canceled the race.
The research I found on the DC Peaks 50 Mile.
2021 was the first edition of the race. There was a 300 runner limit and 87 starters.
On the race website, there was no contact information or information on the organization managing the ultra.
The race used Ultra Sign Up to register and that site, too, had no information on the organization managing the ultra.
There was a 25-minute video on the race website highlighting the course. The two speakers both professing to be the race director.
Mick Garrison, 43, has run ultras in Utah, mainly in the summer, with pedestrian, for his age, times. He has about six years of results. I could not find other information or his Facebook page.
Jake Kilgore, 42, has run ultras in Utah, none in the fall. His times, too, were pedestrian for his age. He has about seven years of results.
Both of these guys are local and should know about potential weather conditions. This race may have been the first event they ever managed.
When googling Jake Kilgore, I got a reference of a VP at Rehab Medical in Salt Lake City that in 2016 was found guilty of medical supplies fraud. That Jake Kilgore is also 42 years old. However, if that Jake Kilgore had been jailed for 60 months, he could not have run ultras between 2016 and 2020. Maybe, just a coincidence, maybe not.
As an ultrarunner, learn how to read a forecast and be prepared to survive. Use your common sense as you will never know when your race will turn into Barkley.