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More than 80 runners were rescued on Saturday after a blinding blizzard traversed a 50-mile Ultramarathon race in the Utah mountains, dumping more than a foot of snow and leaving some runners hypothermic, according to the forces. order.
The annual DC Peak 50 is a point-to-point run that winds its way through East Mountain Wilderness Park in Utah, starting at 5 a.m. with an average elevation of 6,604 feet, which usually offers stunning views of the Park.
Law enforcement was told runners were stranded on the mountain in white blizzard conditions that dropped 12 to 18 inches of snow on the ground about four hours after the start of the race, the office said. Davis County Sheriff in a statement.
Search and rescue teams frantically traveled the entire 50-mile trail by snowmobile, 4×4 and on foot for several hours to locate all of the riders, the sheriff’s office said.
By 2:45 p.m., all of the runners had been found and had left the mountain safely.
A few runners were treated for hypothermia by local fire departments at the base of the mountain and were released at the scene. Another person was treated for hypothermia and minor injury from a fall and was also released at the scene, officials said.
Davis County Sheriff Kelly Sparks has warned the weather can be temperamental and unforgiving this time of year.
“Venturing into the mountains, trails and bodies of water at this time of year can be dangerous as the weather changes quickly and conditions can quickly be life threatening,” he said in a statement. “Even light rain in the valley can result in blizzard conditions at higher elevations.”
Saturday’s wild DC Peak 50 was runner Ryan Comb’s debut marathon, which he described as a “complete disaster of an adventure” in an upbeat Facebook post in the Trail and Ultra Running group.
“I was stranded in the mountains for 6 hours in 2 feet of snow, white, snow, sleet and hail! I have fallen in the snow several times and been treated for extreme hypothermia! he said in the post. “The race was canceled due to conditions. I was lucky to have 4 other runners who helped me get to a checkpoint where they had search and rescue missions waiting and looking for stranded runners.
He shared a photo of himself and three other runners at an abandoned first aid station, where they regrouped and found Gatorade. He said he went to the emergency room after the race for a full examination.
“I am demobilized”, he updated. “Frost, high muscle tissue damage. Electrolytes were good! Just take a day or two off the job and don’t do anything to hurt yourself!”
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