Reporter/Xu Dawei Xu Tian
"It's so terrible, I have to cry every time I say it."
On the evening of May 23, a reporter from China News Weekly met Wang Jinming, the survivor of the cross-country marathon, at the People's Hospital of Chengtai County, Baiyin City. On this day, in the face of constantly visiting reporters, Wang Jinming repeated the nightmarish experience.
On the hospital bed, the reporter saw that Wang Jinming's knees were almost worn, and his palms were also covered with dense wounds. Wang Jinming told reporters that he had previously learned about wilderness survival or emergency knowledge, which was of great help to his emergency self-help after distress. Wang Jinming heated himself up by crawling, while constantly biting his lip to keep himself awake, "I told myself that I couldn't sleep, and I slept as soon as I slept." ”
(Screenshot of Liang Jing's video posted from the Yellow River Stone Forest National Geopark before the competition)
But China's trail running record holder Liang Jing did not make it through. Liang Jing is the top domestic trail runner, in 2015, Liang Jing quit her job and concentrated on running to get bonuses for a living. He once had a proud record: in 2018, Liang Jing won the "2018 Jinan 12-hour ultra-marathon" with a time of 151.2 kilometers and broke the Chinese 12-hour super horse record he held; just last month, in the Ningbo Jiangnan 100-mile cross-country race, Liang Jinggang created a new 100-mile track record with a time of 18 hours, 24 minutes and 23 seconds, and won 30,000 yuan in prize money.
The Yellow River Stone Forest 100-kilometer cross-country race is no stranger to Liang Jing. The first three champions have all been pocketed by him, and this year is his fourth participation, but he finally fell on the familiar track due to the loss of temperature.
Nearly 48 hours have passed since the 21 people were killed, and many relatives, friends and families of the victims are still asking: How was the rescue carried out in the first place? Did the emergency measures and rescue system of the whole event play a role?
"It's harder to go back than to move forward"
Wang Jinming is participating in cross-country running for the first time, and the marathons he has participated in before have been "road running". Seeing this event on the website, Wang Jinming, who is far away in Chongqing, signed up for this event with the mentality of running and watching.
The day before the race, the organizers held a technical analysis meeting, and all the runners who participated in the 100-kilometer cross-country race had to participate. The track of the Yellow River Stone Forest 100-kilometer cross-country race has a certain degree of difficulty, the overall altitude is about 2000 meters, a large part of the track is in no man's land, and the 20-hour closing time also has a certain "threshold". Wang Jinming, who survived the disaster, said that such cross-country running does have a threshold for novices.
Wang Jinming recalled that at the beginning of the game, the weather was not unusual. He brought insulation blankets, GPS, whistles, and storm jackets. When he ran to the CP2 to CP3 section, the weather changed suddenly, with strong winds, freezing rain and hail hitting together, and the temperature plummeted to only a few degrees or so. Wang Jinming felt that his hands and feet were gradually cold, and his consciousness was gradually blurred.
(On May 23, the injured people in the Gansu Baiyin Mountain Marathon were treated at the Jingtai County People's Hospital.) Photo: China News Network)
He wanted to open the insulated blanket he was carrying, but due to the cold limbs, it took more than 20 minutes to open it, but a fierce wind blew his insulation blanket away. At this time, Wang Jinming was in the middle of the cp2 to cp3 segments, which belonged to no man's land, with steep mountains and complex terrain. Dilemma and lack of necessary supplies. At one of the outlets, Wang Jinming met five or six contestants, all of whom were in similar physical condition. Wang Jinming felt that his hands and feet were slowly losing consciousness, and he could only crawl. Wang Jinming reminded the other contestants to move, "but everyone is already weak."
Liu Xibing is a native of Gansu and a senior "runner". Last year, Liu Xibing also participated in the Yellow River Stone Forest 100-kilometer cross-country race.
In Liu Xibing's impression, the organizers of the event did not report that there would be unexpected weather conditions on the day before the game. He told reporters that experienced racers generally distribute and carry items according to their own time. Last year, Liu Xibing ran for 13 hours, and in light of the time, Liu Xibing brought necessities such as thermal blankets, whistles and headlamps, and stored the rotating clothes and other items at the CP6 supply point.
The place where Liu Xibing was in distress was also in the CP2 to CP3 section, under the storm, after being blown down by a gust of wind, Liu Xibing lost consciousness. Liu Xibing can't remember how he was saved, when he was already in a coma. A video shows Liu Xibing wearing only a layer of running clothes, lying flat on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Liu Xibing told China News Weekly that CP2 to CP3 are steep stone mountains all the way, making it "harder for contestants to retreat than to advance."
At about 8 p.m., Liu Xibing was rescued by a local shepherd, who was also one of the first trapped and injured to be rescued.
The complex terrain poses a huge challenge to the rescue
At about 3 p.m. on May 22, the Tiaoshan Fire Rescue Station in Jingtai County received a call for help, and the station manager Cheng Wenqing was ordered to lead two trucks and 10 rescuers to the rescue. Cheng Wenqing told China News Weekly that they didn't know what was happening at the time, "just that 1 person was trapped on the mountain."
At about 5 p.m., Cheng Wenqing and his rescue team arrived at the CP4 supply point. The rescue team members followed cp6 to cp5 and then to cp4, from cp6 to cp5, the SUV could drive, "but after reaching cp4, the car could not go."
The CP4 supply point was in a deep ditch, and Cheng Wenqing saw a tent at the supply point. Rescuers from the Blue Sky Rescue Team told them that they were physically exhausted and that the trapped people on the mountain were out of temperature. The rescue team took the battle suit, water, rope and other thermal insulation and rescue materials, and continued to search from cp4 to cp3 to cp2, accompanied by a doctor.
(Helicopter rescue site on the morning of the 23rd.) Photo: China News Network)
The first challenge the rescue team faced was not knowing the exact location of the trapped people. The area is no-man's land, unfamiliar to rescuers, and can only rely on beacon flags along the marathon track to indicate the direction of the search. Secondly, communication was affected, Cheng Wenqing said, rescue workers generally use mobile phones to communicate, after arriving at the scene of the incident, found that there is no signal on the mountain. The rescue team specially carried two satellite phones, but the local terrain was too complicated, "blocked by the mountains, and satellite phone communications will also be affected."
The local complex terrain brings great challenges to the rescue, Cheng Wenqing told China News Weekly, they started from the CP4 area on foot rescue, physical exertion is very large, to the CP3 area, the mountain is steep, the track is mostly at the top of the mountain, some of the tracks are cliffs. In the cp2 area, the terrain is more rugged and belongs to the situation of walking more and more dangerous.
The unfamiliar terrain makes the search more difficult, although there are local villagers as guides, but the area where the incident occurred is inaccessible for many years, and there is no clear place name, which cannot accurately locate and indicate the target. When it was almost dark, the rescue team finally saw several figures.
Rescuers approached and found four contestants in a cave where a shepherd was grazing, accompanied by two local villagers. Cheng Wenqing found that only one of the four people had vital signs, and the other three had frozen to death, one of whom was Liang Jing, a top domestic trail runner.
Rescuers started a fire in the cave, warmed the surviving contestants, and left one rescue team member to take care of it, while the rest of the rescuers continued to search for and rescue. The entire rescue operation lasted until 6 a.m. the next day, and the rescue team led by Cheng Wenqing found a total of 9 participants, but except for the surviving participant, the remaining 7 men and 1 woman were killed.
In Cheng Wenqing's view, participating in such a field cross-country sports, outdoor warm equipment such as storm jackets must be carried," local villagers said that even if they go up the mountain in summer, they must wear cotton clothes. Cheng Wenqing said.
Neglected mandatory equipment
Li Le participated in the Yellow River Stone Forest Trail Running Event in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, in 2019. In his impression, in the dozens of 100-kilometer cross-country runs he has participated in, almost none of the events have strictly checked the mandatory equipment of the runners, and the inspectors usually just casually look through it. During the 2019 Yellow River Stone Forest Trail Run, he once met a runner who did not carry a headlamp more than ten kilometers before the finish line. It was already more than eight o'clock in the evening, there was no headlight, in fact, it was very dangerous, "the event side did not strictly require and check the equipment of the players."
A picture circulated on the Internet shows that compared with the number book, timing chip, electronic trajectory, GDS tracker, lighting equipment, water appliances, life blankets, whistles, mobile phones and other mandatory equipment of the Yellow River Stone Forest Trail Run, the mandatory equipment of a foreign cross-country race also includes bandages, physical reserves, windproof and waterproof jackets, trousers that can cover the entire leg or compression pants and stocking combinations. Moreover, there are clear numerical regulations for the capacity of the water cup, the physical reserve calories, the size of the life blanket and bandage, and the waterproof and breathable performance of the jacket.
Li Le once had a terrible experience of losing his temperature. In August 2018, he participated in a trail run on Mount Wutai. At 7 p.m., in order to reach a section of the road, the whole distance is 18 kilometers, the vertical distance is 1200 meters, all downhill roads, and there are no supply points. On that day, because of the rain and snow on the mountain, Li Le's whole body was soaked. He had only been running trail for two months and had no experience. The self-supply bag is not waterproof, and the clean clothes are also wet with rain and snow and cannot be changed, and Li Le feels that he is on the verge of losing temperature.
It was pitch black and empty. He called the organizers of the event to ask for rescue, but the other party said that there was no way to rescue him, only that he could go down the mountain by himself, and after going down the mountain, he could find a taxi to take him back to the hotel. Li Le was furious, "I just couldn't get down to ask for support, I was soaking wet and couldn't find my way." He felt dizzy, and even had some hallucinations, but he did not dare to sleep or stop to rest, so he had to encourage himself, shouting and singing all the way, and finally came down the mountain.
Since then, he has never dared to go into battle lightly, and the self-supply bag he carries with him is always full, weighing eight or nine pounds. The bag must be waterproof, containing two 20,000 mAh charging treasures, two headlamps, a thick fleece jacket, a raincoat, and so on. Some runners pursue speed, he only pursues safe finishing.
Runners like Li Le are not very many in the cross-country running circle. Whether it is a company or an individual, the importance of compulsory equipment and self-supply is not enough. Li Le pointed out that what is reflected in the compulsory equipment is still a problem that everyone does not attach importance to safety. Both the participants and the event parties feel that there has been no problem in the game, and there is a fluke mentality, "but often in this case, there will be real problems."
Fanatical industry
When Li Le participated in the 2019 Yellow River Stone Forest 100 km cross-country race, he already had dozens of 100 km cross-country running experience.
Yellow River Stone Forest Trail Running is "relatively simple" in his view. Racing in the scenic area means that safety is guaranteed; it is not difficult for him to climb 3,000 meters and finish in 20 hours. Moreover, the registration fee is 1000 yuan, the reward is 1600 yuan after the completion, and he can earn 600 yuan by playing in Gansu, and he did not hesitate to sign up.
In the 2019 competition, the weather was hot, there was no wind and no rain, and everyone was more concerned about whether they would suffer from heat stroke. The problem of supply point 3, which was criticized in this accident, did not provide supplies and only provided punch cards did not exist in 2019. At that time, supply point 3 also provided simple replenishment.
The 100-kilometer cross-country run had already begun to "go out of the circle" at that time, and as a veteran marathon runner, Li Le immediately switched to the sport. From 2018 to 2019, Li Le participated in the 100-kilometer cross-country run almost every week, and in more than a year, participated in more than 60 times. Thinking about it now, he thought that he did not understand the background of the event company at that time, nor did he understand the route, and he was not fully prepared for his equipment. When I got to the local area, I raced, and I stumbled all the way.
Li Le later learned that in fact, many events are hosted by small companies, generally companies founded by cross-country runners, who want to organize runners to run on a classic line, so they cooperate with the local government to have an event. "They just participated in the competition, did not have professional training, and ran the competition according to subjective wishes, how could they do the competition well?"
Wei Bi, who has provided medical security services for various outdoor sports events such as Mount Everest climbing and the Gobi Challenge, also agreed in an interview with China News Weekly. As far as he knows, in the early days, the executive company of some domestic off-road races, the boss is also a senior cross-country runner, organizing personnel to plan the route, and then simulating according to everyone's experience, mainly small cross-country running events with short and medium distances of 30-50 kilometers. Later, after more experience, more people were gradually invited to participate, the scale of the competition was expanded, and more than 100 kilometers of groups were added to cross the river by feeling the stones.
Wei Bi said that about five or six years ago, 100-kilometer cross-country running gradually became popular in China, and events such as "so-and-so 100 kilometers" were organized everywhere. The trend in recent years is that the southwest and northwest regions, because of the unique terrain and landforms of the local areas, and the beautiful scenery, hope to promote tourism by organizing cross-country races and increase their exposure. The Yellow River Stone Forest Cross-Country Race, which occurred in this accident, is also set in the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Area in Baiyin City, Gansu Province.
This kind of niche movement originated in Europe and the United States, and has decades of development in Europe and the United States, and the basic services such as supporting guarantees and supplies behind them have been relatively mature. The introduction of this sport in China is not long, in the words of Wei Bi, "some of the events that are eager to succeed have only learned the shape, and have not learned the relevant supporting and inner spirit."
When more and more people with uneven levels come to participate, what problems will occur in the competition, what kind of emergency rescue and support plans are needed, and the domestic organizers lack rich experience and unified and detailed norms.
Inefficient rescue is a common problem in domestic competitions
Wei Bi's medical security team had encountered a thrilling event. A runner lost his way in the wrong direction during the Gobi race, and the rescue response of the event organizers was very slow. Fortunately, the team of the contestant finally rescued the contestant through its own efforts and the assistance of experienced local service providers.
In his view, the slow response of the event side's emergency rescue decision-making, the heavy dependence of the rescue force on the third-party rescue team, the large and complex terrain of the rescue range, the excessive dispersion of the players before and after, and the special weather interference are all the reasons for the low efficiency of rescue and the current common problems in domestic extreme sports events. If a player has an emergency, even if there is GPS positioning, how to ensure the efficiency of rescue and not miss the golden rescue window?
In the marathon with a longer history, after a long period of accumulation, there are relatively complete first aid plans, professional teams and treatment measures. Before the event begins, the rescue team assesses the risk factor for each stage in advance and makes a plan for extreme cases. As a niche sport and often a small event, cross-country running is often limited by cost constraints. For example, there may be a small distribution of supply points, or insufficient preparation of supply materials within the supply points. In addition, because cross-country running is like a spark in China, some small counties and towns that do not have the ability to host sports events are also involved, but will the scale of hundreds or even thousands of people exceed the range of the county-level rescue system?
Wei Bi pointed out that if you want to achieve relatively professional safety, in some large-scale events, you need to do 1:10 or even 1:5 response, that is, every 10 or 5 participants, there must be an emergency personnel. In different cities and different events, the cost of hiring a team is different, ranging from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan. Sometimes, due to the terrain, helicopter rescue must be dispatched. If the event party wants to prepare the helicopter in advance, it may also cost hundreds of thousands of yuan. Wei Bi believes that for some small event parties, there has never been a problem in running the race for several years, and the medical security team is the largest part of the cost, which may be relaxed in this regard.
"Our line is a quick-acting heart-saving pill. When it is ready, it will occupy a certain amount of money, and it will not be used without accidents, but if you have a fluke mentality and do not buy this medicine, when you need it, it will be too late. Wei Bi said frankly.
Regarding the accidents that occurred during the Silver Yellow River Stone Forest cross-country run, Wei Bi believes that such a large-scale casualty incident must be due to the event organizers' underestimation of the local extreme weather, the lack of decisive rescue suspension and other processes, and the problems of the supporting support system.
On the evening of May 23, the State General Administration of Sport held an emergency meeting to further consolidate the safety management of the sports system and continuously improve the safety risk prevention and control system and measures in the sports field.
Li Le and Wei Bi both believe that this incident will become a turning point in the industry: security issues will be raised to an unprecedented height, industry standards may also be introduced, and the fanatical market will be "corrected".
(At the request of the interviewee, Li Le is a pseudonym)