Trail Race Safety

On May 22nd, tragedy struck when severe weather hit the Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon in China. Caught between checkpoints along the 100km race course, runners found themselves exposed to hail and freezing rain at 3,000ft. When rescue teams finally reached the area, 21 people had died.

Today we're talking to Lindley Chambers: race director, first aider and former Chair of the UK Trail Running Association, about what went wrong in that fateful race and how trail race directors (and race directors of all kinds of races) can work to better prepare themselves and their events for when the worst happens.

Things covered in this episode:

• Huanghe Shilin Mountain Marathon: What went wrong?
• How to write a sound, common-sense risk assessment/emergency plan for your race without going overboard
• Deciding on how many safety personnel you'll need
• Will runners be happy to pay a premium for a safer, but more expensive, race?
• Things race directors can do to better prepare participants for risks they might face in a race
• Should there be more regulation and/or special certification requirements for high-risk races?
• What should go into a participant mandatory gear list

References:

• Why the Ultra-Race Tragedy in China Wasn’t Surprising (Outside)

Thanks to GiveSignup|RunSignup for supporting quality content for race directors by sponsoring this episode. More than 21,000 in-person, virtual, and hybrid events use GiveSignup|RunSignup's free and integrated solution to save time, grow their events, and raise more. If you'd like to learn more about GiveSignup|RunSignup's all-in-one technology solution for endurance and fundraising events, visit runsignup.com.

You can find more free resources on planning, promoting and organizing  races on our website RaceDirectorsHQ.com.

You can also share your questions about race safety or anything else in our race directors Facebook group, Race Directors Hub.

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