Around 70 runners and volunteers were stranded in the Utah desert for 12 hours after a 240-mile race was canceled due to brutal conditions caused by Tropical Storm Rachel.
asserted
race → strand → Rachel
Runners took off on the 241.8-mile course on October 9, where they were expected to spend four days winding their way through the desert, canyons, slick rock formations, and two mountain ranges.
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they → take → desert
But by Saturday night, runners and course volunteers found themselves in dire conditions, with flash flooding blocking their path near Bridger Jack Aid Station, which is located at mile marker 96.
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which → find → marker
Flooding made it unsafe for runners to cross, with shocking footage showing some attempting to maneuver through rapid, high water.
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some → make → water
The runners returned to the aid station, where they were given shelter, heat, food, and drinking water overnight.
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they → return → shelter
However, conditions did not improve by Sunday morning, and with other parts of the course also becoming hazardous, organizers Destination Trail decided to cancel the race.
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Trail → improve → race
Brian Hamilton, who participated in the event, shared a picture showing him and several other athletes huddled in a shelter and draped in foil blankets as conditions worsened.
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conditions → participate → blankets
The Oregonian has participated in the Moab 240 six times, but only completed the course four times, he told Fox 13 Now.
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he → participate → Fox
He had been hoping to finish it a fifth time last weekend, only for it to be thwarted by the weather.
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it → hop → weather
Flash flooding caused by Tropical Storm Rachel caused the runners to have to stay overnight at an aid station near mile marker 96 on the course.
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runners → cause → course
Brian Hamilton (front) was among the group
Around 70 runners and volunteers were stranded in the Utah desert for 12 hours after the 240-mile race was canceled in the middle of it
'
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race → strand → it
I’ve never been hit in the head so hard by rain before.
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I → hit → rain
I had a very high-end rain jacket on with my hat on, put the hood [on], and it was hurting me,' he told the outlet.
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he → have → outlet
'We had to stay the night in the windy rain hoping the tents would not blow away and huddled in our emergency tinfoil bivvy bags.
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tents → have → bags
So glad I always carry one,' he continued on his Facebook page, where he shared more photos from the mammoth event.
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he → carry → event
'We were in a marginally forested area,' fellow participant, Troy Eid, told Fox 13 Now.
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participant → tell → area
We were being buffeted by the rain.'
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We → buffet → rain
On Sunday, organizers coordinated with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office to evacuate the runners.
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organizers → coordinate → runners
But after surviving a night of hellish weather, the group still had to hike four to five miles to where the sheriff's office was able to bring in ATVs to get them out.
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office → survive → them
After that, they hopped on a school bus to be taken to Moab.
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they → hop → Moab
By 9.30pm on Sunday, all the runners were accounted for.
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runners → account → Sunday
'This is not how anyone wanted the Moab 240 to end,' Destination Trail said in a statement.
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Trail → want → statement
'Runners put months of training into getting here, and crews, pacers and volunteers invested an enormous amount of time and effort into supporting them.
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crews → put → them
Destination Trail is deeply disappointed for everyone involved.'
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Trail → involve → everyone
A woman braces against the the wind as she made her way though the course
Another participant is seeing going through high waters
Another participant climbed up steep terrain in bad weather
Participants have to hike through two mountain ranges and up stick rock on the course
In California, Tropical Storm Rachel brought devastating destruction, while it brought flooding to Utah
It is unclear how many participants started the race.
uncertain
participants → brace → race
The Daily Mail has reached out to Destination Trail for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
Tropical Storm Rachel caused the Baker Dam and Santa Clara River in Utah to overflow as the state saw flash flooding.
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state → cause → flooding
In California, the storm battered waterfront properties as pricey homes collapsed into the monstrous waves.
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homes → batter → waves
The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning on Friday afternoon for Los Angeles County beaches until 3pm on Sunday, as forecasters expected waves reaching four to seven feet.
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forecasters → issue → feet
The Aporia
