About 70 runners and volunteers spent 12 hours stranded in the Utah desert after extreme weather linked to Tropical Storm Rachel forced the cancellation of a 240-mile endurance race.
The competitors set out on the 241.8-mile Moab 240 course on October 9, beginning a four-day journey across remote desert terrain, deep canyons, slick-rock formations and two mountain ranges.
By Saturday evening, however, conditions had deteriorated sharply. Flash floods cut off the route near the Bridger Jack Aid Station at approximately mile 96, leaving runners unable to safely continue.
Video from the scene showed the danger posed by the rising water, with some runners attempting to navigate fast-moving floodwaters before turning back.
The group returned to the aid station, where they were provided with shelter, warmth, food and drinking water as they waited out the night.
The weather remained hazardous into Sunday morning, and flooding and other dangerous conditions had spread to additional sections of the course. Organizers Destination Trail ultimately called off the race.
Participant Brian Hamilton posted a photograph of himself and several other runners huddled inside a shelter, wrapped in foil blankets as the storm intensified.
Hamilton, an Oregon resident, has taken part in the Moab 240 six times but completed the entire course on four occasions, he told Fox 13 Now. He had hoped to record a fifth finish last weekend, but the storm brought that attempt to an early end.
Flash flooding linked to Tropical Storm Rachel forced runners to spend the night at an aid station near mile marker 96. Brian Hamilton, pictured at the front, was among those stranded
Around 70 runners and volunteers were stranded in the Utah desert for 12 hours after the 240-mile race was canceled midway through the event
“I’ve never been hit in the head so hard by rain before,” Hamilton told the outlet. “I had a very high-end rain jacket on and my hat on. I put the hood up, and it was hurting me.”
In a Facebook post featuring additional images from the ordeal, he said the runners endured a night of driving rain and powerful winds while hoping their tents would remain in place. Many huddled inside emergency foil bivy bags, which Hamilton said he was grateful to have packed.
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“We were in a marginally forested area,” fellow runner Troy Eid told Fox 13 Now. “It was mostly open, and it was high, so it was cold. We were being buffeted by the rain.”
On Sunday, Destination Trail worked with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office to arrange an evacuation from the remote aid station.
Even after making it through the dangerous night, the runners still had to hike between four and five miles before reaching a point where sheriff’s deputies could use all-terrain vehicles to collect them. They were then transported by school bus to Moab.
By 9:30 p.m. Sunday, officials had confirmed that every runner was accounted for.
“This is not how anyone wanted the Moab 240 to end,” Destination Trail said in a 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. Destination Trail is deeply disappointed for everyone involved.”
The demanding Moab 240 route takes participants through two mountain ranges and across steep slick-rock terrain
Tropical Storm Rachel caused severe destruction in California and brought dangerous flooding to parts of Utah
The total number of participants who began the race has not been disclosed.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Destination Trail for comment.
Tropical Storm Rachel caused the Baker Dam and Santa Clara River in Utah to overflow as the state saw flash flooding.
In California, the storm battered waterfront properties as pricey homes collapsed into the monstrous 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.