The Moab 240 is called off after the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel strand 70 people overnight
Floodwater cut the course at Cottonwood Creek in southeast Utah. Everyone was brought out safely, and organisers stopped the race on 11 October, two days before it was due to finish.
The Moab 240, a race of roughly 240 miles through the canyon country of southeast Utah, was called off on 11 October after the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought flooding, high winds and freezing temperatures to the course. About 70 runners and volunteers who had been stranded overnight at an aid station were brought out safely.
The race, run by Destination Trail, started in Moab on 9 October and was scheduled to finish on 13 October. Its loop of about 386 km starts and ends in the town.
Cut off at Cottonwood Creek
On Saturday 10 October heavy rain flooded and washed out roads near Cottonwood Creek in San Juan County, according to Destination Trail officials quoted by KUTV. Organisers judged the creek unsafe to cross, and runners who reached the water turned back to the Bridger Jack aid station, Marathon Handbook reported.
The aid station, near Bridger Jack Butte east of Canyonlands National Park, is about 96 miles into the course, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Organisers said those stranded there had “access to heated tents, hot food and plenty of drinking water”, and on the night of 10 October race officials said the group was “safe, remain in good spirits, and are prepared to spend the night.”
On the morning of Sunday 11 October a helicopter surveyed the area for a safe way out, according to The Weather Channel. Some runners were taken out by all-terrain vehicle and then by bus to race headquarters in Moab, with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office coordinating the evacuation with organisers. The first bus reached the group at about 11 a.m., and by 12:45 p.m. the sheriff’s office reported that everyone stranded on the route had been evacuated, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“Too dangerous to safely continue”
The flooding was only part of the problem. Destination Trail reported falling trees and aid-station structures blowing away elsewhere on the course, The Ultra Minute newsletter reported. At about 2 p.m. on 11 October organisers announced that “the weather has become too dangerous to safely continue”, according to Marathon Handbook, and runners still on the course were told to wait at their next aid station for a crew or shuttle. The National Weather Service recorded a gust of 51 mph at Monticello airport at about 1 p.m., Marathon Handbook reported.
“We know this isn’t how anyone hoped Moab 240 would go,” Destination Trail said, according to KUTV, adding that it was “truly sorry the race ended this way.”
The Weather Channel reported that everyone was accounted for and that there were no reports of serious injuries. One runner, Brock Painter, wrote on social media that he and others were “practically skiing down a mountain” in the mud.
No winner, and a question over the Triple Crown
iRunFar’s weekly results round-up listed no winners. Aaron Kubala was leading when the race stopped, according to Marathon Handbook, which cited his Strava record of 214.63 miles in 56 hours 17 minutes; Kubala wrote on Instagram that his back had locked up and that he had “possible hypothermia”, the outlet reported. An earlier Destination Trail update had Ashley Paulson second overall and first woman, according to the same report.
Moab is the last of Destination Trail’s three 200-mile races that make up its Triple Crown, after the Tahoe 200 in June and the Bigfoot 200 in August. As of 12 October, Destination Trail had not said how the cancelled race would count towards the Triple Crown, Marathon Handbook reported. Unbroken Review has not seen a statement from the organisers on refunds or deferrals.
It is not the first time weather has disrupted the race. Heavy snow forced a reroute partway through the 2018 edition, according to Marathon Handbook.
