China bans trail running races following ultramarathon tragedy

China has banned trail running, ultramarathon events and any other sports that are deemed "high risk", in the aftermath of a tragedy that saw 21 long-distance runners killed during a race in Gansu last month.

China's General Administration of Sport has this week announced that it has indefinitely suspended all "high-risk sports events with unclear management responsibilities, imperfect rules and unclear safety protection standards".

The indefinite ban includes trail running races, ultramarathons, and wingsuit flying.

Chad Lykins trail running on Pik Shan Path near HKU. Photo / Getty Images

"The General Administration of Sport will conduct a comprehensive review of sports events, accelerate improvements of the management system, improve standards and regulations, and comprehensively strengthen management to ensure the safety of sports events," the statement said.

A total of 21 mountain runners died during a 100km race on May 22, when extreme weather hit Yellow River Stone Forest in the Gansu province.

A total of 172 people were running the event. Eight people suffered injuries, on top of the 21 fatalities in the incident that has been described as a "manmade disaster".

The administration said the incident was "in part due to sudden changes in weather [and] caused a great loss of human life – a lesson imbued with deeply felt grief".

Shepherd Zhu Keming speaks to the media in a cave, where he saved the lives of six runners during a mountain ultramarathon in Baiyin, Gansu Province of China. Photo / Getty Images

While a full investigation into what happened is still ongoing, several reports mention a lack of contingency plans for extreme weather and other types of disaster, as well as a lack of appropriate mandatory equipment for each participant.

Despite weather reports alerting organisers for the extreme weather event and the risk for the competitors, it is believed the event organisers should have cancelled the race before things started going wrong.

Rescuers walk into the accident site to search for survivors in Jingtai County of Baiyin City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sunday, May 23, 2021. Photo / AP

In fact, a number of hours passed before runners in distress could be rescued by officials, who struggled to access the treacherous terrain.

Endurance running is a highly popular sport in China, with tens of millions of participants in several races every year.

The announcement did not specify exactly what races are banned nor how long the suspension is likely to last for.

It is believed that any race outside urban areas, taking place off road, as well as any road race longer than a marathon distance, is not unable to go ahead in China.