In recent years, marathons have become a hot spot in sports, and people are overwhelmed with various events. According to statistics, there are more than 1,500 marathon races in our country every year.

The number of participants is close to 6 million, of which there are more than 300 A-level events certified by the Athletics Association. If the games are held in cities or suburbs, safety can still be guaranteed.

However, if a cross-country marathon is to be held in the mountains, event organizers will need to make more careful arrangements.

On May 22, 2021, during the 4th "Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon 100-Kilometer Cross-Country Race", due to sudden changes in weather, the organizers failed to respond and caused a major safety accident.

21 players died in the accident and 8 were injured. Fortunately, the shepherd uncle Zhu Keming stepped forward and rescued the six contestants.

After the announcement of Zhu Keming’s heroic deeds, it attracted everyone’s attention. How did the accident happen? How is Zhu Keming doing now? Let us review the chaos of this game and Zhu Keming's righteous act of saving lives.

Nowadays, the marathon is not only a national fitness activity, but local governments are also keen to turn the event into a local tourism business card.

Some companies discovered the huge business opportunities contained in it, so they cooperated with the government to build the event into a complete industrial chain. The Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon Cross-Country Race is such an event.

The Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon Cross-Country Race is held by Baiyin City, Gansu Province and hosted by the subordinate Jingtai County. The competition location is located in the Yellow River Stone Forest Scenic Area. It is an important local sports event.

Although dozens of government departments such as the Government Sports Bureau, Culture, Tourism Bureau, and Health Commission are listed as cooperating units, the real execution unit of the event is Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. and Gansu Shengjing SPORTS AND CULTURE DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED.

The former is a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the government. It is mainly responsible for handling approval procedures and providing venues. The actual organizational operations are all implemented by the latter.

Gansu Shengjing Sports Culture Company is a company jointly opened by Wu Shiyuan and his wife that engages in sports event marketing planning. The entire marathon cross-country race was completed by them and more than 10 employees.

To put it bluntly, the entire competition is for the government to set up a stage for fame; and for companies to perform for profit.

The Yellow River Stone Forest Mountain Marathon Cross-Country Race was founded in 2018, and it will be the fourth time in 2021. The first two were Category A events certified by the Chinese Athletics Association, but they have not been certified since.

This competition was held on May 22 and was divided into three levels: 5-kilometer rural revitalization health run, 21-kilometer cross-country race and 100-kilometer cross-country race. 172 runners signed up to participate in the 100-kilometer cross-country race. .

The 100-kilometer cross-country race has higher requirements for contestants. The contestants must have completed a race of more than 50 kilometers within at least one year.

This competition gathered elites, attracting the runner-up of the "2019 Mount Fuji International Super Cross Country Race", Liang Jing, the Chinese ultramarathon record holder, and Huang Guanjun, the Paralympic Games marathon champion.

The track is 96 kilometers long, divided into 9 check-in points, with an altitude of about 2,000 meters. The road surface is basically a mixture of sand, gravel, loess and grass, and most of the stages are in no-man's land. As long as they complete the game, players will receive a bonus of 1,600 yuan.

In the weather forecast released during the day on the 21st, the weather on the competition day was mainly cloudy, with the highest temperature reaching 19 degrees, and northwest winds of level 3-4, which was more suitable for the competition.

But at 10 o'clock in the evening, the local weather bureau issued a rainfall forecast and a blue warning for strong winds. The average wind strength rose to level 5-6, and the gusts would reach level 7 or above.

Regarding this important information, the organizers may have taken a chance, or were worried that it would affect the competition, so they chose to ignore it and did not make any adjustments to the event. The first opportunity to avoid tragedy was lost.

At 9:00 a.m. on the 22nd, the game officially started. Soon the wind started to pick up, and at 10:30, it started to rain.

After passing the second check-in point, the players left the scenic area and entered the mountain road. At this time, the wind increased to level 7 or 8.

In order to reduce the running load, the runners’ rainproof and warm equipment such as jackets had been transported by the organizers to the sixth check-in point the day before, thinking that they would only be used at night.

Even though the weather has changed now, the players have no choice but to wear shorts and shorts and brave the wind and rain to run up the mountain. The higher you go, the stronger the wind and rain, the lower the temperature, and the faster your body will lose temperature.

There was no emergency jacket or other cold-proof and warm materials prepared along the way, and the second chance to avoid the tragedy was lost.

The third check-in point is located near the top of the mountain and cannot be reached by vehicles. There is no food, hot water and other supplies here, and there is no shelter from the wind and rain. If the players need supplies, they can only grit their teeth and persist until the fourth check-in point, facing a dilemma.

At 11:50, contestant Luo Cihua was the first to send a distress message through a GPS positioning device, but received no response.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Wei, a member of the Blue Sky Rescue Team stationed at the track, applied to withdraw. Subsequently, messages about applications to withdraw from the competition and requests for help appeared in the competition's WeChat group.

At this time, the competitions of the other two groups have been completed. If the organizing committee stops the 100-kilometer cross-country race in time, quickly launches rescue, and organizes the return of the athletes, there is still a chance to avoid the tragedy.

However, the insensitivity of the organizers missed the last chance to save lives.

Contestant Luo Yuan posted a photo to the WeChat group, showing more than 10 people hugging each other to keep out the cold. Someone was already lying on the ground next to him, foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, player Huang Xingang called "110" and directly called the police for help. At 2 p.m., a large number of players withdrew from the competition. It was no longer possible for the game to go ahead, and until this point, the organizers had not announced a suspension.

At 3 p.m., on-site organizers found that they could not carry out rescue work and began to ask for help from the county. At 4 p.m., the county began asking the city for help.

By the time the rescue forces from the province, armed police, and fire fighters arrived, it was already 6 p.m., and the most precious rescue time was wasted.

On May 23, the entire search and rescue operation ended. After counting, 21 contestants were killed and 8 injured. The huge loss of personnel is extremely rare in the history of world sports.

Most of the victims fell between check-in points No. 2 to No. 4. Among the players who died were players No. 001 Liang Jing and Huang Guanjun. The victims all died due to organ failure caused by hypothermia. There were no measures to keep warm or cold outside, and there was no food to replenish energy inside.

When the heat produced by the body is much lower than the heat lost, hypothermia occurs. Hypothermia often occurs in some outdoor sports. If not treated in time, it can be life-threatening in severe cases.

After the accident, it caused shock across the country, and central leaders issued instructions.

The joint investigation team characterized the accident as a major public security incident. The main reason is that the management is not in place and the operation organization is not standardized, and the lessons are extremely profound. The insurance company compensated each victim 950,000 yuan.

Five staff members of Shengjing Company were arrested and held criminally responsible, and a large number of government officials were given administrative sanctions.

However, the 21 living lives were never recovered from the "natural and man-made disasters", leaving their loved ones with endless grief.

In this Gansu mountain marathon accident, the contestants experienced the most difficult moment in their lives. Life is facing serious threats and may disappear at any time.

At this helpless and desperate moment, the shepherd Zhu Keming stepped forward and launched a rescue operation in the wind and rain, saving the precious lives of six players and becoming a bright light in this tragic incident.

Zhu Keming is a villager in Changsheng Village, Jingtai County, and is just over 49 years old.

He also planned to sign up for the 21-kilometer cross-country race because he was so familiar with that mountain road and had to drive the sheep back and forth almost every day. Because his wife thought that participating in the competition was "not doing his job properly", he gave up.

On the day of the competition on May 22, Zhu Keming went up to the mountain to herd sheep as usual.

When the storm first started, he didn’t notice it because he was used to it. At noon, the wind suddenly increased, blowing up sand and gravel that made it difficult to open one's eyes, and the raindrops hitting the face were very painful.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhu Keming drove the sheep to a leeward cave on the mountainside and entered the cave to take shelter from the rain. He planned to wait for the wind and rain to subside before going down the mountain.

Because his clothes were a little wet, he used the wood he had stored in the cave to light a fire. It gradually became warm in the cave, and Zhu Keming fell asleep.

About an hour later, Zhu Keming vaguely heard calls for help outside. He got up and looked outside. It was still windy and rainy outside, and he saw a person standing more than 10 meters in front of the cave dwelling.

Zhu Keming quickly rushed out of the cave and found that the person asking for help was a contestant. He was shivering in the rain, his hands and feet were almost stiff, and he could no longer move.

He may have seen the fire in the cave by the road, and used his last strength to cry out for help.

Zhu Keming hurriedly helped him into the cave, kept him close to the fire, and massaged his frozen hands and feet to prevent vascular necrosis.

After a while, another contestant who had evacuated from the mountain found the cave dwelling, and four people came in one after another. Their expressions were dull, their clothes were soaked, and they were too cold to speak. Zhu Keming quickly added firewood and asked them to take off their wet clothes and dry them.

These players told Zhu Keming that many players had fainted on the road and their lives were uncertain. Zhu Keming did not expect that the matter would be so serious. He was so anxious that he rushed into the rain again to search for the players in distress.

It was windy and rainy outside, making it difficult to move forward. Fortunately, Zhu Keming is familiar with the terrain and orientation.

After arduously walking about two kilometers up the mountain, Zhu Keming found three players lying on the ground. He reached out and found that their bodies were cold and they were not breathing.

There was also a man named Xiao Tao who could no longer move and shouted in a weak voice: "I'm dying, help!" Zhu Keming helped Xiao Tao up and put him on his back. He walked down the mountain step by step.

However, Xiaotao was not light on his back and walked too slowly on the slippery and muddy mountain road.

Zhu Keming was worried that Xiaotao wouldn't be able to survive, so he put him down and leaned against a slope, then ran back to the cave to call for help.

There was a contestant in the cave who regained his strength a little, so the two of them carried Xiao Tao back to the cave, one on the left and the other on the right. Zhu Keming successfully rescued another life from the "Gate of Hell".

Half an hour later, a large number of rescuers began to go up the mountain. They took away the six rescued players and continued to search for other missing players in distress.

He felt sad that so many players had accidents. Zhu Keming also regretted and blamed himself, thinking that he should not have fallen asleep. If he could go up the mountain earlier, he might be able to save a few more people.

Before the rescuers arrived, the warm cave dwelling was the "Noah's Ark" for the contestants in distress. Zhu Keming, who rescued people in the storm, was a bright light in front of them. He not only saved 6 lives, but also gave hope to 6 families.

Zhu Keming's feat quickly spread on the Internet, and even the Wall Street Post called him a "hero." Zhu Keming became an "Internet celebrity" and was called "the most beautiful shepherd" by netizens.

Facing the overwhelming information on the Internet, Zhu Keming was a little at a loss. He found that some information was mixed and could easily mislead people who did not know the truth.

With the help of his daughter, Zhu Keming used his mobile phone to register a personal account signed "Shepherd" on social media. The identity of "Six People Saved in Gansu Marathon" was authenticated through the platform.

On May 24, Zhu Keming spoke out on the platform for the first time, expressing his gratitude for everyone's attention and saying that he was just an ordinary person doing a very ordinary thing. He also apologized for not being able to rescue the other two contestants.

On May 27, Zhu Keming once again spoke out in the self-media, telling everyone that many companies have contacted him to do live broadcasts in the past few days, promising to sign contracts and pay wages.

He didn’t save people for any reward. Please don’t give rewards or make donations. He also needs to herd sheep and farm to maintain his livelihood, and does not want to be disturbed too much.

Zhu Keming has three children, who are studying in college, high school and junior high school respectively. The annual tuition and living expenses are huge. He and his wife worked hard farming and raising sheep, barely maintaining the family's livelihood.

Although the family is in great need of money, Zhu Keming and his wife have never thought about becoming rich overnight by relying on their enthusiasm for saving people, and they do not want to become Internet celebrities like "Shandong Ramen Brother".

They are more willing to make money down-to-earth, their children can live up to their expectations, and they are satisfied if their family has no foreign debt.

Therefore, they rejected all the merchants who came to discuss cooperation or the live broadcasts to gain traffic.

But Zhu Keming still warmly received a guest, that is Xiao Tao. After Xiaotao was rescued and returned to his hometown in Henan, he kept thinking about his savior Zhu Keming.

In the golden autumn, he came to Zhu Keming's house in Changsheng Village. It is the apple picking season at this time. The local apples are natural, large and sweet. However, due to the remote location and poor sales, the villagers are increasing production but not income.

After Xiaotao came to the village, in addition to going to the fields to help Zhu Keming pick apples, he also taught him how to shoot videos, open his own online store, do live broadcasts, and promote the village’s local products such as apples and sheep to the outside world.

Although Zhu Keming stuttered a bit, his sincere and simple performance won the recognition of consumers, and orders came in an endless stream.

Xiao Tao stayed in the village for about 20 days and helped the villagers sell tens of thousands of catties of apples.

Xiao Tao’s arrival opened another window for Zhu Keming. His ideas have changed tremendously, and he has a new understanding of new affairs such as the Internet. By the end of 2021, he had done nearly 40 live broadcasts.

Zhu Keming's next goal is to set up a company, register the "Keming" brand trademark, and sell local specialties from his hometown to all parts of the country. At the same time, he insists on running 10 kilometers every day and plans to participate in a marathon in Xiaotao's hometown next year.

Marathon is a good mass sports activity. But in the face of huge profits worth hundreds of billions every year, some businesses are only interested in profit and regard it as a cash cow, while ignoring the safety of life.

Local government’s carelessness, lack of organization and supervision. This eventually led to the Gansu Mountain Marathon accident.

Also faced with the temptation of profit, the hero Zhu Keming who rescued people made a different choice, showing the kindness and brilliance of human nature. We hope that similar tragedies will not happen again, and we also wish Zhu Keming and other good people a safe life!

"Full text of "Silver Marathon Accident" investigation report released", Beijing News, June 26, 2021;

Shi Wei, Zhang Yidan, "Mu Yang, who became famous after saving 6 people in a row" Zhu Keming: Live streaming is more tiring than working, training 10 kilometers every day”, People’s News, December 16, 2021;

Ma Jun, “My wife talks about Zhu Keming’s popularity: I just want to be ordinary, and don’t want him to become a success” "Ramen Brother", Beijing News, December 14, 2021.