The participants of the race in the mountains of the Murmansk region pointed out the extreme weather conditions

The weather conditions of the Khibiny trail race in the Murmansk region were extreme. Anton Permyakov, a participant in the competition, informed Izvestia about this on July 6.

"The weather conditions were, frankly, difficult, that is, there was a strong wind, there was rain, and a cold snap was expected for this night," he said.

Permyakov added that the organizers warned the participants in advance about the deterioration of weather conditions, and also changed the routes in advance, removing high-altitude areas and difficult passes from them. Some runners, he stressed, quickly froze — the race took place in the rain, clothes quickly got wet.

According to Mikhail Galushko, a participant in the 2023 trail race, in order to avoid a tragedy, it is necessary to carefully assess the weather conditions, which change dramatically in the mountains. During the competition with his participation, the weather was good, but on the 60th of the 107 km distance, the athletes were turned away on the way down due to a sudden change in weather conditions, he told Izvestia.

"It's very important to have the right equipment with you. It is no coincidence that the organizers usually take a fairly strict approach to the list of mandatory equipment that the participant must carry with him. <...> But many participants either neglect the quality of their equipment, hope for a chance, or it is not enough," the athlete emphasized.

As the interlocutor pointed out, in extreme weather conditions, even high-quality equipment cannot always save. For example, it may rain at the bottom and snow at the top, and the whole highway starts to freeze.

"All that remains is to make the right decision in time <...> to get out of the race. Unfortunately, people spend quite a lot of money to come to the race, which is several tens of thousands [rubles]. <...> And where it would be possible to make a decision to leave, for some reason they prefer to go further, because they have paid and need to run," Galushko concluded.

Earlier that day, the governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis, announced that two people died in Kirovsk during the Khibiny amateur trail race — a 62-year-old resident of St. Petersburg, as well as a 47-year-old Muscovite. A criminal case has been opened into the incident under Part 3 of Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life and health of consumers").