What happened at The Mid South?
Last Friday was a familiar day for participants of The Mid South gravel race in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Pre-rides and similar rituals took place, and the race organizers put on a 50K trail run.
But by midday, high winds blew in a different vibe. Wildland fires sparked and turned the sky an apocalyptic orange. Authorities ordered evacuations, and when all was said and done, more than 70 homes were lost in Stillwater alone.
While all this was happening, racers had to decide whether or not they would race the next day. Air quality was at exteremely dangerous levels and some bowed out early. By evening, the race organizer said the race would go on, but only id authorities gave the final OK.
Many felt it was inappropriate to race when homes were being lost, and just plain dangerous with high winds, high AQI, and stretched emergency services. One racer with this opinion was
, who decided to sit out the race before he went to bed. By midnight, the race as officially cancelled.I spoke with Chris in the Ryan MTB Podcast this week to hear his full side of the story. Mehlman and I discussed a few things that race organizers could do better:
Better, more decisive communication between races and racers
Respect for the communities where they operate. Less tone-deafness when real emergencies are happening
Emergency plans that are possibly communicated in advance, especially in the age of climate change fueled disasters.
Check out the episode below, and subscribe on your podcast app of choice.
If you’re not familiar with Chris, I had him on the podcast previously to talk about his career and cycling life. Check it out below.
Stay tuned for more.