Sonali Tiwary
Families following the Moab 240 endurance race this weekend got a difficult update on Sunday. About 70 runners and support volunteers were temporarily isolated at Bridger Jack Aid Station after remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought heavy rainfall to the area overnight, making both the access road and a nearby creek crossing unsafe. Here is what race organizers confirmed, what emergency services did, and why this was a serious disruption rather than a larger emergency.
The Moab 240 is a 240-mile ultramarathon through Utah’s canyon country. Remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel brought heavy rainfall to portions of the course Saturday night, raising Cottonwood Creek to unsafe levels and washing out road access. Participants were stranded overnight before evacuation could begin Sunday morning. Race organizer Destination Trail confirmed approximately 70 runners and volunteers were temporarily isolated near Bridger Jack Aid Station — located east of Canyonlands National Park in San Juan County at approximately mile 96 of the course — when floodwater made Cottonwood Creek unsafe to cross and road access became unreliable. The organizer stated the group had heated tents, hot food, and water already at the station while evacuation planning proceeded. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office coordinated the evacuation with race organizers; Grand County Emergency Services were also alerted. Fox 13 and other outlets reported that buses began picking participants up around 11 a.m. on Sunday; San Juan County confirmed all participants were safely evacuated by approximately 12:45 p.m. Destination Trail cancelled the entire race, citing aid-station structures blowing away, falling trees, wind, rain, and freezing temperatures across the course.
Families need to know whether participants were safe, not simply that a race was interrupted. The organizer said those temporarily isolated had shelter, food, and water while roads and a creek crossing were unsafe, and reports confirm buses subsequently moved them out. The practical action for families is to rely on the organizer’s participant communication channel rather than attempting to drive toward closed or unreliable access roads. Conditions on those roads changed faster than public race-tracking maps.
What Made Access Unsafe — and What Was Already at the Station
The distinction between “stranded” and “temporarily isolated with supplies already on-site” is the central fact in this story. Destination Trail confirmed that Bridger Jack Aid Station was already provisioned with heated shelters and food at the time access became unreliable. The problem was not an equipment gap; it was that the extraction route required crossing Cottonwood Creek, which floodwater had made impassable before conditions improved enough to bring buses through.
San Juan County, which coordinated the evacuation, confirmed all participants were out by approximately 12:45 p.m. Sunday. For ultramarathon races that span thousands of feet of elevation change across remote terrain, weather conditions a runner is experiencing at one point on the course can differ completely from what support crews face trying to reach them from the valley.
Organizers said a storm made access near Bridger Jack Aid Station unreliable and Cottonwood Creek unsafe to cross, temporarily isolating about 70 runners and volunteers. The organizer said the group had heated tents, food, and water while evacuation planning proceeded. Buses transported participants out once access was restored, with San Juan County confirming all were safely evacuated.
Destination Trail cancelled the entire race due to severe weather conditions affecting multiple sections of the course. The organizer’s participant communication channel is the most reliable source for individual status and any refund or rebooking information. Check back for the organizer’s post-race review and any updates on future event permitting.
