172 runners started an ultra-marathon in China. 21 never came back

When Zhang Xiaotao set off last weekend on a 100-kilometer (62-mile) ultra-marathon through the jagged mountains of northwestern China, he didn’t know he was embarking on one of the deadliest journeys in the country’s sporting history.

When Zhang Xiaotao set off last weekend on a 100-kilometer (62-mile) ultra-marathon through the jagged mountains of northwestern China, he didn’t know he was embarking on one of the deadliest journeys in the country’s sporting history.