'Biting gnats' on Antelope Island leads to cancelation of popular ultra-running event

SYRACUSE — A popular trail ultra-running event was canceled over the weekend due to biting gnats that have hatched early due to the unseasonably warm weather.

The Buffalo Run has been held on Antelope Island for the past 20 years and offers several ultra-running distances, including a 50-kilometer race and a 50-miler, with hundreds of participants each year. It was supposed to be held on March 28. According to a statement from event organizers, canceling was a "devastating" decision.

"We are currently facing a record heat wave on the Wasatch Front. These bugs came early," the statement read.

The bugs that cause early hatching are known as no-see-ums and are prevalent on the island, typically in late spring and early summer. According to the park manager, Doranne Pittz, the biting gnats did, in fact, hatch early, and she said they are "just vicious," adding that bug sprays are ineffective against them.

"They hatched last Tuesday, and they just kind of swarm you," Pittz told KSL. "The event organizers kept in contact with us, and it was their decision to cancel. They wanted their racers to have a comfortable experience, as well as their volunteers."

Jim Skaggs is the former Buffalo Run race director who started the March trail-running event in 2006. He told KSL that in the 20 years he hosted the race, the biting gnats had never been out on race day.

"I did it for 20 years and this has never happened on race day," Skaggs said. "I've gone running out there when the no-see-ums have been out and it's not a pleasant experience. It's similar to a mosquito bite, but it seems like they itch more and take longer to go away.

"I had some conversations with the current race director and they expressed their concerns and were asking what I would do, and I said, 'It's a tough call,'" Skaggs continued. "They had to do what they felt was the right thing."

Current race director and owner of Massif Running, Finn Melanson, told KSL that they kept a close eye on conditions on the island leading up to the race and that several factors led to the decision to cancel.

"There are people who, if they are bitten, will respond negatively, and they're going to need medical intervention," Melanson said. "These events are also so reliant on volunteers, and we did not want to subject volunteers to this. Thinking long-term, that might leave a mark that we just cannot undo if we lose that base of support."

Melanson also said that the decision was made while taking into consideration the reputation of the island that he names as one of the "wonders of the world."

"I'm very conscious of the long-term reputation of that island," he said. "I think it's one of the most beautiful, spectacular, amazing places to trail run on Earth. I think it's one of the great wonders of the world and even for the locals that already know it deeply. I don't want to create an association where that race is known for these bugs that are relentless and destroy you."

Pittz said that it will take a hard freeze or several days of 90-plus-degree temperatures for the gnats to die. She also said that she doesn't want this to deter visitors from coming to the island.

"When you're moving, you don't feel them quite as much, but when you're standing in one place, that's when they can really get you," Pittz said. "What you want to do is make sure you're wearing long sleeves and long pants. And if you have a fine-meshed bug net, that does the trick."

She also said that while the gnats were hatching, another island favorite had also begun to give birth to new life.

"Our first baby bison was born on Saturday, so we're starting to see new little red calves on the island," she said. "If people want to come out and do a driving tour, they can see the new little calves that will be coming soon."

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