Can’t read the article (paywall). However, if it presents what I think it does, then maybe this is a sign that competitions are focusing too hard on “extreme” and not enough on the actual sport. A 100K run is challenging enough without throwing in extreme conditions, and even events that change terrain a lot (such as the Tour de France) are designed to have gear that changes based on the terrain of the day. To go from desert to mountain in a single day is a level of stupidity on the part of the organizers that should preclude them from ever being an organizer again. It sounds as if 17 runners died. Horrendous price for ignorance.
You can see the article if you block cookies from that site (easy on Chrome).