A real medical and investigative enigma shakes the world of running in California. The Santa Barbara police launched a formal investigation after 27 participants in the city half marathon, held on Sunday 8 November on a route of approximately 21 kilometres, were forced to seek hospital treatment due to decidedly abnormal ailments.
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Unusual symptoms experienced by runners
The alarm was triggered following a report sent to agents from the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, a facility which recorded an unusual influx at the end of the competition. According to what was communicated by the Cottage Health healthcare organization, patients reached the emergency rooms in Santa Barbara and nearby Goleta both on board ambulances and by presenting themselves independently.
While 24 athletes were discharged after the first clinical tests, another 3 runners were still hospitalized the following day in stable conditions. What made the picture particularly disturbing were the direct testimonies collected by the local media: some participants reported having lost consciousness, suffered from hallucinations and experienced complete memory lapses, resulting in them being unable to remember entire portions of the route they had just undertaken.
The hypothesis of anomalous heat and the checks by the health authorities
A total of around 7,500 runners took part in the sporting event on a day characterized by unusually mild weather conditions for the month of November. Around midday the mercury reached 27 degrees centigrade, significantly exceeding the local seasonal average which usually stands between 21 and 22 degrees. Although these are far from extreme values by Californian standards, event director David Monico explained to the press that 15 athletes were transferred from the medical tent directly to hospitals in the area due to conditions attributable to dehydration and heat exhaustion.
However, health specialists and investigators remain extremely cautious before dismissing the incident as a simple consequence of environmental temperatures. In fact, the authorities do not rule out that behind the flurry of illnesses there may be a still unknown external factor or a viral agent capable of causing such marked neurological reactions. While awaiting the toxicological and clinical results, the police have invited all runners present at the race who should experience similar symptoms to immediately go to hospital to undergo in-depth checks.
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