Multiple half-marathon participants in Santa Barbara went to the hospital with “unusual symptoms” after the event on Sunday, prompting a police investigation.
The participants seeking medical treatment arrived at Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospitals by ambulance, self-transportation or as walk-ins, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.
It’s unclear what the symptoms were or what caused them.
In a statement to NBC News, Cottage Health said a “larger than expected” number of emergency visits were linked to Sunday’s run.
“This morning 19 participants arrived at Cottage EDs, a number of them with similar symptoms of undetermined cause,” Cottage Health said, in part. “We are working to determine whether this is due to the heat or other factors.”
David Monico, the event director for the Santa Barbara Half Marathon, said in an interview with NBC Los Angeles that Sunday’s race had more transports than in past years, possibly due to the warm weather and an increase in participants.
“In years past, we’ve had overcast skies or less warm temperatures this time of year, so we have not had this many transports, but there’s always a handful,” he said. “But this year, it was more than we’ve had in the past. We also had more runners than we’ve had in the past as well.”
Monico said the event’s medical team, who were set up throughout the course, reported seeing typical symptoms for endurance events, such as heat exhaustion, regular exhaustion and dehydration.
“There was a lot that has been said on social media and was circulated, and so (the police are) doing their due diligence to see if there’s any facts and truth behind it,” he said. “We don’t know at this point. All we know is that from our medical team and what has been reported so far is that there weren’t any unusual symptoms or circumstances for those that have been transported that you typically see at events like this.”
Police say the general public does not need to take any specific action at this time but that people who feel ill should seek medical help.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Santa Barbara police Sgt. Andre Miller at 805-897-2330.
The annual event started at 7 a.m. and had 7,500 registered participants, according to race organizers.
“Our wish is that everybody gets safe from point A to point B,” Monico said. “For friends and family of those that had been transported and were hospitalized, we feel for them. We want them to come home safely.”
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information arrives.
