Police in Santa Barbara are investigating “suspicious circumstances” after more than two dozen runners were hospitalized during and after competing in Sunday’s half marathon.
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runners → investigate → marathon
But while organizers initially claimed that heat and exhaustion were the reasons behind the trips to emergency care, reports have surfaced that competitors may have been poisoned with drugs at a water station on the route.
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competitors → claim → route
After news broke of the higher-than-usual number of participants requiring medical attention, several alleged competitors posted on social media about the incident.
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competitors → break → incident
One user on X claimed that the alleged “poisoning” occurred at “one hydration booth at mile 11 or 12.”
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poisoning → claim → mile
A user on Reddit claiming to be one of the hospitalized runners said they were told that the symptoms likely were drug-induced.
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symptoms → claim → runners
“I was one of the runners hospitalized.
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I → hospitalize → runners
When I finally came to after being transported in the ambulance the doctor immediately told me and my family these conditions were suspicious and they were near positive it was drug induced,” the user wrote.
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user → come → me
Another runner told local news outlet KEYT News Channel 3-12 that they lost consciousness for nearly an hour and then could not remember portions of the race after waking.
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they → tell → race
“It is awfully suspicious,” said the runner, who wished to remain anonymous.
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who → say → ?
“We had people saying they were hallucinating.
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they → have → people
None of us remember running for a portion of it.”
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None → remember → it
They added that they were “not too familiar with heat exhaustion, but I have never seen anyone not remembering a long portion of their run.”
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anyone → add → run
What have police said about the investigation?
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police → say → investigation
The Santa Barbara Police Department confirmed to multiple outlets that it is investigating the suspicious circumstances of the incident, but the cause of the illnesses currently remains unknown.
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cause → confirm → illnesses
According to Cottage Health, which operates hospitals in Santa Barbara and the surrounding area, a total of 27 runners required treatment during and following Sunday’s race.
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runners → accord → race
Of those patients, 24 were treated and discharged, with three remaining hospitalized in stable condition as of Monday afternoon.
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three → treat → afternoon
“We have a larger than expected number of emergency visits that are tracked to participants of this morning’s organized run in SB,” a spokesman for Cottage Health said in a statement.
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spokesman → have → statement
“Twenty-seven patients arrived at Cottage EDs, a number of them with similar symptoms of undetermined cause.”
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patients → arrive → cause
What did the marathon organizers say?
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organizers → say → What
Organizers for the event posted a statement on social media on Monday.
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Organizers → post → Monday
After thanking those who helped support this year’s event, it addressed the situation involving those who fell ill at the race.
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who → thank → race
“During and since the event, we have worked closely with local authorities to provide as much information and access as possible,” the event’s official Instagram account posted.
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account → work → information
“At this point we have no additional information to suggest that the issues some of the participants experienced were caused by anything other than endurance event exertion-related symptoms.
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some → have → symptoms
“With this statement we in no way intend to diminish the severity of each participant who was seen by medical professionals.
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who → intend → professionals
As producers of endurance events throughout the year, it is our number one priority to get all participants from the start line to the finish line safely.
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it → get → line
“We deeply sympathize with each participant who had issues, along with their friends and family.”
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who → sympathize → friends
The Aporia
