Woman suffers terrifying side effects, collapses at California half marathon where 19 hospitalized as her mom explodes at organizer

msn ^ | 11/09/2026 | Marina Peña

[BenLurkin]

A runner at Sunday’s Santa Barbara Half Marathon struggled toward the finish line while experiencing a deep fog — then suddenly woke up in a medical tent.

Nineteen competitors were hospitalized after the event, prompting a police investigation into what caused their “unusual symptoms.”

One mom, who requested anonymity, told the California Post her daughter was well prepared for the race and runs regularly but got sick near the finish line.

“You can see on her Garmin [watch], [she] went from a really decent pace to a crawl,” she said. “She has no memory of the finish line. She said she saw it and it felt like she was running through Jell-O.”

...

She questioned explanations attributing runners’ medical emergencies to heat or inadequate preparation, saying her daughter had trained extensively. Race organizers believe the runners suffered from heat exhaustion, but unverified rumors circulating on social media suggested a water station along the course may have been spiked.

The mother also believes contaminated water at an aid station could have been responsible, but didn’t have evidence for it.

Police said the cause remains undetermined.

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TOPICS: Local News; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: 202611; athletics; brainfog; halfmarathon; isolatedincidents; race; runners; santabarbara

[Scrambler Bob]

Half Marathon.

Were they running on only one leg?

[Bonemaker]

“Nineteen competitors were hospitalized after the event..”

Sort of a running start...as it were.😎

[Bonemaker]

“The mother also believes contaminated water at an aid station could have been responsible, but didn’t have evidence for it.”

Hey mom, maybe your daughter is a whack job, anorexic, vegetarian?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

My guess is heat. Happened to me at the end of a triathlon lo those many years ago. The local fire department hosing people down with cold water did the trick for me.

[fidelis]

Some how, some way, this is Trump’s fault.

[catnipman]

“Hey mom, maybe your daughter is a whack job, anorexic, vegetarian?”

not to mention the OTHER 18 hospitalized whack job,anorexic, vegetarians, right?

[fidelis]

“She has no memory of the finish line. She said she saw it and it felt like she was running through Jell-O.”

What flavor, I wonder?

[Greg123456]

COVID 19 shot?

[Bonemaker]

👍

[pfflier]

but unverified rumors circulating on social media suggested a water station along the course may have been spiked.

Some idiot posted a guess so it must be true. Like Trump shooting down Lear Jets.

[jimtorr]

Toxicology tests would quickly determine a tainted water supply.

[Ken Regis]

California?

Did they all get participation awards?

[PghBaldy]

They do tend to hang out together.

[BipolarBob]

Of corse not, silly. You can’t run on one leg, only hop. They had their legs amputated at the knee and feet sewed on there.

[taxesareforever]

Bingo!!

[Scrambler Bob]

You surely don’t mean ‘the runs’.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

According to the L.A. Times, the average high temperature in Santa Barbara on the day of the race, November 8, is 71 degrees. But this past Sunday, it was 86 degrees at noon. With very little wind and higher than usual humidity.

Draw your own conclusions....

[x]

The collapsing doesn’t sound as serious as the exploding.

[enumerated]

Wow! One of the moms exploded!