19 runners fall ill, hospitalized, after running in Santa Barbara Half-Marathon

In a mysterious and bizarre development, 19 runners fell ill and were hospitalized after running the Santa Barbara Half Marathon and 5K on Sunday. The Santa Barbara Police Department issued a statement Sunday stating that it is investigating the incident, where runners said they had unusual symptoms. Cottage Health Public Relations Manager Cristina Cortez said runners arrived at the Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Cottage Hospitals with “similar symptoms of undetermined cause. “We have a larger than expected number of emergency visits that are tracked to participants in this morning’s organized run in Santa Barbara,” wrote Cortez in a statement to the News-Press. Cortez said the hospital is working to figure out whether the illnesses were due to the heat or other factors. Lt. Ethan Ragsdale of the police department said the cause of the symptoms have not been confirmed. The incident consumed social media on Sunday with many people speculating about a variety rea