On Saturday, June 20, Mud Day took place in Nice on the French Riviera, and it featured an obstacle course that was basically completely submerged in mud. The problem is, at least 30 participants got sick the next day. Medical experts called it “severe gastroenteritis.”
In the days that followed, the regional health agency reported that 580 people had fallen ill, and the media in France was reporting that up to 1,000 people got sick after running the mud-filled obstacle course. It’s estimated that about 8,000 people ran the course. Some doctors are suggesting that the illness is similar to that of salmonella, while others say that the runners might have ingested some of the bacteria-laced mud. Yuck.
Last Monday, the official Mud Day site released a statement regarding the incident, saying that they would “make every effort to determine what could have caused the stomach upsets.” Personally, this would be my last Mud Day if this happened to me, but as one participant says on the event’s Facebook page: “Yes, it’s very irritating, but at least it’s something to remember,” adding that it was their first Mud Day, “but certainly not the last.”
(Via The Local)
