Lawsuit filed against Tough Mudder after hundreds of participants sickened in 2023 Bay Area race
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Last year, hundreds of people were sickened after Tough Mudder race held at the Sonoma Raceway. It's an obstacle course racetrack where people often crawl through mud.
Now, a lawsuit has been filed against Tough Mudder, which is owned by Spartan Race Inc.
The video shows what the Tough Mudder event at the Sonoma Raceway looked like last year. Lots of mud and hundreds of participants who ended up with rashes days later.
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"We did the Saturday event and also the Sunday event and on that Monday morning, we woke up completely covered from head to toe in a rash, not to get too graphic but they were puss!"
That from Evan Goldsmith who has filed a lawsuit against Tough Mudder for negligence and emotional distress among other things. In addition to getting a rash like this, shown in pictures sent to us last year by participants who got them after the race, Evan and his wife were both also sickened for several weeks. Impacting their work and family.
"We drove home that Monday morning from Northern California to Southern California - by the time I got home, I had a really bad headache, I had a fever, it was really apparent at that point that we actually needed medical attention," said Goldsmith.
Dozens of people who were sickened after this race reached out to us last year, it's unclear if they are involved in any current lawsuits, but some still had rashes on their body when we spoke with them several days after the race.
"I look like I have a severe rash on both sides. You wake up the next day and am like, what is this on my arm, like what is going on here, and it's on both arms," said Nicole Villagran.
"I was just covered in these like pimply, red, blister, pimple-like things," said Curtis Vollmar.
As to what it was, Goldsmith's attorney Elan Zektser, who represents nearly 150 plaintiffs with similar allegations, says the rashes were caused by Aeromonas. A bacteria sometimes found in untreated water.
"They used what is called a non-potable source, a hydrant that has water that is not filtered. They pumped it in areas where their participants were swimming and crawling around, and then if the participants weren't going to get sick on the race course they pumped it in the showers," said Zektser.
The complaint says the "defendants were aware that they were pumping their racetrack and showers with a contaminated water source, yet they did it anyway."
Goldsmith had done more than 40 of these races before getting sick last year.
"Would you do another race again and what are your feelings going forward?" asked ABC7 News reporter J.R. Stone.
"No, I wouldn't and it breaks my heart honestly," said Goldsmith.
We reached out to Tough Mudder for clarification on both Monday and Tuesday but are waiting to hear back. They also did not respond last year when we put this story together. At that time, it was the Sonoma County Health Department that issued the Health Advisory in light of the hundreds of cases.
This is the Sonoma County Health Services initial statement in 2023:
"The County of Sonoma Department of Health Services has issued a Health Advisory concerning multiple reports of participants in a Tough Mudder race at Sonoma Raceway on Aug. 19 and 20 having developed rash with fever, muscle pain, or nausea/vomiting occurring about 24 hours after the event. The Health Advisory is as follows:
"The Tough Mudder race involved extensive skin exposure to mud. Most affected persons have pustular rash, fever, myalgias, and headache. These symptoms could be indicative of a minor illness called Swimmers' Itch, but they can also indicate a Staph infection or other more serious bacterial infection such as Aeromonas. If you participated in the race and have a rash with fever or other symptoms, please see your medical provider or, if you do not have a medical provider, your local emergency department. You may wish to take this Advisory with you. Incubation period is 12 to 48 hours."
