Cold, Wet Weather Sends Several Spartan Race Participants To Hospital

RANCHO MURIETA (CBS13) - Cold and rainy weather made for a tough race for several endurance athletes when nearly three dozen runners got medical treatment -- some for hypothermia.

As another round of rain moved into the valley Saturday, it was a soaker.

"It was raining on and off," said one person. "It was really windy."

Some may have wished they stayed inside. Around 4,000 people faced the elements head-on at the 13-mile Spartan Race in Rancho Murieta, an arduous mud filled obstacle course. But, the course wasn't the issue.

"The weather took a big turn for the worse," said one racer.

In fact, at one point it became simply too much for onsite medical staff.

"We ended up having the majority of patients that had hypothermic-type complaints," said one staffer.

Sacramento Metro Fire responded to tend to around 30 racers, many overcome by the cold rain and wind.

"I saw some people on the side of the course, just sitting down. I'm like, 'what's going on?' " a racer said.

More than four people were transported to the hospital for various medical issues.

"Their clothing gets wet, they're only going to be able to handle those types of situations for a short period of time," one firefighter said.

Organizers insisted they did everything they could.

"We took some extra steps to warm the racers up," a staffer said. "We pulled in resources from our staff."

However, racers that were able to walk away are not sure if they'd do it again on a rainy day.

"There were times during the race it was a little questionable," said racer said.