A Riverside resident is suing organizers of last year’s “Tough Mudder” obstacle course race in Sonoma County, alleging that non-potable water sources used at the event caused serious bacterial infections leading to skin rashes and lesions on his body.
Evan Goldsmith, who is represented by Los Angeles attorney Elan Zekster, filed the lawsuit Sept. 17 in Sonoma County Superior Court. Goldsmith was among hundreds of participants in the Aug. 19-20, 2023, event sponsored by Spartan Race Inc. to suffer pustules, rashes, lesions, fevers, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms, according to the lawsuit.
The Sonoma County Health Services Department issued a health advisory in the aftermath of the race, attributing widespread reports of sickness among participants to a serious bloodstream infection resulting from contact with the bacteria Aeromonas SPP. The incubation period for infections is 12 to 48 hours, according to health officials.
“The Tough Mudder race involved extensive skin exposure to mud,” the department said in its health advisory in the wake of the event. “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.”
The Tough Mudder race is an internationally known endurance activity that combines distance running, challenging obstacles and exposure to mud and water, according to the Sacramento County Department of Health Sciences. Most of those sickened during the event held at the Sonoma Raceway were treated as outpatients, but several needed hospitalization, the department reported.
Aeromonas in humans usually results in acute diarrheal syndromes, wound infections and bacteremia/sepsis, according to the department.
Plaintiff Goldsmith suffered from lesions throughout his chest area and other parts of his body, the lawsuit states.
“This resulted in (the) plaintiff presented to Redlands Terracina Urgent Care Center on Aug. 22, 2023,” the complaint says. “Throughout the days following the race plaintiff had a heavy growth of Aeromonas hydrophila. He was placed on (the drug) Bactrim for 10 days.”
The Sonoma County Department of Health Services did not comment directly about the litigation, but it provided the Southern California Record with the investigation report of the incident.
A survey sent to all of the more than 5,000 participants in the race resulted in 1,377 responses, 56% of whom (776 participants) reported symptoms of a sickness that included fatigue, rashes, fever, headache and swollen lymph nodes, according to the report. About two out of every 10 respondents reported no symptoms.
Through laboratory tests, the agency also found Aeromonas bacteria in samples recovered from the course’s “Turn 2” hydrant and two trucks used during the event, the report says.
The obstacle course organizers used a non-potable water source for the second turn in the course, as well as non-potable water storage tanks supplying showers, the complaint states.
“Typically, this hydrant (at the second turn) is used for dust-control and other construction uses,” the lawsuit says. “Tough Mudder was aware of this, yet used it throughout its course where they were aware participants with abrasions would be crawling, rolling, falling and bathing in.”
In the previous year’s race at the same location, 30 participants complained of illnesses, but the organizers in 2023 “knowingly and recklessly exposed thousands of its participants to severe illness,” the complaint states.
An attorney who represents Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns the Sonoma Raceway, declined comment about the litigation.
The plaintiff is asking the court for compensatory damages for physical and psychological injuries and emotional distress, special and punitive damages, legal costs and appropriate interest.