Hornets stung 115 men and women taking part in a marathon in Hida, Gifu Prefecture, on Sunday morning. Of the runners stung, aged in their 20s to 60s, eight were taken to hospital to be treated, police said. The others were treated by ambulances called to the scene.
The incident occurred at around 10 a.m. when the runners reached the half-way point in the race -- a bridge, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said a nest of hornets was below the bridge and believe that vibration caused by the runners caused the hornets to attack.
About 1,500 people took part in the marathon, organizers said. The runners who were stung were among the 697 participants in the half-marathon section of the race.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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sensei258
I wonder if they were those giant hornets
GW
If the big buggers that's pretty dangerous!
gogogo
pretty serious event, lucky no one was serious hurt
Disillusioned
There are a few different species of hornets in Japan. However, because some people were hospitalized it's probably safe to assume it was the big ones. The people hospitalized were most likely stung several times. That is the big difference between bees and hornets/wasps. Bees can only sting once and they die, but hornets and wasps can sting multiple times. I've been stung by one of those big hornets. It's not much more painful than a bee sting, but the pain does last a lot longer. Luckily, I was at home and had a revolving supply of hot/wet towels to apply, which kept the pain and swelling to a minimum. I'd hate to get stung by one in the forest with no first aid available. "Ouch!!!"
Dan Lewis
Pays to be one of the front-runners!
Tony Alderman
They weren't hornets, they were yellow-jacket wasps, according to the Japanese news.
AramaTaihenNoYouDidnt
In the future, it would help having marathon organizers do a dry run inspection before the race and prevent these incidents from happening. I'm sure this is not an isolated case. I pray those injured will recover soon.
Laguna
It's not a bug, it's a feature: Certainly would have spurred me on to a personal best, especially coming at the halfway point.
sf2k
If it was a draw bridge at the same time that activated at a certain time, that would have added to the features
Monozuki
Sounds like hornets had literally buzzing bees in their bonnets. Putting that aside, 115 runners stung by hornets were just lucky it wasn't fatal. Hope those injured runners get back on their feet soon.
Tahoochi
DisillusionedSEP. 12, 2016 - 08:36AM JST
Or they were allergic...
badsey3
If the hornets would have "ran" the whole 1/2 marathon it seems they would have won this race.
sensei258
A hornet can sting repeatedly, while honey bees only get one shot
JeffLee
Given that they required medical treatment, my bet was they were hornets.
albaleo
The article I read in the Mainichi said they were キイロスズメバチ which translates as Vespa simillima or Japanese (yellow) hornet. I think wasps have the scientific name of Vespula. (Vespula vulgaris = common wasp, Vespula sulphurea = California Yellow Jacket)
nath
I don't have to outrun the hornets... I just have to outrun everyone else!