The past few days have seen the simultaneous publication of the first vetted medical-journal pieces on the vast European outbreak of E. coli O104. They’re fascinating for what they report that is new about this perplexing epidemic — now up to 3,802 cases including 43 deaths, according to the World Health Organization — and also for the further questions they raise.

Possibly most headline-worthy: Two reports in Eurosurveillance, Europe’s peer-reviewed open-access epidemiology journal, that suggest this strain is communicable from person to person and also produces unusual and troubling symptoms.

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Stratford-upon-Avon is best known as the birthplace of playwright William Shakespeare, whose works have been told and retold for centuries. But this scenic town 100 miles northwest of London could be the sight of another tale worth retelling, that of Simon Wheatcroft.

At noon local time, 90 people took off at the starting line of the Cotswold 100, a grueling 100-mile ultramarathon that sneaks its way north through the British countryside before circling back toward south Warwickshire. Wheatcroft, however, won’t be able to soak in all the scenery as he slogs his way along the course. That’s not ...