Injured 'mud runners' sue, say course was dangerous
Editor's note: The video that accompanied an earlier version of this story included photos provided to KOMO by an attorney working for one of the women suing organizers of the Extreme K Mud Race. Two photos showed the logo of the company Tough Mudder. Tough Mudder had nothing to do with the race. We apologize for any confusion the pictures may have caused.
SILVERDALE, Wash. -- Several people who suffered broken bones during an extreme mud race in Kitsap County are now suing organizers for planning a course they say was too extreme and unsafe.
Hundreds of people -- young and old -- paid to run in last October's Extreme K Mud Run on a Silverdale farm.
The race had a host of obstacles, but it was one called "Gravity's Revenge" that changed Wendy Davis' life.
A veteran mud runner, Davis broke every bone in her ankle when she fell on the obstacle, which was a slope lined with watered-down plastic that turned into a 15-foot fall into a ravine.
"I looked at my ankle and there was a large protrusion from the front where the bone dislocated from the femur," she said.
Her ankle is now held together by 11 screws, and Davis feels her career as a Poulsbo Police officer is over.
"I don't see going back to what I was doing in the past," she said.
So Davis and two other women who were injured going over Gravity's Revenge are now suing the people who organized the run, the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce and it's sponsor, the Kitsap Mall.
"When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous," Davis said. "It's not something a reasonable person would do."
Nadean and Ronald Ross own the 164-acre Royal Valley Farm, which hosted the run. They've offered up their land for community events for years.
"They offered us some free entries and I assured them there was no one crazy enough in our family to enter that," Nadean Ross said.
The couple also said the Chamber of Commerce planned everything and they had nothing to do with setting up the course.
"I don't feel responsibly for the fact that if it was unsafe. It was not our fault," Nadean said.
Officials from the Chamber of Commerce and the Kitsap Mall did not return calls for comment on the story. Now a court will decide when an extreme mud run becomes too extreme.
SILVERDALE, Wash. -- Several people who suffered broken bones during an extreme mud race in Kitsap County are now suing organizers for planning a course they say was too extreme and unsafe.
Hundreds of people -- young and old -- paid to run in last October's Extreme K Mud Run on a Silverdale farm.
The race had a host of obstacles, but it was one called "Gravity's Revenge" that changed Wendy Davis' life.
A veteran mud runner, Davis broke every bone in her ankle when she fell on the obstacle, which was a slope lined with watered-down plastic that turned into a 15-foot fall into a ravine.
"I looked at my ankle and there was a large protrusion from the front where the bone dislocated from the femur," she said.
Her ankle is now held together by 11 screws, and Davis feels her career as a Poulsbo Police officer is over.
"I don't see going back to what I was doing in the past," she said.
So Davis and two other women who were injured going over Gravity's Revenge are now suing the people who organized the run, the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce and it's sponsor, the Kitsap Mall.
"When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous," Davis said. "It's not something a reasonable person would do."
Nadean and Ronald Ross own the 164-acre Royal Valley Farm, which hosted the run. They've offered up their land for community events for years.
"They offered us some free entries and I assured them there was no one crazy enough in our family to enter that," Nadean Ross said.
The couple also said the Chamber of Commerce planned everything and they had nothing to do with setting up the course.
"I don't feel responsibly for the fact that if it was unsafe. It was not our fault," Nadean said.
Officials from the Chamber of Commerce and the Kitsap Mall did not return calls for comment on the story. Now a court will decide when an extreme mud run becomes too extreme.
The first clue would have been the name: Extreme K Mud Run. Excuse me, but what part of extreme do these people not understand. Your life is not over because of the course, it's over because you chose to do this event. No one to blame but yourself in my book.
Wendy, please do not ruin obstacle course racing for everyone else. If the court sides with you, that is what will happen. Don't see how court could side with you. You chose to attempt the obstacle (could have gone around it) and signed a waiver, so, sorry about your accident but let the rest of us live to do these events another year.
@Greg Johnson Thats not going to happen, you know as well as I do, soon as this lawsuit was filed the owners of this farm said Never again. And why should they? I wouldn't. I want to be able to run the 2nd anual Kitsap Mud Run as bad as anyone. A few people ruin it for everyone.
WOW! Wendy Davis should be ashamed! You knew what you were getting into. I've heard you're a terror to work with, so I'm not surprised that you would choose to sue someone even though YOU decided do participate. Shame on you! You deal with society doing stupid things that they choose to do every day, but to stoop to their level, not ok. I agree with the writter who wrote that you probably aren't a spring chicken anymore, you should have stuck to something a little less of a challange. We all know what the mud race is and the dangers that come with it. I can't believe that you are trying to make money off of an event that others have enjoyed for years and have been able to complete it. Please don't let your defeat ruin it for everyone else. Grow a pair Wendy!  Â
Idiots.Â
Of all the fun outdoor stuff to do their is in this part of the world, why in God's name would you do this? This whole thing is just completely stupid.
@Scoondog Because it was a challenge. And it was fun. Just cuz you dont get it, stop throwing poo.
It seems we as a society reward stupidity. Â She signed a waiver and was well aware of the dangers. Â My husband did the Spartan race last summer and asked me if I wanted to join him I said no because I was aware I was in no shape to do it. Â So this witch will ruin it for people who want the extreme challenge because she left her common sense at home
"When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous," Davis said. "It's not something a reasonable person would do." So she is admitting she made a bad choice. CHOICE. I don't think anyone was forcing her to do this race or any of the obstacles.
Sounds like a bunch of whiners. Volunteer to do something and then when you screw up you blame somebody else for youu being an idiot. The new American way, not my fault why should I take responsibility for my own stupidity
"....It's not something a reasonable person would do...."
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So what were they doing racing then? - that seems to me they are in fact not reasonable people... just like they are unreasonable to think their lawsuit should even be accepted... deer me.... when did we get so many money hungry ambulance chasers...
I believe the femur is between your hip and your knee...perhaps she isn't aware of that, which reflects on her decision to do the race in the first place.
This is beyond stupid. They chose to enter the race and even paid to do it. I watched the news with her on it last night and she looks to be at least 50 years old. Does she think she is still 18 or something? I am not that old but not that stupid to so that kind of stuff. Why can't she work for the police any more? She can't do a desk job and sit on her butt all day? her ankle isn't connected to her but. It all begins with choice. She and her other stupid friend chose to do it! People like this are the downfall of society. She is looking for early retirement.
Last time i checked, my femur was up in my thigh. But I guess this woman is built differently.
@northwestsurfer Yeah, she sounds like a medical mystery.
 @Anarchy  @northwestsurfer Yeah, that's the point of the story! This course was sooooo dangerous, it swapped her femur with her tibia.Â
@Anarchy Well, she is a cop....so.......
Sounds like some of them should have never left LA Fitness.
Any of the participants had the CHOICE to not do any part or all of the course. Sounds to me like they are suing for the choices they made to do it when it resulted in injuries. The whole suit should be thrown right out of court. Taking responsibility for our choices should be the bottom line here. Her ankle will heal and with some rehab she will be able to do what she's willing to do. Our 65 year old friend just went through the same thing and she is back to doing what she was doing before.
Isn't that a potential hazard is doing "extreme" sports? Isn't that what makes them so "extreme"? You may have felt like that obstacle was "beyond dangerous" but you still did it. I'm sorry you were injured however isn't it a possible side effect of extreme sports??
Suck it up and quicher whinin!!!! get back after it!!
Plain and simple: Did you sign a waiver? Did that waiver say "We are not responsible for any injuries"? If so, YOU. HAVE. NO. CASE!
@KieferSkunk And don't forget to add Kitsap Mall to the list since they are the only ones who might have money.
 @KieferSkunk Waivers don't hold much water in court, they are designed to make people think that they can't sue, and they are obviously effective at that based on the comments here. A waiver will show that she was aware she was taking risks. She can make an argument that the level of risk was not reasonable for the activity. The fact that multiple people broke bones, and comments indicate that the medical staff through the drop was too dangerous and insisted it be shut down, those all work in the victims' favor. The fact that there was an alternate route around the obstacle, that you didn't have to complete it to finish the race, works in the race's favor. I don't know who would win in a trial, but there's no way the insurer will want to take that risk. They'll offer a settlement. Juries are unpredictable.Â
 @iampam My understanding (admittedly, I'm not an expert in such things) is that since the person signed a waiver that specifically states some form of "You agree to absolve us of any liability for personal loss or injury", the race promoters did their due diligence to inform participants that the activity was dangerous and they could be injured while participating.
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Personally, I see this in kind of the same category as holding a cup of hot coffee in your lap. Now that the cups actually say "Warning: Contents are hot", people can't actually sue for getting burned by the coffee anymore since the restaurant did inform them of that. :P
 @James Tetrick  @ALTemp Nothing makes you look like more of a pathetic joke than arrogantly running your mouth when you're so clueless.Â
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Water boils at 212 Fahrenheit. Coffee is normally served at around 160 degrees. The coffee in the case you're foolishly parroting what you've heard about without bothering to check your facts was in excess of 180 degrees.
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In this case, you didn't even have to bother looking up the facts. Just basic common sense would have told you people don't walk around with cups of bubbling, boiling coffee, and restaurant workers don't walk around offering pots of bubbling, boiling coffee.Â
@ALTemp How can coffee get hotter than boiling? I use boiling water at my house so explain to me how they got hotter than the coffee I make at home?> Did they somehow excite the molecules to plasma form? Was it coffee flavored gas? If it was a liquid form of coffee I think boiling is about as hot as you get.
 @KieferSkunk  The waiver shows that the participants had some knowledge that the event was dangerous and that they were choosing to do it... as opposed to being random people taking a walk through a park and suddenly falling down a 15' cliff in the middle of the trail. A waiver by itself doesn't necessarily mean the race directors did their due diligence to inform participants of the danger. Were the obstacles described ahead of time? Could the participants preview the course before the race? Did the conditions of the obstacle change during the race, making it more dangerous than intended? I have no idea, but those are things that would be considered in a lawsuit. The fact that the race offered an alternate route around the obstacle, and many people took it, is a HUGE plus in their favor.Â
A coffee cup saying that contents are hot does not necessarily absolve a coffee shop of liability if someone were to suffer severe burns from their beverage.Â
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You _can_ sue for pretty much anything, regardless of waivers, warnings, etc. Whether or not you can be successful is a different matter, but event organizers do have to take great care to reasonably ensure the safety of the participants and spectators. Extreme sports events push the edges of that envelope. Traditionally with extreme sports, you had to be experienced or have some training to participate. Extreme races that allow hundreds of people to walk off the street and participate... well it was probably just a matter of time before something happened like this, unfortunately.Â
@MP I dated a lawyer and there actually more to that story....McDonalds had been warned numerous times before that the coffee was too hot and they actually made it hotter then normal to get more coffee out of a smaller amount of beans. MP is right, know the facts before quoting.
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@KieferSkunk @iampam So, actually, that coffee gave that woman 3rd degree burns on her groin and was significantly hotter than the coffee you would make at home. It's time to get away from quoting that case when you don't make the facts known to yourself prior to using it.
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I saw this last night and just loved it, an Extreme Sportier suing saying it was too extreme, and what is so sad, she will probably win. I saw her on the news; she is no spring chicken, try Extreme retirement from Extreme Sport. Free advice, no charge.
All I got from that article is that she couldn't handle hard terrain. She should of known better and made a decision to not participate since it appears it was too hard for her.
These 3 women should be embarassed. It is mind boggling that this statement "When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous," Davis said. "It's not something a reasonable person would do." isnt enough to just throw this idiot in jail for a while and let her fester on her own stupidity. Don't do it then! No pity, no exceptions, and no remorse should be imposed for you not using the little brain god gifted you.  I hope they lose, and have to pay back the money it takes out of the tax revenue to hear these bafoons sob story.
She's just mad that she didn't break her ankle on the job, which would have meant lifetime disability payments.Â
what part of EXTREME did she not understand?
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If her ankle was attached to her femur, she already had problems and probably shouldn't have been on the course to begin with. Â
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the hip bone's connected to the thigh bone
the thigh bone's connected to the knee bone
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yadda yadda yadda
Ya, she is an idiot.
Are you serious, sue the race promoters, really, you chose to run this race don't blame the sponsors blame yourself
and take some responsibility as an adult.
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 @Thom Munden  @big D You are a real genius, How do you know she is a "libtard" you are just a bitter old bastard who enjoys being stupid and offensive.
Additionally this person should be banned from competing in any future mud runners race. Â Didn't she sign a release form beforehand as well?
Okay, so you want to sue someone for taking on a challenge course KNOWINGLY involving rigorous physical activity that can result in injury because it was more dangerous than the danger you thought you'd be facing?
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Case dismissed. Â Take responsibility.
I agree that other people are responsible, including the runners who signed a waiver. Â Mud Runs and other similar things are dangerous. Â You agreed. Â Live with yourself first. Â We'll let you do that, and we'll do the same.
"When I did this event and did that obstacle, I felt like it was beyond dangerous," Davis said. "It's not something a reasonable person would do."   Right out of her own mouth. lol She has no case.
"I looked at my ankle and there was a large protrusion from the front where the bone dislocated from the femur," The thigh bones connected to the.... ankle bone?! She's a real bright one, I can tell. Only a person with her caliber of intelligence sues somebody else because of their own clumsy misfortune.  She couldn't have noted the danger BEFORE attempting the obstacle? It's people like this that make McDonald's liable for the temperature of their coffee! Where has all the common sense gone...?  Â
@lilbizy The McDonald's case is ENTIRELY different. Read up on it.
 @MP  @lilbizy How is it different? Stupid is stupid.
@Thepriest @MP @lilbizy from my post above: Â I dated a lawyer and there actually more to that story....McDonalds had been warned numerous times before that the coffee was too hot and they actually made it hotter then normal to get more coffee out of a smaller amount of beans. MP is right, know the facts before quoting.
I'm sorry that this woman and others were injured on this course, but come on. . . . that's the risk you take when you sign up for this type of event. Â If she or any other individual felt that the route was "dangerous" or to even quote the injured runner herself "not something a reasonable person would do" , they could have (and should have) turned around and made a choice not to continue to participate. Â Yes, I am sympathetic to the fact that this injury ended her career as a police officer, but we all must be responsible for the outcome of our own decisions.
@crummycake Agree...I am planning on running a Tough Mudder but realize that I am taking a big risk and I must way that risk before actually doing it. Personal responsibility has disappeared in America and it disgusts me when I read these stories. Take responsibility for your choices and don't blame your misfortune as a result of your choices on someone else.Â
come on people, this is sue america... you do that crazy stuff what do you expect... JEZE
It used to be the "pass the buck" America. Now it's sue,sue,sue your fellow American. I do not feel for any of the people.I hope a Judge strikes this down and quick.
@F4I
I think you mean to say: "The buck stops here".
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"Pass the buck" is the same thing as "sue,sue,sue". Pass the buck means:Â to blame someone or to make them responsible for a problem that you should deal with yourself.
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 @F4I Everybody hates personal injury lawyers until they need one.
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The vehicle in your picture tells me that you may need one sooner rather than later. Motorcycle accidents are a particularly ripe field for personal injury lawsuits.
How so? Who are you going to blame if you hotdog it and crash? Sue yourself? Give it up, not all riders are morons.
@Sutekh way to stereotype. /golfclap