Trendy mud race left me needing £5k of surgery
YOU can’t take part in one of the country’s toughest endurance tests without expecting a few knocks and grazes.
But for Olivia Jones it meant £5,000 of dental treatment, reconstructive facial surgery and weeks off work.
The 24-year-old was taking part in the Tough Mudder challenge, in which competitors push themselves to their physical and mental limits on a gruelling 12-mile assault course.
Crawling through thick mud, sliding through dark tunnels and leaping into ice cold water, the event is billed as an ‘adrenaline junkie’s playground’.
Miss Jones, a management assessor, was near the end of the course when she slipped on a wooden ramp and smashed her chin, almost knocking herself out. She spent 11 hours in hospital after losing an inch of her lower lip, which had to be sewn on by surgeons.
And to make matters worse, one of her front teeth was knocked so far into her
‘My brother nearly fainted’
gum it had to be removed – leading to a £4,000 implant. The competitor, of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, had to take three weeks off work and now wants to warn other people that the endurance event may not be as harmless as it seems.
She said: ‘The worst I thought I’d come out with was a swollen ankle. Never in a thousand years did I think I’d be having reconstructive dental and facial work from an obstacle course. It’s really dented my confidence.’
Miss Jones took part in Tough Mudder’s London South event in Faygate, West Sussex, last September with her brother Sullivan, 17.
Participants run 12 miles through woodland as they tackle a series of obstacles. A website blurb for the event reads: ‘London South is an adrenaline junkie’s playground... you can expect undulating hills, thick mud and a range of mind-bending challenges to test your mental grit.’
Nearing the finishing line, Miss Jones had hauled herself through a water obstacle when she was faced with a skateboard- style ramp. Her brother had already gone over and was waiting at the other side when she slipped on the soaking wet surface.
‘One of the obstacles looked like a half skate ramp so you had to run up and there were people at the top with their hands out to grab you. The part before was watery and it was really slippy. I ran up there and hit my face on the wood. My teeth went up into my gum and through my lip. It was awful and there was blood everywhere. My brother nearly fainted when he saw me.’
Miss Jones’s bottom lip was sliced in half. In agonising pain, she was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where surgeons reattached the missing piece. Two teeth were stuck in her gums and dentists later had to remove one because it couldn’t be realigned. The total work came to £5,000.I couldn’t speak for ages, my teeth still aren’t right now and I can’t really smile properly,’ she said. ‘I lisp too and hide my teeth because of the damage.’
Miss Jones said endurance athletes should make sure they have liability insurance before taking part – but also thinks Tough Mudder is responsible for making courses reasonably safe.
She added: ‘There were two other people who had taken part in Tough Mudder at the hospital that day, someone else had lost three teeth. I even wrote a letter to them but they just sent it back.’
Tough Mudder said safety was its ‘number one priority’ but admitted there is ‘always potential for risk of injury’.
A spokesman said: ‘Participants must acknowledge and sign a waiver that they fully understand those risks, and accept responsibility for any injuries.’