The ladies of Charleston, West Virginia, are steaming this week over the controversy of the cancelled Dirty Girl Mud Run scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2014. I hate to admit it but I am one of those ladies that was duped out of $71.57 fee plus the money for costumes my group spent in preparation for this event. This event was originally scheduled for April 5, 2014 but when I went to sign up, I saw that it had been moved to July. This should have been a warning that something was wrong from the start.
Not only was this event cancelled at the last minute but Dirty Girl (aka 100 LLC) has refused to refund any of the money nor give credit to a future event all because it has been reported they refused to pay the $20,000 event cost per contract. This cost was part of the contract signed in March 2014 between Human Movement and Cato Park to pay $10,000 for venue ($5,000 down and $5,000 due at the end of June-which was not paid); $12,000 for shuttle service; and remaining amount for porta potties and emergency services. Charleston even waived the newly added event fee that took in effect July 1 in order for this event to continue as scheduled. So if you look at the date I signed up for this event (March 19, 2014) you can figure out that Dirty Girl was taking entry fee money even before a contract was signed and the event was planned.
Not only was this event cancelled at the last minute but Dirty Girl (aka 100 LLC) has refused to refund any of the money nor give credit to a future event all because it has been reported they refused to pay the $20,000 event cost per contract. This cost was part of the contract signed in March 2014 between Human Movement and Cato Park to pay $10,000 for venue ($5,000 down and $5,000 due at the end of June-which was not paid); $12,000 for shuttle service; and remaining amount for porta potties and emergency services. Charleston even waived the newly added event fee that took in effect July 1 in order for this event to continue as scheduled. So if you look at the date I signed up for this event (March 19, 2014) you can figure out that Dirty Girl was taking entry fee money even before a contract was signed and the event was planned.
I ran this mud run last year with 1,700 other ladies and was happy to do it again this year with a group of friends. In fact, after this race I started entering other mud runs and 5k's and felt like the Dirty Girl was way to easy compared to others. But in March, I purchased my 11 am slot, along with my friends and started planning our costumes. We were going to go with a baseball theme with our shirts saying "Save Second Base." We had hats, gloves, pants and even the black smug for under your eyes to give us the baseball girl look.
So imagine our surprise when we wake up Monday, July 21, 2014 and hear on the news that the Dirty Girl Mud Run had been cancelled four days before the event was to take place. Of course we all thought it was a joke because we had not received a cancelled notice from Dirty Girl. So the ladies start calling, emailing and posting on Facebook to Dirty Girl.....with no response. Dirty Girl finally sent an email that afternoon telling everyone that the event was not cancelled.
It was a yo-yo day with 2,600 women just waiting to hear what was going on. Keep in mind that some of these women are traveling from out of state and have the extra cost of hotels and gas to think about. Hotels need a notice to be cancelled in order to get money back so for these ladies to just wait, must have been awful. Everything was on hold while our city was saying NO and Dirty Girl was saying YES. At this time, we still had the option to change our race date to another date and location but everyone held off because Dirty Girl said it was still a go.
Charleston finally gives us a little good news that a meeting was scheduled for July 22 at 9:30 am. We all waited the rest of the night and early morning to hear some news of what was going to happen. By 9:30 am it was announced that the meeting had been pushed to 2:30 pm. Another five hour wait. Charleston waited until 4:30 pm to hear from Human Movement, the event coordinator, only to be left hanging and Park Tours, the shuttle service hired by Human Movement, could not hold the buses any longer. Without the bus service, there would be no way to hold this event at the location planned. It is quoted that Dirty Girl and Human Movement could not come up with the cash ($12,000) in time for the deadline needed by Park Tours. Which really sounds kind of strange to me if they had already collected between $169,000-$257,000 (between $65-$99 fee) depending on the entrance fee collected. Charleston informed us that the race was cancelled that afternoon.
Dirty Girl didn't get around to telling us until July 23 with just a short email claiming they took "all possible steps" to make this event happen. They also had to give us the final slap with "we will not be issuing refunds under any circumstances."
Dirty Girl's Facebook page started blowing up with women from all over the United States telling them how wrong this was. Dirty Girl quickly shut down the option for us to change event dates and location to another state. I even posted a comment just asking about how much went to Breast Cancer and had close to 200 likes and another 20+ comments. After thousands of comments, likes and shares....Dirty Girl deleted this post and added another one saying the same thing, just to wipe out everyone's comments, likes and shares. I again re-posted the same thing and added that the Company is not named Dirty Girl Mud Run but goes by 100 LLC for the ones filing a complaint and that I couldn't find anything about them giving money to charity other then them quoting they gave $475,000 to different Breast Cancer Charities and $125,000 to their new partner Bright Pink. My comment was the only one deleted off the new post and I was promptly BLOCKED from posting to their site.
Today they posted this one regarding comments being deleted. I'm still blocked from posting a comment.
Dirty Girl is claiming they have the right to keep all entry fee because of the below section of the waiver we signed upon paying. Truly, who signs these things thinking it means they can cancel an event AND keep your money? It does state "no refunds" but does not say anything about NOT giving us a credit for a future event. The next section states official race directors have the right to cancel an event because of "emergency, severe weather, local or national disaster" and I did not see any of these things going on in my wonderful state this week.
This just made me mad so I have made it my mission to track down everything I can on this company. I love running in Mud Runs/5k and I also try to give back to others as much as possible. In fact, I ran the Wild Warrior Challenge on April 19 of this year and found it much better then last years Dirty Girl. I would recommend this Mud Run to all ladies next year. It was way more of a challenge then Dirty Girl. I also want to give a shout out to the guys that put the Be A Hero 5k together on July 12. This organizer had his ducks in a row and not only was he able to get us great shirts, dog tags at the finish line, a bag full of goodies, he also posted where all the money went so nobody was left wondering. This, in my book, is what a true leader is and someone that cares; not one that hides how much they make and give back to a charity that is claimed.
I have also paid a fee for an event that was cancelled earlier this year. I was signed up for the GoRuck Light on May 17 but it was cancelled because of low participation. Was I upset? Yes! I had trained for this event for 6 months. I also spent a lot of money on a backpack to hold the weights needed for the event. But after reading the message I got for GoRuck, I was ok with why they had to cancel and fine with how they handled the credit. THIS is how a company handles an event cancellation and Dirty Girl could learn a thing or two about this from other organizers.
West Virginia is not the first event cancelled by Dirty Girl. Boise, Idaho's event scheduled for May 4, 2013 was also cancelled. I'm still searching to see what the outcome of this was and if the ladies received their funds back or moved to another race.
And if you think the rest of the Dirty Girl Events planned is safe...think again...
At this time, there is still 17 Dirty Girl Mud Run events collecting entry fees.
1) Aug 02 - Twin Cities (Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minnesota)
2) Aug 09 - Cleveland, Ohio
3) Aug 16 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4) Aug 17 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5) Aug 23 - High point Farm in Clarksburg, Maryland
6) Sept 06 - Elegant Builders Raceway in Lancaster, New York
7) Sept 13 - Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln, Nebraska (Cancelled)
8) Sept 20 - The Recess Factory in Erie, Colorado
9) Sept 27 - Cycle Ranch in Floresville, Texas (Cancelled)
10) Oct 4 - Skyline Ranch in Dallas, Texas (Cancelled)
11) Oct 11 - Sundance Horse Ranch in Houston, Texas (Cancelled)
12) Oct 25 - Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California (Cancelled)
13) Nov 01 - Action Movie Ranch, Acton, CA (Cancelled)
14) Nov 15 - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona (Cancelled)
15) Nov 22 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
16) Apr 25 - Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
17) May 02 - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania
The Idea for Dirty Girl
And if you think the rest of the Dirty Girl Events planned is safe...think again...
At this time, there is still 17 Dirty Girl Mud Run events collecting entry fees.
1) Aug 02 - Twin Cities (Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minnesota)
2) Aug 09 - Cleveland, Ohio
3) Aug 16 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4) Aug 17 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5) Aug 23 - High point Farm in Clarksburg, Maryland
6) Sept 06 - Elegant Builders Raceway in Lancaster, New York
8) Sept 20 - The Recess Factory in Erie, Colorado
15) Nov 22 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
16) Apr 25 - Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
17) May 02 - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania
The Idea for Dirty Girl
From what I can uncover, Dirty Girl may have been originally called Purty Dirty in 2011 and was a dream of Robin Gohsman (father to Jimmy Gohsman) as a mud run 5k designed for women at any fitness level. Like all ideas, it started off sounding like an awesome adventure and would help women regarding breast cancer research. The original idea was to use organic and Eco-friendly obstacles that could be recycled back into the earth once the event was done. As I'm finding out now, that did not happen at last years event and Coonskin had to clean up the park themselves. This event also states that a portion of the proceeds would go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Company
100 LLC (aka Dirty Girl) is licensed as a Foreign Limited Liability Company in twenty-seven (27) states with the nine (9) listed with the address 405 Genesee Street , Delafield, WI 53018, which is listed on the Dirty Girl website as contact. These states are; Alabama, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
ZoomInfo lists Dirty Girl Revenue at $5-$10 million dollars in 2012. I'm guess it is way more then that now.
Chris McIntosh (Former Seattle Seahawks Offensive Tackle) is listed as President (2010-Present) of 100 LLC and BE Fitness & Wellness, LLC (which is also located at 405 Genesee Street). McIntosh also founded Body Basix (with Robin Gohsman). I was able to find an article regarding how to be an authentic leader. I thought this seemed to fit in as to what is going on now since McIntosh was quoted as saying, "A good leader is the bi-product of one's core values. You're either an authentic person or you're not" and my favorite, "My core value is honesty." Although McIntosh refuses to state the companies revenue, it was said by enterpreneur.com that it would be bringing in close to $22 million in 2013.
Robin Gohsman, Jennifer Baumann, Peter Bethken and Timothy Abair are listed as Managers for Dirty Girl, LLC and/or 100 LLC in Delafield, WI. 100 LLC was filed in WV on March 21, 2013 and lists Christopher McIntosh, Jennifer Baumann, Peter Bethke and Timothy Abair as principals.
The past CEO of Dirty Girl is listed as Kent Ebersole who is now President and Director of Development for Human Convergence, LLC for the past 11 months (starting on September 2013). He is listed as CEO of 100 LLC/Dirty Girl Mud Run from February 2013-August 2013 (7 months) and Chief Marketing Officer for July 2012 to February 2013 (8 months).
On June 28, 2013, it was announced that Dirty Girl Mud Run will partner with Bright Pink. They promised $250,000 to Bright Pink for the year 2013. Bright Pink does list their financials online for the past two years and Dirty Girl is listed but it does not say how much was given. (Press Release)
Sponsors
As of July 25, 2014, Dirty Girl has removed all sponsors from their Facebook page.
Fruit2O has since terminated the relationship with Dirty Girl. Good for them in doing what is right!
In Conclusion...
I could go on and on but really...what's the point? It would seem this company is just like a lot of others ones. They claim to give to a charity that touches the hearts of many enough to open our wallets to pay a huge amount we wouldn't normally do. In the end...we were stupid. The company and everyone that works for them should be ashamed because every penny they stuff deeper into their pockets is one less penny being spent toward breast cancer research.
So enjoy your expensive homes, nice cars and vacations while taken the money of the hard working women of West Virginia that was under the impression, as a lot of other are, that most of the money was being spent toward research. I for one have learned my lesson and will now be sticking to charities that I can donate my time like Manna Meals and Habitat for Humanity rather then handing over money that will never be seen by the promised charity.
To the ladies of West Virginia who, like me, refuse to stand and take this slap, there is a few things you can do.
1) Contact your credit card company and try to get your money back that way. If it was within 60 days, they may be able to help you.
2) File a complaint with the West Virginia. The more complaints they get the better the file will be to open an investigation.
3) Contact Preston & Salango, PLLC who has filed a class action lawsuit against Dirty Girl (aka 100 LLC) to have our fee returned. They have also promised that any Attorney Fee collected will ALL be donated to Breast Cancer Research.
4) Eventbrite is the company that took some of our payment for fee. I contact them via email because I heard a rumor that they hold all the fund until a few days after the event before handing it over to Dirty Girl and am waiting for their response. I'm just not sure why they would continue to take people's money for upcoming events that may or may not still take place.
5) You can also join the Facebook page Dirty Girl Rips Off Charleston WV to keep up to date as to what is going on, since Dirty Girl keeps blocking the ones that are posting what they find on their page.
4) Eventbrite is the company that took some of our payment for fee. I contact them via email because I heard a rumor that they hold all the fund until a few days after the event before handing it over to Dirty Girl and am waiting for their response. I'm just not sure why they would continue to take people's money for upcoming events that may or may not still take place.
5) You can also join the Facebook page Dirty Girl Rips Off Charleston WV to keep up to date as to what is going on, since Dirty Girl keeps blocking the ones that are posting what they find on their page.
UPDATE
As of today (August 1, 2014), I have received a full refund for my purchase of the Dirty Girl Mud Run. Although, I am still out the money spent on the outfit my group was going to wear. I will just hold on to it and maybe wear it at Halloween or another run in the future.
I do want to mention that a local rafting company heard about what happened and stepped up to create a mud run course for the women that were going to run in Dirty Girl. They even offered for the first 500 to sign up, free entry. All others would be $25 and all money would be donated to charity. I unfortunately could not make it on this date but it looks like a lot of ladies did enjoy the run. And from the pictures, it looks like it would have been more fun then the Dirty Girl anyway. Thank you ACE Adventure Resort for stepping up to the plate for your WV girls. I knew there was a reason I love coming to your resort for my whitewater rafting adventures :-)
And although Human Movement Management and Eventbrite was about to refund some of the money (mine being one), this has left a really bad taste in my mouth for this kinds of runs in the future. I will not be more cautions as to which race I decided to sign up for. The truth is there is so many races in West Virginia that most, if not all, the money goes to a good cause that you can pretty much pick and choose which ones you want. Dirty Girl, no matter who took it over, will never be a mud run I do again.