> The river was maybe fifteen feet wide and absolutely raging from all the rain we were experiencing. I took one step off the river bank and was already chest deep. I would never have made the decision to attempt to swim such waters under anything other than a highly sleep deprived and stressed state of mind.

It really seems like just a matter of time until someone dies on the course.

That's true of many trail ultras with single track. A wrong step in the wrong place you're going down a cliff.