Occasional Runner
Watoni- I'm frequently surprised by the ridiculous words and noises that come out of me when I get freaked out on the trail. Yesterday was a great example of it. I was running in the dark without the dog and my headlamp hit a snake in the middle of the trail that was wrapped around a ground squirrel that it had been slowly killing for a while. I damn near stepped on it and it scared the hell out of me. I let out some pretty odd sounds, then quickly looked around to make sure I was alone.
SheCan
Being in Arizona, I LOVE this report. Great descriptions, and Holy, mother of Jesus @ stepping on that rattlesnake! I see snakes quite frequently, and even had them shake that rattle, but still yet, never actually stepped on one. That was just crazy. Those pictures of the lightening are amazing. No wonder they called the race off. Did this race take place Friday night when that huge haboob hit the city? Anyway, congratulations on 3rd place, and surviving the heat, the snakes, and the lightening.
Cherie
"We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. " ---- Shasta Nelson
Did this race take place Friday night when that huge haboob hit the city? Anyway, congratulations on 3rd place, and surviving the heat, the snakes, and the lightening.
No, I was flying in on Friday during the haboob and ended up getting diverted to Tucson for a 5 hour delay. The storm we had Saturday night was mostly electrical with some wind and a little rain.
Are we there, yet?
That gives a new twist on the phrase, serpentine trails.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
running under the BigSky
That indeed was an adventure! While I'm no big fan of close lightning or rattlesnakes, I think the heat would have killed me off first.
Congrats on a great finish.
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Faster Than Your Couch!
Yay, you made it through alive!
Congratulations, awesome run, and well paced.
I can relate to that slowing down of time when jumping a rattlesnake. I did about the same assessments as you did when I jumped mine. There were only two minor differences:
- Mine was a timber rattlesnake, not a Western (Diamondback?) rattlesnake like yours. Timber rattlers are timid and non-aggressive, much in contrast to the Western rattlers.
- I did not land directly on the snake, but a couple inches beyond.
Still I had that "Did that just happen?"-experience, and I'm sure the rattler had the same thoughts, telling from his confused face.
You were really lucky to have gotten away without getting bitten.
The storm would have freaked me out, too - in fact, a lightning storm is what I fear most for my next race.
Thanks for sharing this exciting report!
Run for fun.