'Bent, Willderness and I went to Horseshoe to run a lap of the Pick Your Poison course. This is easier said than done since the course makes dozens of turns. I marked up an old orienteering map using the GPS track posted on the race website. Looking at the track, we had a couple of minor bobbles but mostly ran where we were supposed to.
Another PYP runner named Eric joined us in the parking lot. It was quite the adventure - warm enough for shorts but cold enough to feel chilly when the rain started. The conversation and laughs were great but the running was a challenge.
At least 80% of the course was covered in a thick layer of snow and ice, some of it packed hard (for now) and some of it soft. Where it had melted, there was water and mud so I sometimes chose to run on the ice instead. There were only a few short stretches of dry trail. The race is 4.5 days away and the forecast isn't warm enough to make a significant dent in the snow. (Note: I don't have a photo of the most common type of trail, which would be double track almost entirely covered with snow or ice with occasional bypasses or muddy bare spots.)
Will, Eric and I are all registered for the race but Will had already decided to skip it for the opening of trout season. Eric and I both decided not to race because the potential for injury is too great (we both have foot problems). I like the race course and will return another year. If it were my goal event, I'd go but the idea was to use it as a training run for UTMB, and it won't work as race-specific training.
I did a bum slide down part of the final ski hill, then as I was running up to our car to complete the loop, the earth opened up and I fell in. It turned out I'd been on a rotting snow bridge made of ice and gravel that concealed a crevasse below.
The photo above was a re-creation of the accident. I wasn't smiling when it happened. The guys asked me if I was OK, then when I didn't answer (because I didn't know), they asked me again more urgently. I'd wrenched my knee, banged my rib and stomach, scratched my Ambit and cut my arm. It was a crazy amount of damage for a freak accident, and it confirmed my decision.
Regardless, I'm glad we did this. Lots of fun and great to see Will's good fitness going into Expedition Africa. If they happen to have a blizzard there, he will be totally ready.