Discussion: Snake Fud

Boris, can you tell us your version of Brent's snakebite story?

Well.....we are doing a Follow-John excercise on Surebridge. Brent is running just ahead of me, and we are going over some rocks when i see Brent fling a stick from right under his feet. Except it was weird 'cause the snake suddenly coiled in mid-air. At that point i started screaming things that shouldn't be printed on such a wholesome website. A few meters later, we stopped to assess the damage. By then, the long, all-black critter was gone, and all that was left was a small gash in Brent's shin........

Reminds me couple of my encounters here in the desert when I had to jump a meter or even higher trying to avoid stepping on the poor creature laying in the middle of the trail and soaking sun rays. Most of the snakes are not venomous but...

Well written :)

I had a similar outburst and adrenaline shock at Collier's Mill about a month ago. It's amazing how quickly and subtly your mind notices that the seven thousandth stick that you're seeing on a given O' run isn't actually a stick. At Collier's Mill, the 5 ft Black Rat Snake (as I web-identified it later) was right in the relatively clear running area I had just turned into. I'm not sure if the mid-air gyration to avoid stepping on it, or the freaking out came first... I know I landed close to it, but perhaps as long as you avoid stepping on the darn thing, it won't need to do the fling & coil maneuver than Brent enjoyed first hand... :)

I was later curious what physiological effect that might have had on my run. I know I was faster for the next 15 seconds, but I don't know if that drained important resources. (No, not those resources... my O' suit was still dry :) I'm pretty sure the psychological effect was poor, as I was concentrating more on identifying sticks vs. snake up ahead than on, say, how to attack & exit the next bag...

I think I am fortunate to run on desert or hill trails here that are not covered with trees. I usually notice snakes far away and have time either to avoid or scare them. Much harder to do so in the woods with lots of branches. In woods I would probably run in gaters just in case.

bah... american snakes aren't really properly poisonous - just get to a hospital within a few hours and you'll be fine. australia, on the other hand... :)

I encountered a snake while orienteering in Tasmania
(came near to stepping on it, but was not bitten).
The meet notes had said all snakes on the island
were venomous. I was pretty scared and did lose
some speed, but my concentration wasn't totally hosed.

I later identified it as a "lowland copperhead". I'm not
100% sure my ID was correct.
(http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/BHA...)

st patrick saved the irish a lot of worry

Cold winters usually saves us from that. No snakes, spiders, scorpions, etc. So come up to the Yukon in July (when it is not cold) for the Canadian Championships where anything that can kill you is bigger than you are!

the last statement by the shadow could mean a squirrel in his case! ;-) Oh, sorry. BIG bad Brent.....