So I have been “fooled” many times, thinking I had seen a snake only to realize it was a stick on closer inspection. But yesterday, I was daydreaming on my run (actually, I was doing some mental math) when I almost crushed this poor little guy given he was right on the edge of the trail. At first I thought maybe it was a shed given he didn’t move as my foot was too close to comfort to his head as I ran by, but nope, he’s real. I looked around to make sure there was no big Daddy Bull Snake near by and took a closeup (well as close up as I was willing to get). It was a great reminder that I can’t daydream while running my hills. Of course, I still thought this one root at the top of one of my climbs was a snake until I got closer. It tricks me every time I run this trail 😂
Trail running - when a stick isn’t a stick 🐍 - Bridge to 10K
Trail running - when a stick isn’t a stick 🐍
Sask! 😱 Are Bull Snakes dangerous?! Do take care out there! xxx
No they’re not dangerous at all but can get very large and if feel threatened can look very intimidating as they rear up and hiss and strike (the race directors posted a video on their fb about one they came across last year that felt threatened; there were a few questions about refunds after that 😂). I would think a bite or strike from one would be painful though so am always on the lookout. Running with my hubby a while ago through a grassy area he told me I just missed stepping on one that was on the edge of the trail. I’m not sure how many I almost step on without knowing. Probably best not to know 😆
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Brilliant! We only have tiny grass snakes and I hate even those. You're much braver than me 💪🏻😁
I saw a little garter snake slither off the trail last week but this bull snake was not going anywhere. I guess they kind of freeze when they first feel threatened then try to back away or rear up if they continue to feel threatened. I tried to be as respectful as possible while I got my picture. I didn’t want to frighten him at all.
Is that somewhere in the UK or America? just be careful about where you 🏃 run.
It’s in Canada. They’re not venomous but can get quite large so are quite intimidating. This guy was just little. I’m always on the lookout for wildlife. I have a huge respect for wildlife and realize I am invading their home, not the other way around.
Nice one Al. Do you get many Bull snakes in your neck of the woods?
Snakes alive, I have never seen a snake in Scotland, but there are a few around, I think mainly in the Scottish Highlands, maybe other places too.
A few adders in the New Forest. They like to sunbathe on the quieter paths.
You didn’t mention that when you were plugging the New Forest runs last week! But as I don’t think I’ll be leading, I suspect they’ll be long gone 😀
Err that doesn't look little! 😳 That would definitely make me run faster Sask.
🏃♂️ ⬅ me ..............➡🐍
They are the largest snake in North America so he was quite small, relatively speaking. I ran over one on the road last year by accident and it was a huge thunk. I was busy gawking up at the hills and didn’t see him but sure felt him then saw him thrashing about in my rear view mirror. The crazy thing is that when I drove back after my run, he wasn’t on the road. He somehow managed to slither away but he was monstrous and very thick.
I have a snake story... you might not like it if you think we're invading their territory...sorry 🙁
I used to live in Australia and I worked in some remote areas.. Basically if you're attacked by a snake you're not going to make it to the nearest hospital...
I was camping with a friend... I still don't know how she saw it, it was close to pitch black out there, and we just had a camp fire... she shouted "Snake!" And aimed her torch next to my chair.. It was a large brown snake! I absolutely 💩 my pants... I slowly stood up and asked my friend to get something, I was in striking range, I didn't really want to make any sudden movements...
Now this is the most bizarre part of my story, she came back with an Aboriginal woman! 🤨We're in the middle of nowhere and she found a random aboriginal woman walking around in the dark... I don't have a clue what she was doing out there.. But she was awesome, she came over to the fire..
"Your friend says you're a pom! Bet you're not used to snakes then?"
"No, I'm not, I'd really like some help with this one... Is it a king brown!?" (very dangerous snake)
"Nah, don't think so, looks like a python, he wants to share your fire"
"How do you know it's not a king brown?" She grabbed my cooler box lid..
"If you approach a python it will just try and get away, it wants to escape.. If it's a King Brown, it will rear up and strike" She moved closer with the lid "See, he's not reari.."
The snake reared up, ready to strike... and she walloped it into the ocean for 6 with my cooler lid.
"Ohhh. It was a king brown! He won't come back now"
This is why I'm scared of snakes.
Priceless! I literally laughed out loud, got a look from my husband and had to read him your response. He laughed.
In all seriousness though, I hope to never have to worry about that although there is some question as to whether or not we have rattle snakes (depends who you talk to). That’s why this was a good reminder to me to stay vigilant. I can’t daydream in my trail runs. There is always the risk of wildlife or my clutzy self tripping and/or falling which could result in injury. I’m very isolated where I run so this is always in the back of my mind. Interesting thing though, this year I have seen more runners on the trails than ever before....but it still isn’t a lot. It might mean I saw someone at some point on my run. Usually closer to the trail head.
Omg I would have💩 myself also
Yeah, it was a close one. Maybe I could have jumped away, or made a run for it.. but I genuinely froze. I was just staring at it and it looked like it was staring at me... It was quite a strange experience.
🤣🤣🤣
Funny thing - I actually ran the 18k only 1 1/2 minutes slower than when I ran the 16k on the same route with a meadow 2k add on. But it wasn’t the snake. I was just in my zone, hiking more efficiently and loving doing what I was doing. It was such an awesome run!
😱 I need to know where that is so that I never make the mistake of going there! Though if I saw one of them, that land speed record would immediately be broken!
You’re safe. It’s in Saskatchewan in Canada..... unless you want to come for a visit 😆
Thank for the invite but I’ll stay here in Southsea for now thanks - haven’t seen a snake here yet!
Fair enough 😆.
Remember OGR - if you’re chased by a snake while running 🏃🏽♀️, break into a walk 🚶♀️.
🤣
Wow! Great picture. Very brave of you too!
Thanks. I was remarkably calm once I saw he wasn’t moving and there were no other snakes visible near by (I’m not actually sure if they stay in a family group but I was checking for it regardless). My heart may have been pounding faster than my run justified 😅
Woah! 😱I get all girly squealy if I catch sight of an adder (a very rare occurrence and they disappear pretty much as soon as they realise you're around). There is no way I'd be hanging around to have a closer look.
I'll also change a route to avoid cows... 😂🤣
I’ve changed my route to avoid cows before too 😂.
I tend to squeal a couple times each run. One time I was sure there was a snake rattling, until I realize it was my arm brushing up agains something in my vest making that sound 🙄. Yesterday I was also hearing a lot of weird rattling type noises in the shrubs, but then saw the dragonflies emerging. Their little wings are quite noisy and if there are 2 attached mating there is that much more rustling the shrubs. As I go into any wooded type areas, I call “Coming through”. Not sure if it is for the wildlife or myself. I squealed really good last week in the swampy bit of my run when I startled up a little frog.
I’m glad I run by myself. I’m not sure what other people would think -between the squealing, shrieking, talking to myself, talking to the bugs/wildlife, swearing..... I might get committed 😂
Glad it's not just me then! I did once end up running an unlit path one evening which looked to have untrustworthy types at the other end (though think they were provably innocent campers) so I ran pretending to have a conversation into my phone! It's not a route I've chosen to run again and on the whole cows are more scary 😂.
My favourite memory still though is running for the first time with a friend in these hills before they became a part of a trail race and are so nicely worn and cut. She was leading me astray through some tall grass, early in the summer. I looked down and saw a tick crawling up my long socks. I flung it off me, gave a very loud f-bomb and promptly told my friend to run faster. She had no clue why I was swearing and yelling at her to run faster but she went with it. Once we got to the road and I checked for more ticks, she understood my hatred/fear of ticks. We still laugh about it and she still leads me astray through tall grass, I still swear like a sailor and check for ticks....every time. Good times, good times 😰
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Didn't enjoy that bit of our run Sask! Horse flies are one thing..snakes...oh no!
Take care out there my friend! Xx
I just hope to not come across any of the big ones that others have seen. He was just a little guy. Trekking poles can serve many functions on my runs though- to help keep me upright on my climbs, to help slowly down on the descends, to test water depth and provide extra balance through the water crossing and muddy bits, to push shrubs away to see the path and check for snakes. I used them to bang together when I was trying to get the porcupine off the trail a few weeks ago. And if I really needed, they can be used as a weapon - hopefully that is never needed. But, these are also the things I think about on my run when I allow my mind to wander....and then I trip or see something (like this little guy) that reminds me to stay vigilant. I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy that part of our run, but boy oh boy, it was an awesome one. 18k, 3 hours, 500 metre of elevation change, 5 big hills, my husband and son finding me and running me in for the last 500 metres. It was so perfect!
Well I am reassured and I loved the rest of our run!!! Phew....I am so tired now xxx
I was once leaving work and in the lane in front of me was a snake... I was aware what an adder looked like and this wasn’t that, it was bright green, so I got out of the car and picked it up, moved it to the bushes at the side of the road and let it slither off into the undergrowth... as it wasn’t an adder it must have been a grass snake over here in the UK and home I went. I told my housemate about this and he said “you know grass snakes aren’t bright green right?” To this day I have no idea what the heck I casually picked up!!
What a wonderful thing to see on a run... and less likely to hurt than those pesky tree roots!!
Oh wow! You are a very brave soul. I thought about poking it initially with my pole to see if it was a shed but when I saw how thick it was, I realized it was alive and didn’t want to disturb it. Snakes are not my favourite but I have had to see the odd pet snake in my practice. Fortunately we have an exotics vet now in our practice so I try to shove them all off on her (or just tell the receptionist No, I don’t see snakes. Luckily there aren’t many pet snakes in our area anyways... I think.)
We get sloe worms in the garden. They do look like snakes at first glance. The dogs pick them up : o. I have rescued a couple
I had to look those up. Very interesting - legless lizards! They definitely do look like a snake though - and I can picture the dogs having fun “playing” with them 😯
😱🙈
Wow, beautiful markings. Stay safe out there.
If that’s a little guy, I don’t want to see the big daddy Ali . Stay alert, stay safe .
🐍 🏃♀️🇨🇦
Hopefully I don’t either....but if I do (and can get a pic) you know I’ll be posting about it 😂
Only seen 2 wild adders, one at an archery competition, but was a baby (smaller than my hand) the other was a fully grown adder, who was frozen apart from his head which kept turning to the sound of my shutter.
However slow worms are trickier. My boyfriend still laughs at my dance when realising I was about to put my foot on one when the Heather stuck moved just as I was lowering my foot so desperately tried to regain balance on the other leg whilst hopping around it 
I can picture the dance 😂. Worth it if you kept your balance and missed stepping on the slow worm!
You run in such a different environment from the vast majority of us, it is absolutely fascinating to read your posts. Massive respect running in such challenging terrain too - grass and vineyards are about as difficult as mine get. I haven’t seen snakes in the UK but I did get the fright of my life when a snake slithered out of the large lavender next to our terrace in France when I went to hang out some washing and disappeared off down the garden!
Gosh I feel like I've been on a round the world adventure this morning reading posts from Canada, France, England, Scotland & Clubberlang's exploits in Oz! You are an intrepid runner with amazing stamina and great tales to tell. I'm glad the snake was placid & allowed you to take his photo. Thanks for sharing another interesting run and do take care out there! 🐍🏃♀️🌲
I do love the international flare of this forum. I remember when I first found it, I snuck around quietly lurking, not sure if I was allowed. Then I saw a post from a fellow Canadian and yippee, I was in 😊
Wow Sask, you did it again, you always add something completely different to this amazing forum!
Funnily enough I’ve just read a chapter in Born to Run where the writer comes across a Corn Snake (it’s deep in the Mexican canyons) and it’s either the snake or trying not to fall off a cliff face. Then he realises the snake is dead but not until after he’s scratched and bruised himself trying to escape from it!
We are very lucky in this country that we can generally drift off into our own little worlds when we run. I saw a grass snake in our park a few weeks back and nearly jumped out of my skin as I’d never seen a snake in the ‘wild’ before! Your little get togethers certainly give you a distraction 😳
Be careful out there! Xx
I really enjoyed reading Born to Run. Now I’m reading The Trail Runners companion and Fixing your feet corny running reading. A little less entertaining...:although the Trail runner’s companion does tell you how to poop and pee on the trail 😳. I have had resort to a pee midrun before getting this book (I did it all wrong apparently😆) but hope and pray I never need to do the other! I was almost caught with my pants down (literally) the one time I peed as fast as I physically could on the trail. Too close for comfort 😖
😂😂😂 that sounds a very useful book! I did a long run today and spent the mid journey looking for a handy bush. Thankfully I held on until the local leisure centre. I can’t imagine ever running anywhere where I couldn’t find ‘facilities’ but you never know!!
Oh good lord in heaven 😳...I'm glad to say with living in the UK I'm pretty safe to daydream and assume every stick is a stick 😂
Just don’t get too complacent....one day that stick might just move 😂
😂😳👍
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