Tomorrow is our race here in Revelstoke, and here is part of a note I sent to coaches based on our trail run yesterday. It is a good reminder for your preparations as well. Those bugs were a bother! :)
Our team was out on the course yesterday and it is in great shape. The weather is also looking good, but be prepared for anything. We did see two bears from a distance but they quickly disappeared, so I want to remind everyone to be bear-aware. In general, we make plenty of noise as a group, but it is good for athletes to know to make noise, especially when rounding blind corners.
The other thing that we encountered were some small flying bugs. The spawning fish love it, but it's not nice to encounter a small cloud of bugs when running. A baseball hat, some sunglasses, or even a bandana might be useful to deflect bugs. We also discussed breathing in through your nose as a strategy for not inhaling a bug in your mouth. Yuck.
You may want to share this with your athletes today as you prepare for the race.
