Now that northbound is a separate category, I think this qualifies as the fastest unflagged northbound presi! Original trip report below:
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Second fastest presi ever, PR by 40 minutes! Wow, that was really really fun running!
Ran hard, mix of great conditions and bad conditions. I was on track for 3:30 at Washington with pretty ideal conditions over the southern presis, but the snow got too warm and I started postholing more and more, especially on Jefferson and Adams. I should've started at 5am instead of 8. Oops!
But I was still on track to have a shot at 3:42 until I started going down Valley way. Right below treeline, I had a sequence of two almost identical yardsale postholes where I ended up lying down head down the trail with a charlie horse in each calf. I just lay there for thirty seconds... No damage done because the snow was so soft, but I gave up on racing at that point.
I'm not done with the winter presi but I may be done with it for this season. We'll see how the recovery goes from this run.
My "A" goal was the FKT, but B and C were to prove that winter is fast and to go under 4. So I feel pretty great!
Beautiful, almost hot, conditions. I never needed more than a thin long sleeve and I only wore gloves for the summit of Washington. The forecast had me a little worried about wind speeds but it turned out very mild.