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Difficult conditions await Yukon runners at the B.C. Cross-Country Running Championships in Nanaimo this weekend.

Days of rain have made the urban park cross-country course soggy and the forecast for the days leading up to the event is calling for even more rain.

鈥淏asically it鈥檒l turn into a mud bog,鈥� said Team Yukon head coach Don White.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l be all wet, mud splashed up to their heads.鈥�

He predicts some shoes will go missing mid-race.

The Yukon is sending its largest youth contingent to this race 鈥� 10 under-18 runners will make the trip.

The girls team will be made up of Hannah Shier, who placed first in the under-19 women鈥檚 category at the half marathon in Victoria over the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Also on the women鈥檚 team are Ilyana Stehelin of Whitehorse and Kate Crocker of Dawson City, who has been battling some seasonal illness lately.

On the men鈥檚 side there will be Darby McIntyre, who won two medals at last year鈥檚 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Also on the team are Brahm Hyde and Naiose Dempsey who competed in snowshoe running at the Arctic Winter Games in Nuuk earlier this season.

Joe Parker and Jack Amos (Dawson City) are also competing at the B.C. race and won medals at the Arctic Winter Games for snowshoe running.

Amos has had a standout season, winning Dawson City鈥檚 Midnight Dome Race as well as September鈥檚 Yukon Cross-Country Championships.

Amos said that his goal is to place at the B.C. Championships and he hopes to run a sub-nine minute three-kilometres, a feat he was close to achieving this fall.

He will likely rely on his finishing speed.

鈥淓veryone runs a strategic race,鈥� he said after the Yukon Championships. 鈥淚 just like to hang at the back and then I usually have a pretty strong finishing kick.鈥�

He said he also has a strong uphill push, but may not have to rely too strongly on that at the Nanaimo course.

More than likely the race will be a mudfest.

鈥�(It鈥檚 the) survival of the fittest to a degree,鈥� said White, 鈥淏ut also the survival of the smartest.鈥�

He noted that foot placement will be an important factor in the races and that for himself, conditions might dictate that he treat the course more as a run than as a race.

Parker has also been steadily improving this season, posting his 5K personal best time at the Last Gasp earlier this month.

鈥淚t feels amazing. I鈥檝e worked all summer to get to this point,鈥� said Parker after that race.

He has not yet been to Nanaimo and isn鈥檛 really sure what to expect.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard anything about it actually,鈥� said Parker. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of in the dark right now.鈥�

Rounding out the youth team are Isaac O鈥橞rien and Nathan Sutton.

Also accompanying the juniors will be Lindsay Carson, who has placed highly at this race in the past, as well as White and McIntyre鈥檚 father.

On Monday evening as the temperature hovered around -7C and snow floated from the sky, a training group of about 10 set off along Hamilton Boulevard for an easy run. They broke trail along the paved path that runs parallel to the road.

Last week the group started running on the single track on Mount McIntyre mountains as they built speed and worked on hills. But as the snow continued to fall, the ski club asked them to stay off the trails so they could begin working on the snow base to prepare for ski season.

When the runners return from Nanaimo, they will hop into snowshoes to begin the winter training season.

鈥淭hey鈥檒l race in the mud on Saturday and put on snowshoes on Monday,鈥� said White.

B.C. Championships likely won鈥檛 be the final race of the year for runners however. Lindsay Carson is planning to attend the National Cross-Country Running Championships in Kingston at the end of November and depending on this weekend鈥檚 results, there may be other Yukoners joining her on the shore of Lake Ontario.