Update: Due to the warm weather and melted snow, the biathlon has been moved to Sunday, Feb. 8.

With temperatures returning to winter levels, the time will soon come again to head out into the Jefferson woods and shoot targets while on skis.

The fourth annual Liberal Cup Biathlon, hosted and run by Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson, will be Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Nature Center, Egypt Road in Jefferson.

The event features separate classes for different age and experience levels, and entertainment after the day’s races are done. Costumes aren’t required, but are encouraged.

Last year more than 130 skiers ignored the cold and took to the woods for the third year of the event. When it started, it was just a few friends together in the woods; last year more than 150 people attended the event.

The day will start with the young skiers first, Hidden Valley Nature Center director Andy McEvoy said.

“The kids race kicks off at 9 a.m. (then) the rest of the races follow roughly on the hour for the rest of the morning,” he said. “As in past years the event will wrap up in the early afternoon.”

Because there were so many skiers last year, things had to be tweaked for this year, McEvoy said.

“We've changed a few things this year. Because of some trouble with the timing last year we'll run the race a little more efficiently,” he said. “Each race category will race individually instead of lumping all categories into one race as in last year's. We've also changed the shooting range a bit to reduce backups.

“I think we've overcome the issues that caused us some major back-ups last year.”

This year will also feature the inclusion of the new building on the grounds, and a “SkiDaddle” race for kids ages 5 to 9. But other than that, things should be the same as they usually are, McEvoy said.

“All the good stuff will stay the same,” he said. “We still want to see tons of creative costumes, and we are still making sure that all ages and abilities feel welcome. Racers can still race in 4-person teams — just sign up individually and declare a team when you check in on race day.”

The other big component of the day — the beer from Hallowell's Liberal Cup — will be there along with hot toddies this year, as last year the cold temperatures made the beer tough to pour, McEvoy said.

For more information, visit HVNC's biathlon Web page: www.hvnc.org/biathlon-2.