Chuckie set the run from the Fire Prevention Centre, and promised it would be different from the last run he set there – and different it was…
With a clashing Bunny Hash and the Male Pattaya Outstation, the field was again small, but we doubled last weeks runners. We set off and within moments Itchy Bitchy was trying to short cut across a river. I hit the first couple of checks and was going well until guessing wrong on an ‘international standards’ V check. Cutting across I came to Humper Dick and the ladies (Itchy and Sleeps with anything except me).
We hit the small reservoir and when there was a circle at the end, I was convinced it was the same run backwards as Chuck Wao set before. That makes things easier (I thought). A few moments later Sloppy Rod and his son Kevin jumped out from behind a tree – they’d short cut from somewhere and were lying in wait. Conserving energy, it was sure to be up the hill any minute??? And then a sneaky circle check had me running around in circles on my own for a while as everyone else took the inconspicuous trail to the left. I was only rescued from the silent runners by Chuck Wao who was sweeping and calling me back.
As I came up through the runners, I sprung a leak in my shoe and as my sole ripped off, I was soon running barefoot on trails which weren’t meant to be run barefoot. Across a slippy waterfall in socks wasn’t much fun. And then over sharp rocks and later broken glass. I was forced to walk, and try to keep around 100m ahead of Humperdick to guide him through the checks (the rest of which I picked right).
Humperdick finally caught me as we got back towards the A, overtaking me as I hopped and limped along the gravel road. It was a great, well marked trail that I would have loved to have been able to run, but it turned into a small, cozy, friendly hash!
On-On!