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Softballs and Emma Royde teamed up by one of the lakes (or rather 2 of the lakes) between Maejo and Doi Saket. We’d been near here a few weeks back with ABB & Pussy Whisperer, but this time we were a little further East, so presumably doing something involving the other lake?

A decent turn out and we were set off – unexpectedly back towards the lake we’d been around a few weeks back. Hmmmm… Surely we’d be turning right soon? The paper was tree to tree scrambling along the side of the hill – no trail, no chance of running, but heading straight towards the wrong lake. I know that hill is high, so I guessed perhaps we would climb up the saddle and drop back down to the other lake, or perhaps we’d turn sharp left and drop down into the village. Neither was right, and I was playing catch up as we headed back around the lake.

Before we get to that, I just wonder why it took 10 guys so long to find paper off the first check when they all went the right way? Anyway, at the back corner of the lake most were headed towards the hill, but knowing where that goes, I was locked in on us doing the same as ABB’s run, but in reverse and sure enough I broke away as we went around the back of the lake. I was coasting along, way ahead and stretching my legs.

Descended steeply off the dam, and found a circle by a little hut. DAMN! I went this way, I went that way, I went all over the place. It surely couldn’t be too far left as we’d be close to the out trail, but as the pack caught up, I had exhausted all the other options, and finally found paper heading straight back to the out trail. ON FUCKING ON!

Mary Poppins was close behind as we hit good runnable trail again and we took off for quite a stretch without a check. We passed close to the cars, but kept going back along ABB’s old trail, but at the next check we turned left, rather than right. I wasn’t quite right, but caught Mary and we continued down into the village where it seemed the paper had been cleared up for a bit. I went the long way around a square before reconnecting with MP as we came out to the dirt road along the canal. A sharp left and with Titty Smoker and Strangely Anal just behind surely this was just a case of running back in and there would be an On-In any moment.

Nope – there was a check and when I didn’t find paper, I figured the hares had taken us up to go over the dam for a more scenic run in. Sure enough there was paper up the hill, but when we got to the lake, rather than having paper heading back to the cars, it was going around the lake?!? WTF?!? I was 7k in already, and the paper was going in the wrong direction around the lake!!! I guess I need the exercise, and its a nice enough trail around the back.

All the way around the lake, and I was on my own enjoying the view and the jog, until I caught up with the hare as he hastily stuck down an ON-IN. A solid 9km run!

Maybe I overdid it at the weekend, but for whatever reason I wasn’t on form today! I struggled to make it there at all, but showed up spot on 4pm, only to find out they had already set off. It took me a few minutes to change and set off late. I should have been able to catch up, but as I tried to get running, my legs just felt heavy.

I soon saw Frozen & Sheepshagger, and figured I’d be back with the pack shortly – I think I even heard a call from up front. Then I saw Mary Poppins looking confused in a creekbed. Paper had been kicked out in that general direction, but he couldn’t see it and we lost quite a bit of time rechecking the check. Mary took off up the hill ahead of me – it seemed a slog uphill for a long time. I tried to bide my time saving energy for when there had to be some downhill later on.

The trails were good, but I just wasn’t feeling it – it was hot, I was sweating. After half an hour I started picking up the pack, one by one and then eventually just before the end I heard HRA calling up ahead and realised they can’t be too far ahead. Past the OnIn and back to the cars much to the surprise of everyone.

I was halfway home with the aircon blasting at me before I started feeling human.

I’ll tell you one thing – it’s a darnsite harder when you don’t have a map!

The pack was a bit smaller today with a variety of excuses coming in, nonetheless there was still a decent crowd to assist with checking. We were way out San Kampaeng way at a shelter I’d not been to for years – the site of the infamous tunnel paddle. I know Emma has been scouting quite a bit out here, and my memories of the area were fading – aside from the big paddy field the other side of the ridge.

We set off towards the tunnel and there was a circle check right by it – no way was I diving in to check in there! Sadly I’d run past the circle without spotting it, so ended up not being able to check the lovely obvious trail over the hill – my first failed check! Titty Smoker was leading us over the hill, but I had first choice at the next check down by the canal – I went down the canal in completely the opposite direction to where paper was – another fail!

Catching up again when Titty couldn’t spot the paper, we made our way along the trail at the bottom of a hill. I was cruising, enough to run straight into an FT. Back again, and Titty and Piggy followed me onto the trail cutting across the rice field. I was back in front as we got to a herd of buffalo, and a carefully placed check in the middle of them. Checking quietly, I yet again went wrong. Damnit!!!

Piggy did a good job of making sure we were all on the right track as we navigated our way around the buffalo, and then Piggy was coasting along. I slowed for a while and paused while my fish burger made its way back out – man I was overheating! This 4 o’clock start is still a bit hot! Piggy was ahead as we went back along the side of the canal and got to the walkers rejoining after their “Long” option. I was there just in time to get another check wrong again – and once again wrong in completely the wrong direction.

Finally I jogged back into the mix and caught up as ABB found the paper, but only after I’d pointed to it from someway off. I was back, and we had a longish section that was fairly tricky to get any pace up through the rocky ground. Another check, and finally I got one right – heading sharply up to the left!

Another circle and I was quite disoriented by now, with a rough idea of where were headed that was in reality completely wrong. I wasn’t far off when ABB called from up the hill to my left, and I intercepted him at the next check giving my the first choice, and again I was correct. This time I could jog along a bit as we started descending to a V-Check. Could you believe it? Wrong again. I got back in time for Piggy to pull of the paper and then we pretty much ran in together. A really nice set in a great area that we really should run more often!

Remember me? Remember hashing? We are back – vaxed, waxed, relaxed and ready to run. ABB & PW teamed up for the first run back and set it in Sansai – not far from the Tiger Head, but far enough that it was new for pretty much everyone – it’s been years since we’ve run there and there are some great trails that people should choose more often.

There was only 1 minor, tiny little mistake from the hares today… A couple of weeks ago they went scouting, and it seems that not everyone knows how to make their strava trails private. For the gentleman’s hash you probably want to make your trails private and definitely switch your gps off when you meander back into town ;). One way or another, I had seen a map of the route before we started, which really does make the checks much easier!

Not wanting to spoil the day, when we were set off, I ran off ahead and put in a decent pace ahead of the pack while they walked to warm up. When I got to the first back check after half a KM, I was already legitimately out of earshot, so I did a fairly quiet call and kept going – I didn’t really hear much else from the pack. The 3rd check would have been a brutal backcheck that took them a long time to solve – much quicker for me. The trails were great to run even without the mental challenge of figuring out the checks – today it was a memory test instead – and I did so well until nearly at the end when I did get a check wrong. I scampered back desperate to make sure it didn’t cost me too much. At the final check the markings were… well probably gone.

Sometime after I’d showered, changed and had a beer the rest of the pack came in to join us for a great circle. Emmaroyde didn’t realise he’d put on a few pounds over Covid and epically destroyed Titty Smoker’s Esky. Great to be back hashing!

Back to Maejo for installment #2 of the Maejo Ballsup! This time we set off from the Tigers Head – a spot we had run through last Thursday. How would the hares mix it up? Would they mix it up? Would it at least be in reverse? Nope…

Scum charged away at the start as the trail headed over the small hill to join the main trail that heads up to the 5 point junction. A couple of checks, but we were heading back to that junction. The hares had mixed it up a bit, so I guessed we might turn right, head up the ridge a little and then drop down to the left. But Scum was coming back from there when I got there, so I checked the same way I did on Thursday, and sure enough I was back on paper heading down the hill, breezing through checks and feeling good!

Until… the same god damn, mother fooking, check that thwarted me on Thursday. Only this time it was worse. I swear the rest of the pack must have slipped silently by without a call as I went this way and that way, eventually getting back to the check to find myself behind. Not long after I got to a beerstop that was nearly deserted with the hares just packing up.

The peace of a solo trail runner – except this runner was gradually slowing down. I caught up with Bendover first – quick chat and then on to Cartoon who seems to still be struggling. There just weren’t enough checks to keep anyone together, particularly as people knew where they were. A minor variation from Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to let me catch up. I saw HRA, Mary Poppins ahead, but they were gone by the time I got to the road back to the Tigers Head. To punish myself for my stupidity, I did an extra loop up to enjoy the scenery along the dam – I can’t complain running out around Maejo!

It’s been a while… First the bad air kicked in, then the heat and the pandemic, but finally I got out on a hash trail again with the Gentlemen’s hash off and running again. Sheepy set from a familiar spot near the quarries off Sameong Road. A decent turn out to see what he had in store.

Scum was quick out of the blocks across a farmers field with Cartoon in hot pursuit. At the first check I found myself with Shrek and Emma Royde chasing after Scum who seemed to be getting lucky. He breezed through a few checks leaving us just enough time to go the wrong way – but he was breezing through them so fast that he simply skipped a false trail and a big loop that rejoined the main trail as we went up by the side of the wall formerly known as the rubber wall.

Of course it had to turn left at some point, and the hare teased us with the turn a few times. We went into the back of the resort (Strawberry?) and another check had most of the pack checking right. I went left around the resort and didn’t hear anything called. The resort is a loop inside, so I figured I would rejoin them around the top of the resort, but as I went up the hill I spotted paper off to the left and headed over. It seems I had somehow got onto a wimp short cut and was now well ahead – despite being confused with paper going in 3 directions as the trails merged.

Whatever, I continued on, unsure if I was ahead or behind. I was ahead but already at the bottom of the hill as I heard them calling at the top. A few easy checks and the pack wasn’t closing on me. Trail looped around the quarry and another check near the back of the temple – they have cleared that area out a bit and there is a new temple hall in construction. I got it wrong, but then was back on trail through the temple with a few friendly dogs to keep me company. As I went around the small lake, I heard the pack approaching the temple, but kept quiet as the trail was clearly looping back to the road just past the check. There was the On-In – a quiet grin to myself and then the last push back to the cars. A pleasant reintroduction.

Yikes! I hope Santa brings me a new GPS watch! These days I am down to hashing once a week and that sucks! I have to work on Thursdays, so no Happy Hash. Saturday hash is “Meh” – I can only hope for changes in leadership to make it worthwhile going to next year – or perhaps we should just start a new hash at the weekend? Anyway, Mondays, I can get out of work to get to the Gentleman’s hash….

Bendover was the man from somewhere along the Ob Kham road, and overall it was a great set in an area that he knows very well. I had high ambitions for today – I’d not done too much at the weekend, so was feeling good before we set off. We all set off walking, and despite sparse paper as we got to the first check it felt like a couple of weeks before where I went left (correctly) and Cartoon went right…. – this time, Cartoon was correct, and I was wrong. The fucking annoying bit is that his correct choice was a retarded loop up a small hill and back to 4M away from where I was – Nice one Hare, you got me.

So I was playing some catch-up, but I was also conserving energy. For some reason the hare had told us in the hare brief there was going to be some checking early and some running later – TMI? The next part was a mass confusion! I have no idea what was happening – I wasn’t quite at the front, but those ahead also seemed to have no idea what was going on. Scum hadn’t seen a check back before so was maybe checking a new check, Shrek was later accused of confusing people with how he solved a FT… For me, I have no idea what was going on – I didn’t see paper, I was just chasing flashes of people’s shirts through the forest – given how messed up it seemed, I am shocked how quickly we found it.

And then to the turn…. Scum didn’t believe me 100%, but it was the moment it would either turn left or right. We ambled. My gut was to go right, and Cartoon was already going that way so we could ‘amble’ towards him. Shrek called it from 180 degrees, completely the opposite direction, but Cartoon, just ahead on trail said “huh” – he found paper too, so perhaps we short cut, or perhaps we used our superior intelligence, either way the trail broke right, and we were on paper.

I had a bit of advantage over Scum here having run here before, so took a bit of a lead. Perhaps I could be the one to win on Bend Over’s challenge? Sadly no….. I made a very stupid call at a check by Turkey’s Triangle…. I am still upset with myself – last time I ran there was before the road was tarmacced, so I was slightly confused, but still Emma Royde got the key check right and there is no chasing that guy down!

Great exercise, and great chilled circle. There were some really funny moments, but nothing forced. Thanks BO!

I need to cut back on Sunday exercise if I am going to be able to run on a Monday – that was only 6.4km with <100m elevation change, but it was really, really tough! From out the back of Itchy & Suckit’s place, it is a maze of trails, creeks, little hills, rocky bits, sandy bits that all blend into one another. Even on a straight trail it is easy to get disoriented, on this hash we zigged and zagged around and I was thankful for the breadcrumb paper trail to lead me back out to safety! Initially the hares had carefully placed the sun to be right in our eyes and when in front it was a big challenge to look at the floor for footing, and yet up to see paper, being constantly blinded when doing so. It seemed whichever way I turned the sun was coming at me. I tried jogging for a short downhill stretch, but it became quickly apparent that my exertions over the weekend were weighing heavily in my legs, so I would at best be able to walk. When I nearly decided to short cut, I realised I couldn’t be sure which direction to go, so my best option was to continue following paper. Fortunately the checks were good, and this pack of CGH3 runners stayed close together. HRA set off late, but somehow didn’t manage to catch the main group, and while Sheep Shagger loaded up with rocks for his garden, he was still with the pack most of the way around. I am not sure I’ve been on all of those trails before – admittedly a lot look the same, but it definitely wasn’t just the same as usual. Enjoyable, but tough… I need a couple of days now to recover!