Category Archives: Blog

Toe Sucker conspired with Square Rooter to set tonight’s run from along the Sameong Road. I missed one sign and nearly ended up at the football field, but fortunately backtracked in time and found the A – I wouldn’t want to miss this one! The run was excellent, using some familiar trails, but from a different direction, making the connects very interesting – and some of the checks were genius!

We set off, and the first check took no time, with Turkey running just ahead of me. At the 2nd, I set off to the left, but it looked a bit overgrown so I was slow checking. Meanwhile Turkey went to the right and went a couple of hundred metres before calling us on because he saw some paper – sadly the paper wasn’t showing the trademarked square root symbol! Checks are intended to confuse, and this one did just that! With people scattered, I went back to the previous check, and with most following we sure enough found the right trail. Sadly Turkey led some boys astray and they managed to short cut ahead of us.

We caught up at another check, where there was again much confusion. Able Semen called us On, only to find Turkey stood sweating halfway up a hill denying all knowledge. We were 15 minutes into the run and had barely started. Pamela and Swallow were right with the FRBs debating going back and getting the beer! Finally Cumalot and I set off up another “hidden” trail and found paper. Brownie was right with us, but Cumalot struck gold at the next check as the trail headed up the hill. A big climb – one where I just put my head down and waited for it to be over. Trudge, trudge, trudge…

Eventually we hit the ridgeline, and for some reason most were wanting to check to the right… No way! I thought, I recognise this place – we run here from Ob Kham – great connect SR! Off to the left shuffling away was Cuckold – it had to be left… (The Wimp trail had broken left, so ours had to sooner or later, and to go right meant dropping down into Ob Kham valley – not even SR could come up with a way out of that??? I started chasing Cuckold, and grinned to myself when he called us on. Graven behind me, and took off as though our chains had finally be cut. Cuckold’s shuffle shifted into a determined gait, and then a definitive jog, before he broke out the full on run – he was free! Finally running, sprinting with all the calibre of an FRB! Determined to get to the next check first, which he did…. and then the next, which he did… but he got that one wrong, and I didn’t see him again – still great running with you!

Brownie got it right, but was an eternity before he called it. The lead rotated as now Graven got involved – we were descending, and we were descending fast. Another check, and Able Semen was reluctantly checking slowly, so I overtook and found trail. Still downhill, so while I going as quick as I could, Graven, Able Semen and Poo past me – then Poo realised he might be going just a bit too quick and took action to avoid falling. There was the hare, sweeping backwards, so he said… – I think he was just hanging out on trail to try and decoy us. With a tiny hint from the hare, I found trail and another circle. If you’re reading this SR – you know the circle I mean… just after we met you, where you had a FT straight off the circle… That was a bit confusing, but it would have been even more genius if you hadn’t had the circle….! The trail into the gully, and to the FT. Everyone would have gone back to the main trail. Whatever, it was still genius and brought the pack closely together as everyone was sure we were into the end game.

The last couple of circles had me foxed. I knew we were close, but didn’t recognise enough to know where the A site was. Seriously, excellent, excellent job! The trail had everything – a hill, lots of good running, some excellent checks to get the brain going. Pure hashing joy.

Stumbling Wicket teamed up with Pamela for another run down at the end of the canal road. I missed the first sign, but managed to get to the runsite in time for a slightly tardy start. Looking around no sign of Graven, Brownie or Piggy… The early FRB was Diddly Squat – so intent on getting a fast breakaway at the start that he completely ignored trail and had to be called back. Poo and I led the way through the first couple of checks, but as I kept getting them right, calls faded behind me – where were the other FRBs?

Time to be brought back to earth with a couple of good checks that brought the pack back together. Some German visitors were among the leaders, with Poo, Taste My Buns and Cuckold. Poo took the lead at one point and promptly got the next check wrong. I always seem to get a little disoriented on the trails there. We were running in the same area as last week, and the trails crossed each other several times, but there was no evidence of the previous week, and everything looked different from a different direction.

Excellent job by the hares.

Cumalot & Knockout teamed up for a run way down the “end” of canal road. A familiar runsite, in the quarries where Pamela set a successful moonlight run. When I got there, the fire department were on hand hosing forest fires – would the trail be ok?

We set off, and the first check was a no-brainer… – right? We had to go right up to the forest and the trails there? I checked well over the 100, right up to the corner, with no sign of paper left right or straight. Turning back, it seemed like others were reluctant to try left – surely it wouldn’t be left? It was left, heading towards the roads, and we ran all the way around the temple complex. Brownie was leading, but the pack was close behind – particularly when he momentarily became blind and didn’t see the paper right next to him.

Sure enough after we’d run around the temple, we were heading towards the nice trails. There was a period where I was checking the wrong way and then needing to overtake the pack to rejoin the FRBs, until finally the FRBs broke loose. I caught HRA, Brownie and GI at a great check – great for me! Brownie and HRA headed left – I would have been very impressed with the hares had they found a way to go there… GI headed to the right, but I remembered a trail that was almost straight, slightly hidden, but you need to do a quick left/right… I was confident so a slowed to a walk until I saw paper “ONON” and set off. Finally leading the pack again. The trail heads right and as it rejoined the trail that Graven had been checking, sure enough, he was there… still checking!

I ran along with Graven, and we got to a circle – already kicked out…. wtf? Further on another circle – already kicked out… wtf? When short cutters decide to kick out trail it only spreads the pack out and fucks up the efforts the hares had put in. Lets face it – the hares put in checks to slow the front runners down – if someone goes and effectively takes those checks away, it fucks up the trail for the FRBs, it means the other runners don’t keep up so easily and miss out on part of the fun, and it fucks up the efforts of the hares.

Turkey got a few checks right, and we were following him for a while until he got one wrong and the trail headed left. We all wanted to go right, but after there were no calls we cut off to the left where we found a 2nd circle up on the open “road”. Finally we heard a call from even further to the left – HRA had figured it out, found the check and found the trail. I headed in that direction, only to find a gorge between me and the trail. I tried to find a way across as GI and Turkey came over. GI also started looking for a way to get to the start of the trail, while Turkey scrambled around a house to intercept the trail further on. The gorge was impossible, so we had no choice but to follow Turkey around the house and rejoined trail after navigating past a fence.

NOYB ran past as we rejoined the trail, so it was nice to see that the confusing checks had allowed the pack to get back together. Another check and all logic said turn right. We could see Turkey Delight running away from us, around 100-150m away. We called “ARE YOU?” No response.

The trail today was great! The hares did a great job of setting a great route – well marked, a lot of fun and good exercise! Great job hares!

Pretty sure this was the first Cuckold run I’d been on, so it would be interesting to see what he’d picked up in his hashing days. He picked the football field on the Sameong Road – ***Temple Steps*** flashing before my eyes. The night before I was already visualising the pain of the climb. The hare was there early… ready… primed with war paint on his face… harebrief well prepared and then orchestrated with perfect attention to detail. He then pointed towards the temple and set us off.

We turned quickly away from the temple, and headed towards the bamboo bridge that normally marks the end of runs there. The bridge has seen better days… Today it was falling apart before a gang of hashers took it on. I am very grateful that Brownfinger waited for me to get across before adding his weight to it. I was slow, as I normally am over such obstacles, but it held my weight. Having crossed I had an advantage and set off while the rest went one by one. A circle check, and I got it right. We looped around to the left, and by the next check I was 90% confident it would be right through the gully. None of Your Business was running along behind me, so I let him go the wrong way. RoundFinger was chasing me down, but I got to the next junction ahead of him, and for sure it was right – time for Brownie to go the wrong way. I found trail and we headed up over the small hill. Next circle check I made a mistake I won’t make again, and checked a deadend to the left. Damnit!

When we hit the concrete wall, KO & NOYB stalled – it had to be right, so I chased off after Piggy who was leading – except for Graven & BowWow who suddenly appeared ahead… Some excellent running or some intelligent short cutting? Up the hill again, only to turn back and go down… Were we going to go down the steps? or up the steps? We were back down to the flat lands, running smoothly, and there was the hare… Like a spirit master he was urging us to turn left onto the R(ambo?) or R(unners?) trail… The other option was the W(imp) or W(alk) trail. The real FRBs set off and were given a taste of the temple steps. I opted out… Turkey opted in, briefly, and then opted out and joined me for a beer while we waited.

Excellent set – very clearly marked, and some good checks. Local libraries stock the “Haring Bible” authored by Square Rooter, that states clearly to put the pain in the early part of the run, so that hashers forget it by the time they get back.