2003

Saturday's SH3 run details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harrier's run #2003, Saturday, November 29, 2019, 4:00 p.m.
Hares: Egghead and Dor Yoi
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo Intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 8k to Wat Keow Kloy then turn right into Poonakan Road for 1.2k then left for 500m to the run site just off the concrete road on the left at   7.019134° 100.568892°. Click here for Google Maps' pin. From the other end of Poonakan, the turning is at about 10k and on the right.
Sunday's HH3 run is being set by a cast of thousands apparently including some if not all of the China-Doll/Double Door/Boner/Cracker axis plus Sound Chef and others not readily identifiable from the picture in the map below. The run site is in the road leading up to Khan Lao - from Wat Keow Kloy take Poonakan for 5 km and turn left just before Wat Thung Nai  (or if coming from the PSU end, the turning is on the right at about 6 km, just after the wat). Follow the road for about 3.5k and turn right at the hash sign then follow the road until you see signs of a run site.

Remote haring!

In a first for SH3, Saturday's run is being set by one hare firmly located in Thailand with the other two being either in, or on their way to Japan! Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #2002, November 23, 2019, 4:00 p.m.
Hares: Not the Full Shilling, Worm and "Jim", aka, Kai Ping at HH3.
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 10k to the Nam Noi traffic lights and turn left for 3.6 km, then turn right just after Wat Prutoh for 750 m. Turn left for 1 km then right at the hash sign for about 250 m and cross the earth bridge on the left to the run site at 7°01'54.8"N 100°33'10.7"E. Click here for Google Maps' pin. If you are coming up Poonakan from the PSU direction, take the left turn opposite Wat Thung Nai at about 6 km (or if coming from Wat Keow Kloy, the turning is on the right at about 5 km) and go 3.5 km along Th. Prutoh-Thungnai, then turn right for 1 km etc.
Sunday's HH3 run is being set by Robocop: from Wat Keow Kloy take Poonakan for 5 km and turn left just before Wat Thung Nai  (or if coming from the PSU end, the turning is on the right at about 6 km, just after the wat). Follow the road for about a kilometer and look out for the hash sign on the right then follow the track etc. to the runsite. Map below.

A tale of two runs

Here is a picture of what those who came along to SH3's run #2001 on Saturday enjoyed, a pleasant 7k or so with a couple of modest hills including our first ascent of Kao Long for a few years and trails neatly manicured by the hare to ensure a pleasant, non-life-threatening experience. The long run got up to about 175m with a total ascent of about 230m. The short runners meanwhile were split with some doing the first half of the long run ending at the beer stop and the remainder being ferried out to join the second half via the blue stub above, both doing about 3k and all being back home well before dark.

In contrast, above is the trail from Sunday's HH3 run as recorded by Kai Ping (slightly retouched to accommodate the fact that his watch didn't kick in for about the first kilometer - spot the joins if you can!) or if you prefer a less cluttered picture, here is the contour map of the run:

Ah, but I hear you say, they are not the same! And you would be correct since the top picture is of the long run (about 8k, total ascent 422m, highest point recorded 453m) while the bottom picture is of the "short" run, courtesy of Kii Loeii (about 7k, total ascent 403m, highest point recorded 459m - actually the same point as on the long run!). With the start being slightly delayed by someone's car getting stuck on the rutty road to the runsite, the run did not actually start until after 4:15 and it took even the fittest long runners almost an hour to reach the top, with others from both runs arriving any time up to about an hour later. That meant that only the leading half of the long run were allowed to complete the run as set since the somewhat otiose section which departed from the track to take in a river gorge was deemed to be too dangerous to attempt after dark - probably the most sensible decision taken all day by the hares! The upshot was that most of the short run and many of the long runners were still making their way down the hill when darkness fell and the final group did not arrive back at the runsite until well after 7 p.m. Full marks for their perseverance but should it have been necessary?

Long tough long runs are fine - if you deem yourself to be a long runner then that is the challenge you accept from time to time. But short runners really don't expect to have to be struggling home down a 450-meter hill after dark, nor for some of them to have spent the thick end of 2 hours to climb it in the first place. There were some fairly obvious rumblings after the run had finished among the short runners about no warning having been given of what was in store and it's probably fair to say that had they been given such a warning they would probably have not embarked on the run in the first place!

But on the positive side, the view from the top was spectacular, the trail down pretty nice and happily we were blessed with great weather again which at least meant that none of the more difficult sections of the hill were attempted in the rain. But maybe, just maybe, there is a need for a reaffirmation of the purpose of short runs - to offer a kinder gentler experience to those who don't want a full-on combat-scale hash and come along for a pleasant outing where they can safely take selfies and not get stuck up mountains after dark!

Over to you madame GM!

HH3 tomorrow

2001: Hal takes over!

All change this Saturday, since with Yardo's impending departure to do unmentionable things in Oz, SH3's answer to HAL 9000 has taken over and will set this weekend's run. Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers run #2001, Saturday November 16, 2001, 4:00 p.m.
Hares: Egghead and Harram
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4k and turn left at the Kuan Hin traffic lights and stay on the main road for 6k. Turn right for 300m then follow the road round to the right for about 80m to the runsite at  7.066283° 100.604885°. Click here for Google Map's pin. From Hatyai the Kuan Hin traffic lights are 10k past the Nam Noi traffic lights and the turning is on the right.
Sunday's HH3 run, last we heard, was to be set by Nong Golf and will be somewhere across route 43 in the Na Mom area. More details here when they arrive.

Songkhla H3 2000...

from this:

to this: 

in 100 easy stages.

Remember October 2017? When SH3's very existence seemed to be in doubt and the only person confident about it was Sex Sprinter who was looking forward to run 19000? Ok, so we are not quite there yet, but SH3 has reached the milestone of its 2000th run with some aplomb, thanks to a combination of solid support from our traditional runners and the invaluable support of HH3, who have made sure that there is life in the old bull yet.

Saturday's milestone will be celebrated with a special run followed by a party at the Thung Jaeng Restaurant on the new Yala road (7°05'12.7"N 100°37'24.1"E or click here for Google Maps' pin). The runs are slated to start at 3:30 p.m: the long run will be set by Buck, Egghead and Lot Rakaa and will be an A-B, with the transport leaving Thung Jaeng at about that time. The short run will start and finish at Thung Jaeng and will be set by Sex Sprinter, Buk Toy and Only a Yolk, so the start will be a little later than that to accommodate any late arrivals. Both runs will feature sponsored beer stops: the short run by HH3 and the long run by the Full Moon Hash.

The circle will follow the end of the two runs with dinner timed at 6:30 and there will be facilities available to take a shower provided by the restaurant. Then it's party-party-party! With karaoke and party games and all the beer you can drink. 

If you haven't already registered then you can do so on the day, but at this stage the chances of getting your choice of T shirt are pretty slim as we are already almost at the 150 cap which was declared for registrations. We will do our best to accommodate late regos but it may take us a while! Meanwhile those who have registered include all your favorite hashers from SH3 and HH3 plus a generous contingent of runners from other chapters in Thailand and overseas and some SH3 runners from way back when, with whom to renew old friendships. 

One more word about Saturday's run. As things stand there will be no transport from the Hot Bread Shop to the runsite as both the Beer Truck Driver and the Beer Butch will be going to Thung Jaeng early and not via the HBS. So could anyone who needs transport to the runsite from Songkhla please add a comment to this post or let Egghead know in advance and we will get something organised.

Sunday's HH3 run details will no doubt emerge in due course and will be posted here later. 

1999

This week's penultimate run in SH3's second millennium (and yes, the millennium does end in 2000!) is being set by our very own prince, Not the Full Shilling, with his princess and the royal mutt in close attendance. Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1999, Saturday, November 2, 2019, 4:00 p.m.

Hares: Not the Full Shilling, Worm and Mai Dtem Baht
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 10k to the Nam Noi traffic lights and turn left for 3.6 km, then turn right just after Wat Prutoh for 750 m. Turn left for 1 km then right at the hash sign for about 250 m to the run site at 7°01'54.8"N 100°33'10.7"E. Click here for Google Maps pin. If you are coming up Poonakan from the PSU direction, take the left turn opposite Wat Thung Nai at about 6 km (or if coming from Wat Keow Kloy, the turning is on the right at about 5 km) and go 3.5 km along Th. Prutoh-Thungnai, then turn right for 1km etc. Please note that the start of the run will be at 4:00 p.m. to avoid losing people after dark again!

Sunday's (November 3) HH3 run is to be set by Syntax Error, China Doll, Double Door etc. The location is out behind Ban Phru: from the Klong Wa intersection of Kanjanavanit Road and Route 43 beyond Macro, take Kanjanavanit Road south for 4 km and turn left at a set of traffic lights into Th. Klongyathai. Follow the road for 4.2 km then turn left at the hash sign for 1.3 km to the run site at 6°56'30.7"N 100°30'45.9"E. Map below or click here for Google Maps pin.
Meanwhile, Friday (1st November) there is a quiz night happening at Oscar Bar at 8:00 p.m. with the qvizmeister being Koko. Come along and support your favorite version of the hash team, or better still make your own team and help make Koko's effort worthwhile.

Lest we forget...

In all the excitement about the up-coming 2000th run, let it not be forgotten that SH3 will celebrate its 38th birthday this Saturday. So to help us remember, the run will be a beer-token run with the short and long runs carefully planned so that everybody should get a crack at finding some tokens before the beer stop at which they will be redeemable, with any excess being carried forward to be used later at the run site. There will also be a few special down-down beer tokens to hunt for on the final section of the run and to top it all off, Only a Yolk will be producing a vat of khao soi with all the usual trimmings to be demolished before the circle.

Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run # 1998, Saturday, October 26, 2019 4:15 p.m.
Hares: Egghead and Harram
Misdirections. From the Kao Seng intersection take the old Yala road for 13.8k to the traffic lights just beyond Thung Wang and turn right for 1k then left at the hash sign for 500m to the run site at  7° 3'8.28"N 100°38'17.82"E. From Hatyai, get to Tha Kham and head east for 5.8k to the big tree then bear left and go 2k to a set of traffic lights at which turn right for 400m. then right at the hash sign for 500m to the run site.  Click here for Google Maps' pin.

As the nights are now drawing in and after narrowly avoiding losing a couple of runners last week, we need to start the runs a bit earlier, so this week's run will be a 4:15 p.m. k.o. but if this causes anyone a problem please let someone know. This is particularly relevant if you are going to do the short run as that will be an A-B involving transport to the A site so don't be late.

Also, and again bearing in mind our experience with our intended host-land-owner last weekend, please park considerately. There is not a huge amount of space at the run site but parking on the side of the road is feasible and to be preferred to carving up the ground between the rubber trees if the ground is still wet. Equally however, if you do park on the road make sure that there is enough space left for vehicles to pass by.

Finally, with the 2000th run now only 2 weeks away, Hash Cash will be happy to accept payment of your registration fee either at the SH3 or HH3 run this weekend or failing that, next weekend, and if you haven't already registered but would like to do so, registrations with guaranteed on-the-day T shirt rights are still open. But after this week there is no guarantee of getting the size you order on the day and you will have to take pot luck in size availability after the actual run.

HH3's runsite on Sunday is illustrated in the map below, or if you prefer: From the Kao Seng intersection take the old Yala road for 16k and turn right at Wat Khun Thong then go 5k and turn left at the hash sign and follow the road/track for about 1.6k to the run site. From Hatyai, get to Tha Kham and head East for 4.3k then turn right at the hash sign. The hares are Sex Printer bin Laden, Beanie Abdul Karim. Sound Chef Mohd Kassim and Gu Man Thong, who is not in the picture! Click here for Google Maps' pin.

What happened in 1997?

Well, Britain handed back Hong Kong to the Chinese, Tony Blair became Prime Minister and Princess Di was killed in a car crash....

No, no! Not that 1997! Run 1997! Nothing special - just an average run: where we were ordered to vacate the run site by an irate owner threatening to call the police but then found a much better run site; where the anticipated influx from HH3 didn't really happen but where we were mighty grateful to those who did turn out in the rain to support the woefully inadequate turn out from SH3 regulars; where the long run (green-red-green above) went up the hill by the most direct route - over rocks and through thorn bushes causing the normally unflappable Buk Toy to opt for the short run (in green above); where Yardo saved the day by waiting for two HH3 runners who would otherwise have been left up the hill in the dark, and where the hares were eventually forgiven for all the pain by finding a lovely way down the hill which will no doubt feature in future runs in this neck of the woods when someone else is brave enough to try to set a run there. But all's well and all that sort of stuff. Back at the new improved runsite there was a mountain of food which Only a Yolk had just  whipped up after coming home from the HH3 outstation and the damp conditions, late finish and absence of a GM caused the circle to be cancelled which meant that due praise and scorn in equal measures were not handed out to the hares, Stick Insect and All Black for an eventful and ultimately highly enjoyable run.

Outstationing!

This weekend, HH3 and SH3 swap slots with the HH3 outstation run taking place on Saturday and the SH3 run following on Sunday. The HH3 outstation run is at the same runsite as the HH3 run 3 weeks ago  illustrated above. For the verbally inclined: Take the road to Hatyai Airport and immediately before the security check at the entrance, turn right onto the 4037 for 300m then follow the road left as it becomes the 4045 and go 2.7k along the perimeter of the airport. Follow the road for 1k as it turns left, right and left again then take the first right turning (5045) and follow that road for about 14k until it meets the 5071. Turn left for 2k then turn left at the hash sign and follow the road/track for about 600m to the run site at 6°53'33.5"N 100°14'15.3"E Click here for a Google Maps pin. 
The run itself is advertised as starting at 3:00 p.m. and there is a car rally preceding it which will start from the Rama V statue in Hatyai Park at about 8:30 a.m. Anyone wanting to do the car rally would be well advised to contact Sex Printer pronto to register interest as there is likely to be a get-together on Friday evening at which stickers etc. will be distributed.

SH3's run will take place on Sunday, 20th October and the details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers run # 1997, Sunday, October 20, 2019, 4:30 p.m.
Hares: Stick Insect and All Black
Misdirections: From the Samrong traffic lights at the Kao Seng intersection near Rajapath, take the Hatyai (Kanjanawanit) road for 4.8k and. turn left through the temple archway for Wat Bang Daan. Go 100m. Turn right immediately over the bridge (before the wat) and follow the concrete road for 700m to the runsite on the right. From Hatyai Go 1.7k. past the New Yala Road-Koh Yoh fly-over. Turn right towardsWat Bang Daan and go 100m. Turn right immediately over the bridge (before the wat) and follow the concrete road for 700m to the runsite on the right at 7° 8'12.0"N 100°35'28.35"E. Click here for Google Maps pin