Three-day weekend

Saturday's SH3 run details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run#1841, Saturday 1st October 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Hares:Egghead, In-U-Endo and the Egg Mutts
Misdirections: From the Kao Seng intersection take the old Yala road for 17.7k and turn right just past Tan Khwai School. After 800 meters, turn right and follow the orange dirt road for about 500 meters until you see signs of a run site at the edge of the rubber.

Sunday's HH3 run will be from the football field on Poonakan road: from Wat Keow Kloy take Poonakan for 4.5k to the run site on the left. The hares are.thought to be Sex of the Man and Sex Si.

Finally don't forget that it's all happening
in town on Friday night (30th September) with All Black's birthday being celebrated at Coffee and Love from early until she falls over, and a quiz night at the Office Bar from about 8:00 p.m.

All Black's birthday and the return of Sing Rak Thai

Ok, ok, as per the post below, the secret to eternal youth is drinking more beer, so before we give you details of next Saturday's run which will be a Vietnam Mountain Marathon tribute run in which YOU can relive the glory of our victorious gals an' geezers in our very own backyard, here are two events where you can top up the beer level in preparation.
First, chronologically speaking, is the return of Sing Rak Thai, who has been allowed off the leash to visit Songkhla on the occasion of Meal's on Wheels' birthday, tomorrow, Wednesday, 28th September. There's a party in celebration from 6:00 p.m. at MoW's house  which is just past Macro in Hatyai in the moo bahn off the underpass on the left. Anyone needing directions give MoW, Egghead or Only a Yolk a call. Contributions of youth-giving substances and solid sustenance to soak it up appreciated.
Next, Friday (30th September) is All Black's birthday which will be celebrated at Coffee and Love from when it opens to when it shuts during which period all drinks bought for All Black will be free. So come along and give her the gift of eternal youth at no personal cost! To get you in the mood there's also a quiz night at the office bar from about 8:00 p.m. with Alex as quiz master.
So who's ready for a run on Saturday? Watch this space!

Geezer triumph!

A few minutes before yesterday's 10km race. Pee Wee (left) had already run an impressive 3:15 for a seriously hilly half marathon the day before. Now it was up to the 10km wimps -- Yardo, Olive Oyl, Handjob, Beaver, and Stick Insect -- to uphold the honor of Songkhla Hash.

It was billed as the "toughest 10km race" in Vietnam, if not all Indochina. In fact it felt no harder than a longish SH3 or HH3 run, to the point where we all began wishing we had done the 21km run with Tim. But no matter -- the Songkhla geezers swept the 60+ age group, winning gold (SI: 1:22.48), silver (BS: 1:23.18) and bronze (YS: 1:27.35). In fact SI and BS came in 2nd and 3rd among all over-50s. Our finishing positions were 35th, 37th, and 50th respectively out of the 408 who completed the race.

Click to see the shocking 1-2-3 victory!

 A little further back, Olive Oyl came in 121st at 1:48.48, while flower-picking selfie-taking Handjob finished 214th at 2:09.10. Full race results here if you're really interested.

Lovely cool weather, incredible mountain scenery, and a total vindication of hashing and beer drinking as the perfect preparation for mountain races. If you weren't there you should have been!

The long way home

If  you wanted to go to Egg Towers, you probably wouldn't start from the Old Yala road. But that's what the surprisingly large long run pack did on Saturday in honour of the pussy's birthdays. Meanwhile, the short run which required two trucks to get them to the start, skipped the first 3.4k but still had a fairly hefty 5+k to cover, although a number opted to call it a day at the beer stop, which abandoned its post before  the arrival of Gan Yao, who therefore had to do the whole 8.7k without the aid of a drink. Total ascent was about 120m with the run getting up to around 70 meters on three occasions, which new runner, Vincent felt constituted "hills" - just wait until next week!
The circle swiftly followed the end of the run as a number of people wanted to watch the football on the big screen TV that Frozen Nuts had thoughtfully provided for that purpose, and the rest were anxious to tackle the food mountain before the feline pussies finally worked out how to get the enormous fish provided by Sex Sprinter off the BBQ and into their stomachs. GM Keelyn had other ideas however and a longish circle ensued, at which several attempts were made to deal with all the returning runners who just kept returning, the birthday pussies were serenaded, and Somsook avoided being named "Selfie Stick" (as she richly deserved) as the HH3 masses threw their voices behind the somewhat obscure "Sawng Tau". Som nom na.
There followed a party which was largely conducted around the TV as Man U did their thing. Stumps were drawn around 10:00 p.m. when it was realised that all the food had mysteriously disappeared and the consumption of all the beer was a practical impossibility without Sticky and Yardo's presence (Beaver would have been tucked up in bed by then anyway!)

The celebration of the pussies... (with new added details of HH3's run)

...' birthdays, that is; this being September there are a number of them: Super Pig, Crackwurst, Only a Yolk, Meals on Wheels, Temporary Relief, Swings and Roundabouts, LPG, Ork Dork and All Black to name but a few (well, quite a lot really).

So Saturday's run will be a celebration of pussy birthday month and will take place at Egg Towers, with a small party to follow.

Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1840, Saturday. September 24th, 2016: 4:30 p.m. (but see below in red)
Hares: TBA, but most of the pussies named above
Technical Advisor: Egghead
Canine security: Harram, Ma Mick and Thing on a String
Misdirections: from the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4k and turn left for 5.2k (at 4k bear left with the road, don't go straight ahead). Turn right through the temple arch and go 200m, then turn right keeping the temple wall on your left, for 300m, then turn left for 100m, then right to the car parking area (7.070560 N, 100.596040 E). From Hatyai, take Kanjanawanit road East for about 13k from the Ko Hong traffic lights and turn right at the Kuan Hin traffic lights for 5.2k etc.

Both the short and long runs will be A-B-C so please try to arrive a little bit early as it would be nice to get the transport on the road to the A (long run) site by 4:30 latest and the circle will probably be called at about 4:20. The short run transport can wait a few minutes for late arrivals but please give us a call (081 969 1227) if you think you will be any later than 4:30 so that alternative arrangements can be made. Also, as some of our regulars are in Vietnam this weekend, if you need transport, the beer truck will be leaving the Hot Bread Shop around 3:00 p.m. but can probably stop on the way to pick up anyone who normally goes with Yardo or Stick Insect. Give R2D2 a call (081-990 8482) if you would like to make special arrangements.

Sunday's HH3 details are as per the map below, or from Wat Keow Kloy take Poonakan for about 5.5k and turn right before Wat Tung Nai for around 1.5k to the run site on the right. From Hatyai take Poonakan from it's junction with Kanchanawanit Rd. for 5.5k and turn right after Wat Tung Nai etc.

1839 beer stop

May have been a bit boring, predictable and of little mileage but at least the beer and view were good (/save for the hairy arses blocking most of it//).

Three runs and a missing GM

First up, this week's SH3 details, with misdirections courtesy of the hare, are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1839, Saturday September 17th 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Hare: Short Screw
Misdirections: From the Kao Seng intersection, go 16k along the Old Yala Rd and turn right at Wat Khun Thong for 3.5k to the big tree (or cut across to the big tree from the turn-off 1.5k south of the Ang Thong junction*). Turn left just after the big tree for 100m, then go right following the winding road through the village for 700m. Turn left at the T junction for 1.4k to the runsite up the hill at the end of the concrete.

From Hat Yai, head east from the Tha Kham crossroads for 5.8k and turn right at the hash sign just before the tree.

(*Difficult on Saturday afternoon as there is a market in full swing. But the big tree can be reached by taking the right turn 3k S. of Ang Thong, then after 1.5k turning left at the crossroads. ed.)

Hatyai Hash will be resuming normality this weekend with their brand spanking new GM in full control and setting the run with Sex Printer. The run site can best be reached from Tha Kham if you're coming from Songkhla (head South towards Wat Keow Kloy for 1k and turn left) or Keow Kloy if coming from Hatyai (head North towards Tha Kham for 1k and turn right) then follow the road for about 1k to the runsite on the right.

Finally, last night's Hatyai Full Moon H3 run (above) was sparsely but meaningfully attended with eight runners on the long run, five or six on the short run, and Big Foot opting for a random walk between the two. The pack were kept together by a combination of the checks and the soggy paper, which made following the trail in vegetation difficult, with the result that all the long runners including the hare came in within a couple of minutes of each other in about an hour and a quarter, surprisingly long for a 6k'ish run. The short run was short (2.8k) and took about 30 minutes. Attendees included Sex Blackman, the new HH3 GM, but SH3's GM was notable by her absence. She was reported to be laying low, but other reports suggest that she was out trying to raise the money to prevent Beaver from publishing the photographs of her fall from grace last weekend. Come back, Ape Shit! All is forgiven!

The Wookie and the Insect

I'm having trouble bringing myself to post the documentary evidence of what happened last Friday and especially last Saturday night, but here's a small taste. GM, refer to my email for direct-deposit bank account information.

The HH3 erection as it happened

Outgoing GM Robocop prepares to announce the nominee (pre-selected, no doubt, in a smoke-filled room behind closed doors).

The tension is palpable.

Will it be a woman, as per SH3's suggestion?

Surprise -- it's Sex Black Man! And the vote is unanimous!

The nominee-elect seems as surprised as everyone else.

The new GM takes the stage, suddenly hornified. Erections do that!

Virgo full moon

In keeping with September's status as the month of the pussy, this month's astral sign is Virgo, and the full moon run which will happen on Thursday is therefore a virgin run even if the hare is neither a pussy nor necessarily integrum honorem.

Details are:

Hatyai Full Moon Hash House Harriers' Run #131, Thursday September 15th, 2016, 7:00 p.m.

Hare: Kai Jeow

Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4k and turn left for 6k (bearing right after 4k with the road and not going straight ahead). Turn right and follow signs/paper for about 500m to the run site. (From Hatyai, take Kanchanavanit Road for 13k from the Ko Hong traffic lights and turn right at the Kuan Hin traffic lights before, but within sight of the PTT station. Go 6k etc. and turn right.)

Usual stuff applies: bring a hand/head light if you intend to do either the long or short runs and some food if you think you will be hungry. Beer should be on sale from the Eggmobile at 40 Baht a can but if you want to bring your own and share it with your mates, that's ok.

Anyone know who's setting the SH3 run this weekend?

Durian catching

This had to be seen to be believed. This fellow was catching durians dropped from high up in the tree, at a velocity that made his burlap sack snap like a whip. None of us who watched him could figure out how he could do it, and while the durian is visible here, I still can't.

Saturday's pack

Beavershot Studios is still working on the more scandalous photos from last weekend's outstation run, but here's the pack at the far point of Saturday's short run. Stick Insect and I had carried on from here to do the long run, and Yardo, who at the time of this photo was still missing in action, did some kind of extra-long run of his own devising. Click it for full impact!

And while we're on the subject of GMs....

Just in case you missed Kii Ling's somewhat off key rendition at 3 a.m. (and it seems that most people didn't), here is the original.
Thanks GM! Hope the head's better.

All hail the new HH3 GM!

Many more photos of this weekend's Hatyai Hash outstation run, some not suitable for children, to follow shortly. But first we are delighted to announce the erection of HH3's new GM, #12 in the historical line: SEX BLACK MAN!

No running!

Just in case you've been holding your breath waiting for details of this week's SH3 run - breath again 'cos there ain't none! Most people are going up to Kiriwong for the HH3 outstation event, so we've cancelled this week's run and there will also be no HH3 run on Sunday either.
The next run in Songkhla is likely to be a full moon run next week on Thursday 15th and SH3/HH3 will be resuming normal service, or as normal is it ever gets next weekend (17/18 September) Watch this space for details..

Going for gold (or silver, or bronze, or just trying to finish)

 

Could this be the running form that sees an SH3 runner win the geezer division?

Contrary to vicious rumors, there was in fact a 10km run last year at the Vietnam Mountain Marathon. As you can see in the results here, the winner did it in 55:08. Two other runners also broke the one-hour mark, which happens to have been Stick Insect's original goal until we told him he was out of his mind. But who knows. Could an SH3 representative find himself on the podium this year?

Seeing as how NOBODY over the age of 60 ran the 10km last year, we might reasonably expect at least one or two medal finishers in the geezer category. Not to mention Olive Oyle, who despite being in a highly competitive age group, seems pretty fit and well trained on our hills every Saturday.

Pee Wee, our sole runner attempting the half marathon, has a tougher task in front of him. Don't worry Pee Wee, we're all going to be out there cheering for you two weeks from Saturday. Actually of course we'll be drinking beer and generally behaving like idiots, but we know that's all you expect of us. On-on into the record books!

ปิดหู ปิดตา ปิดปาก

GY's long skinny one and KL's big purple one

Yesterday's track as my watch recorded it. Hare Gan Yao obviously restrained his Alpine tendencies, with a high point of 102m ASL and total ascent of a bit over 200m. It was almost exactly 6km long and most everyone got in within a few minutes over an hour.

Our GM in her new . . . whatever it is. It was not lost upon the rabble that this inflatable novelty resembled giant purple female genitalia.

Out of the Box Revisited: (The hare's directions)

The concept was to find a one square kilometre area that encompassed the
very best hashing country in the region, varied land usage, good running
trails with elevation varying from slightly above sea level to about
800’……… and then to go somewhere entirely different and give you what
you deserve!

Directions

From the Koh Yoh intersection take the new Hat Yai road for 8.3km, turn
left and go 1.1 kilometers turning left at the blue roofed sala. Follow
the track about 600 meters to the car park (hah!) on the right.

Please note that parking is limited, the thoughtful, caring hare will
be on site to offer assistance

The back of Gan Yao

People keep asking, "When are we going to see the back of Gan Yao?" So here by special request is a view  you don't see very often unless you happen to be miles off trail,in which case you are almost bound to find yourself following him.   This week, however, he is our hare so we will all be following him, so to speak. The details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1838, Saturday September 3, 2016: 4.30 p.m.
Hare: Gan Yao
Misdirections; From the Ko Yo intersection take the new Hatyai road for about 8.5k and turn left after the Tru Moves tower hill. Go 1.1k and turn left at the blue roofed sala, then follow the road for about 600m, and park wherever you can!
From Hatyai, do a U turn beyond the hill and come back to the turning, or come via the Nam Noi traffic lights: left for about 4.2k then turn right at the hash sign.

Sunday's HH3 run is being set by Robocop and is from near Rong Rien Tungnai: Take Poonakan  for 5.8k beyond Wat Keow Kloy (or for 5.2k from the junction with Kanjanawanit Rd at the Hatyai end) and turn right (left from Hatyai). Follow the road for about 800m past Tungnai School and turn left onto the track for about 300m to the run site on the cleared area.