Stately SH3, hairy HH3!

Here is the SH3 run from Saturday rendered in dear old Google Earth format, showing the 4.3k short run (green) and the 6.8k long run (green-red-green, going in a vaguely clockwise direction. Both runs were completed in a little over an hour, reached the same high point of 167m and didn't cause anyone to fear for their lives or worry about getting home to their own beds that evening.

Here in slightly different formats, courtesy of, respectively, Kii Loeii  and Kai Ping, are yesterday's short and long HH3 runs.

Clearly there is a difference in that the Long run appears to be an A-B, but actually most of the long runners completed the trip down the new concrete road to the run site which is indicated on the short run map above. The short run was recorded as 7.3k with a total ascent of 391m and reached a peak of 367m. The run started promptly at 4:00 p.m. and the first of the short runners made it back just as dusk was falling with the final stragglers arriving at about 6:40 by which time it was completely dark. Happily they had been advised by the hares to carry handlights!

The long run meanwhile, after following the short run for most of its course dived off into the never-never land on the right about half way up the hill, went down, then up, then down again and finally up the steep bit of Khan Lao, some of it with the aid of a rope, accumulating a total ascent of 591m and a trip as far as the beer stop of around 8.5k. At that point there was still a 2k trip down the hill to complete. However, our intrepid reporter Kai Ping, having left the main trail rather later than everyone else on the long run, got a bit lost, tired and confused and was eventually located by some of the other runners and guided the rest of the way up to the beer stop in just under 2 1/2 hours, then sensibly got on the beer truck for the trip down the hill without recording it on his GPS watch.

Full marks to everyone who ensured that no one was left out in the jungle and for the immense effort that the five hares went to in setting the long run in what has to be some of the most inhospitable country you are likely to encounter hashing in Songkhla.