Run 1804

Nothing complicated about Saturday's run, just run from A to B, so that's what we did, in more or less a straight line. The run was 8.7kms including the 6 false trails and 3 check-backs. There were a further 7 checks thrown in to try and slow down the front runners, but that didn't deter Sex Sprinter who managed to crack nearly all of them on his first try and came in well ahead of the pack in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The run took the long runners over the top of the ridge in a nice gentle up, of about 280m, but a rather steep and slippery run down a new construction track which was built crossing all our old scenic mountain trails. Because of the potentially failing light due to predicted thunderstorms, the end of the run was cut short and the road option was taken to eliminate the possibility of lost runners.
The short run was a scenic walk of about 3.3kms around the base of the ridge, although the paper squares had to be re-laid twice due to the heavy rains in the area on Thursday and Friday nights. The total ascent on the short run was about 100m.

Hash dogs

Let's face it, it's their hash. They just let us come along.

Hare's logic

This weekend's SH3 run will be an A-B so prospective runners are asked to make an effort to be at the run site no later than 4:25 p.m. or to give someone a call to say that they are on their way, so that the transport to the A site can leave promptly at 4:30. Details are:

Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1804, Saturday January 16th 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Hares: Yardstick and Last Lover
Misdirections: From the Kao Seng intersection take the old Yala road for 16k and turn right just before Wat Kun Thong. Go 3.5k and turn left just after the big tree, then go 800m (straight ahead at 150m) to the run site on the old football field at 07 02 01.00 N 100 37 28.70 E,
or see the map below.


Sunday's HH3 run details now announced and are as per the map below:

1803

Long run, 7.1k, or 8.8k with all the (10!) F's and the check-back included. 7 of the 8 runners made it to the beer stop in about 1hr 15mins so the whole run must have been one and a half hours plus, with the final runner, Buk Toy never arriving having been lured by the chanting from Watt Sai Kao to head off in the opposite direction, eventually being picked up on the road by Sex Sprinter at about 7:00 p.m. Maximum height was 295m at 360 5 per Google Earth; with the GPS at one point advising that the run hit sea level (unlikely as Yardo and Beaver point out!) the total ascent was big - in the region of 450m but that was also a GPS advised figure so could also be wrong. On after was at Steak Ne Suan, where All Black discovered that she doesn't like Salmon and Harram discovered that she does!

Egg first

Egghead's first run of the year is a nostalgic return to the bit if country that he, Yardo and Sex Sprinter have shared over the last few years with Yardo probably taking the edge for run quality, Egg shading it on quantity. But there are the usual surprises in store, like "Whoa! Where did all that rubber go?" and " Boy, this bit's got really overgrown!" So let's hope it can live up to the great start to the year that Beaver gave us last weekend.
Details are:
Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1803, Saturday, January 9, 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Hares: Egghead and the mutts
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 6k then turn left at the Tha Kham crossroads and go 4.2k to the run site on the right opposite whatever is being constructed next to the Sai Kao Resort.  (map coordinates:7 02 21.62N 100 36 34.65E)

Sunday's HH3 run is being set by Robocop and will be from beyond Wat Noen Pijit on the football field at 6 59 16.59N 100 34 18.25E. Traditional directions are: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k then turn right for 11k to Wat Noen Pijit, then follow the road round to the right for a further 1k and turn right and follow the road for about 900m to the run site on the right.

Danny's revenge run

"Vengeance is mine!" cackled Pong Ning, the Hatyai alter ego of In-U-Endo, as the unsuspecting pack set off into the relentless hills south of Route 43 yesterday. Well actually we did have our suspicions, and this run delivered on them. Some good gentle downhill jogging along winding trails, but mostly painful climbs and treacherous descents. By my GPS it measured 7.14km with about 400m of ascent and a high point of 250m. Most of us came in around the 1:32 mark, apart from stragglers Bak Toy, Egghead, and -- last in -- Robocop!

Beerhenge

Its origins, lost in the mists of time . . . but probably around 10 pm. on Dec. 30 at Buk Toy's new year's party. Its builders, a mysterious race of druids . . . well, no, most likely just one of the old geezers who were drinking the beer. Beerhenge -- an eternal symbol of man's search for meaning, at least until it was time to clean up all the rubbish.

Today's run

The countryside around today's runsite doesn't seem to like me, and I don't like it much either. Despite that we didn't get too many complaints, maybe partly because the site itself was pleasant, the weather was nice, and there were some good views from the top of the long run. Somebody did say that the short run was "too short", which is entirely true, but that's her own fault for not doing the long run.

Despite my concerns, the long run took the first runner (Sex Sprinter) just 59:38 to complete, and close behind him were new runner South African Ken, then Stick Insect, and, who was it, maybe Innuendo? It was supposed to be about 8km long but everyone somehow shortcut a kilometer or so at the bottom. Total ascent of around 300m and a highest point of 260m -- the huts on the grassy hill.

Now where did I put that runsite?

As there seems to be a little confusion (from our Misdirectionist, of course) over today's runsite, here's an illustrated guide to getting there. I'm tempted to call it "foolproof", but then as Mark Twain said, it's almost impossible to make something foolproof because fools are so damned ingenious.

- From the Kaw Yaw intersection take the Old Hatyai Road 4.7km and turn left onto the familiar road to Na Mom, Route 3031.

- After 8km or so you'll see Wat Khao Kloy and the start of Punnakan Road on your right. Keep on going straight.

- After just over 2km more, on your left you'll see the road I've used for my last few runs around here. If you read Thai (or even if you don't), it's called Thanon Saai Naak Song, and the sign looks like this:

Do not turn left here. Carry another 500m, no more and no less, to the next left turn. It's called Thanon Saai Hin Lap and here's what it looks like:

Note the red hash "sign" attached to the . . . oh no, it seems to be falling off! Well I hope it's still there this afternoon. Due to a slight curve in the main road you may not see this sign until you are zooming past the soi. So slow down, OK?

(For some reason Egghead wants you to cross the 7° N parallel and go a couple hundred meters further to a road that curves around into the Wat Phijit temple complex. As at all Thai temples, as a white person you are at risk there of being captured and used as a human sacrifice. Worth the gamble? I don't think so!)

- Anyhow, turn left onto Thanon Saai Hin Lap, a nice paved road to nowhere. Go 1.6km and on your left you will see another hash sign:

 

Turn left here and go 400m on the dirt road to the runsite at the Y. For those into such things, its coordinates are 7° 0'14.37"N 100° 35'58.78"E. If neither the hare nor anybody else is there yet, you can tell it's the runsite from this downward-pointing arrow:

And now all you have to do is start drinking heavily and don't expect much from the run. Though as bad as it may be, I have a suspicion that the live-hare short run will be even worse!

From Portland with love!

Thanks to Run Oregon for the graphics!

Beaver's in the lodge for the first run of the New Year as presaged below. Let's hope he got it right in the end!
Details are:

Songkhla Hash House Harriers' run #1802, Saturday January 2, 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Hare: Beavershot
Misdirections: From the Ko Yo intersection take the old Hatyai road for 4.7k and turn left for 10.7k. Turn left*, go 1.6k and then left again for 400m to the runsite. (*Note that this is the next left turn off the main road about 500m after the one used for Beaver's last few runs from Noen Phijit. the turn off is at 6 59 57.47 N 100 34 59.44 E. [Note from the hare: no it's not! It's at  7° 0' 2.56"N 100° 34' 58.29"E !!] If you come to Wat Noen Phijit you've gone too far!)

Also, just a reminder that although we are now permanently running at 4:30, the beer truck has been retimed and now leaves Bai Meang at 3:00 p.m. to ensure that it gets to the run site in good time.

Sunday's  HH3 hare is Pong Ning, a.k.a. In-U-Endo and the run site is Na Mom'ish on Route 43. Coming from the Klong Wah intersection beyond Macro take route 43 for about 7.3k and do a U turn, then come back 1.5 k and turn left then follow the track into the quarry at 6 57 24.72 N 100 31 41.71 E . If you are coming from Songkhla however the better way is to follow Saturday's directions (above) then just keep going past Wat Noen Phijit for another 2.5k until you hit Route 43, then turn right for about 7k when the entrance to the quarry will be on your left.