Jungle Hashing in Pattaya

Bellahouston Hash Harrier

With the Race in Bangkok being postponed due to the political unrest, I decided to stay on in Pattaya and to join with one of the local Hash House Clubs for their Sunday Run. As it happens the pick up point was only a 10 minute walk from my hotel and I met up with them at 3pm to be bused out into the countryside for the Hash.  The event took place here and the actual course, apparently was this:

Hash Route and Profile

They're Off!

Having run a Hash in Pattaya with the Monday Group two years ago I knew what the format was and was happy to join in and play my part at helping navigate our way around the testing course.  It was damn hot, mighty hilly and dangerous underfoot, add the 6' plus grass at sections and the lack of proper marking at points. This all led to a stop/start event which is apparently meant to allow the faster and slower runners to regroup every so often.  Although in there were 72 participants, I significant number of these either walked , a short part of the course, or just went to the small bar.

I started cautiously and worked my way up the field settling in near the front of the runners, I say runners but everyone would have had to walk/climb there way along at least part of the 8.2k route.  Although I've ran every day of my holidays, this was the furthest and the hottest!

A record number of Jungle Hash Newbies

After the race we were fed and provided with ample amounts of beer as the organisers went through the usual Hash rituals of ordering people to drop their pants and sit on blocks of ice, or in an ice bucket, whilst receiving verbal abuse but being rewarded with a beer for their troubles.

Grin and Bare It

It's not really my thing but as it's held out in the middle of a jungle with no alternative transport back to civilization, then I was prepared to grin a and bare it, so to speak, in order to get a race of some sort under my belt and of course to make some new running buddies.

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