Venue: Kota Puteri (back-end of Batu Arang)
Hare: Ben Kulen & many Can-Ams
Co-Hare: Kamikaze
Scribe: Patrick Russell
A goodly number of the HHH crew turned up for the combined US / Canada independence day runs. July 1st very conveniently for North America is Canada Day.
The run-site in the vicinity off the Kuala Selangor Rd was good with lots of parking and much evidence of preparation with marquees, BBQ’s and other good ol’ boy paraphernalia including pick-up trucks and ice-boxes. No guns, no turkeys.
Rather like the Grand Old Duke of York the run set of up the hill and straight back down again. So when they were up, they were up, and when they were down they were down etc etc. (was this a clever allusion?), in order to be shot with water-pistols by the treacherous North Americans.
Then it was off around the swamp, thru the forest, up the hill and so on and so on. All normal HHH stuff with some great long distance views from the highpoints out towards Kuala Selangor and the ocean.
The hares were fortunate it was a good day but with a cloud of cover, because tree cover was in rather short supply, with a lot of open hill slogging up and down. But fear not the overheated, because in that very efficient American way, the lovely Nancy turned up like a Pan-Am, TWA, Delta, United, US-Air – no Continental - air-hostess with an ice box full of pre-sliced and deeply iced and chilled water-melon. Nice melons, Nancy, you should get them out more often.
Then it was thru a dry jungly bit, up a slope and up and up a bit and out into the open where the back-markers could see the FROP’s c 1.5km way round a kolam memancing (lake). Actually, this would have been a totally perfect torch-light run, with torches string out across the hills and dales.
Then a bit more of this and that, past the illegal immigrant plastic shanty town (poor guys), down the hill, round the other side of the swampy lake and back up the hill to the run-site. Where-upon the T-shirt freebie was presented to the survivors.
Where there was tex-mex nachos with spicy chilly dip, cold beer (of course) and other cold drinks. Then the usual hash-natter and an unusually relaxed sitting circle (P-T-L we have moved away from the silly “You vill stand and you vill enjoy yourself! For 1hr & 23 mins. Understood!?” era). Jokes were told, charges were discharged and Paul K became an honorary Yank stage show anchorman for the evening.
The chefs had been busy and a delicious red-neck dinner was served – burgers, hot-dogs & apple pie! Yes-sirree! Hot-dawg! Hoo-ha! Ride ‘em cowboy! It was damned tasty camp cooking, ma’am! Better than a burnt steak an a mess of grits. And then the inevitable fireworks. “Oh say can you see....” Not to forget the co-sponsoring canuck(s).
Overall, a good run sensibly short 6.4 km given the lack of shade and the heat and the promise of a bit of party later. Much forethought and effort from the hares and a generously sponsored T-shirt and honest to goodness on-site On-On. Anyway, every –one seemed to enjoy it. The weather was perfect and thus passed another balmy evening in the tropics.
Thanks to the hares and sponsors from all.
P.S. - I did write a lengthy joke about the “war on terror”, predator drones, off-target missile strikes, malfunctioning facial recognition software, a missing Graham Woods and Pentagon spokesman Major “Mad Mike” MA Futtbucker III, but in the interests of Anglo-American goodwill I have deleted it from my files.