Hare: John Lavelle (live hare run)
Co-Hares: Chu Chu & some professional runners were engaged
Location: Kajang Hill Golf Club
Scribe: Ti Cheng Peng
Is the beginning of the North-East Monsoon season, either prevailing dark skies or continuous rainfalls each day, had happened for the past two weeks ago. However on the actual running day there is an abrupt change of weather. GOD was considerate, temporarily stopped the rain & blessed hashers with a cool sunny sky for the day.
The drive to Kajang / Semenyih using the newly completed elevated highways was exceptionally pleasant, the experiences of notorious traffic jam is history now. The new tolled highways criss-crossed between UPM & Semenyih, by-passing Kajang town, took me less than ten minutes to arrive run-site. I guess there is a lot of potentials to set more runs in these areas with the forgiving traffic flows.
Apparently many hashers like me reached run-site early, I was an hour time ahead. Look like we have to re-schedule our traveling time, particularly for run at Kajang, by cutting half the time and have more affordable time to appreciate the super engineering structures of the highways or go for an on-down teh tarik.
At run site not sure is 4.30pm or ???, GM sentenced the hare & gangs for an unprecedented on down before the pack of around one hundred hashers. The hare & gangs happily obliged & gulped the beer so quickly except Chu Chu was spared the beer. GM was happy with their good drinking conduct & gave his approval to start the run setting in real time. Ten minutes after the hares had went in, On-On was called to start the run.
Quality of the run��the setting of the run was well managed & coordinated�.as far I am concerned is a perfect good run. I am not bothered about the first two checks bringing us to backyards of the factories & chemical polluted river. I am also not bothered the timing of the first runner came in. In the spirit of hashing let forgo the small matters & look at the greater efforts & times the responsible hares had spent to ensure all hashers enjoyed the run & the evening.
Thanks John & team ��.I guessed all hashers (particularly the front runners) loved the run & recognized it is a real challenge to set live run, it demands a lot of brain works & planning.
Summary of the actual run�..length is around 9km in anti-clockwise direction. There is a total of 7 checks, mainly back checks & were broken quickly around 3 to 5 minutes. The young & fit guys broke most of the checks. Hey !! something is missing, most of the old tough runners were not around to be seen probably have retired to recuperate their inflicted injuries. Look like time the old farts make way for the young to take over the helm.
Towards the first check was running on open areas at the backyard of factories. Trails were littered with household & industrial hazardous wastes. Some are chemically reactive or toxic can cause disease in humans, I hope no death / harmful effects damaging to nerves & causes skin rashes. The ground was soggy, some patches with waterlogged that can washes chemical into river nearby. We are lucky the sun was not burning.
To the second check we started single file for a short distance & dropped to running in river. Oh !!, a chemically polluted river & it stinks heavily and stay in our body. I guessed a lot of huh-hah from the women folks, they were upset with skin rashes & a strong sensation of itch-bawah sickness (irritation of the skin at the foot or leg). Along the river I met Ah Wan escorting a young beautiful lady but he has a competitor, a young handsome guy also trying to woo the same lady�..look like the river has a seductive match making effect to bring lovers together. Ah Wan probably would asked � why complained against the river, I love it because I started my first love here !!. Towards the end of the check I saw many hashers were using the river water to wash their dirty foots�..so who is complaining the water is dirty & stinking !! Surprising the river has its usefulness, it has provided something for everybody, so it had provided more �good� problems than real problems.
Towards the third & fourth check, a dramatic change of terrains� vegetations, walking single file & some running through matured oil palm & wild rubber jungle not maintained for years.
Then there was a steep rubber hill at the fifth check, this is the only hill for the run. Down here some of the injured & weaker hashers surrendered to the hill but cleverly skirted around it & shoot off home in around 20 to 30 minutes. For the stronger hashers took the challenge up hill and from the summit it was all the way running down through more undulating rubbers, oil palms & abandoned orchards to the sixth, seventh checks to home. The trails were well set & was conducive for fast running, it is here the front packs started to distant away from the mid & slow runners. Nevertheless all runners were out before 8.00pm (minus John Duncan who started late).
NOTES: Actually I am not prepared to scribe this report. I did not bothered to takes notes or took the trouble to remember the run. Worst, not even bothered to share & exchange information with other hashers for comments or the details of their experiences after the run. But since it was a good run and I enjoyed the run so much, so it is only fair there must be a report, even it is a rubbish report is ok��so here is the rubbish report, happy reading.
Hare: Ti Cheng Peng
Location: Ulu Renning
Scribe: Rob Stott
The last three weeks runs have all been completely different. ‘ vive la difference’ say the frogs. If this run was used tracks from the hash challenge it seems to me the challenge is to avoid tripping up and falling over and to avoid getting cut to pieces by thorns. In fact Marles who tried to run on a stretch of overgrown rubber terrace fell and twisted her knee.
Unrestrained dogs were also in evidence contributing to the hazards for falling over. I thought the committee had banned dogs unless they were on a leash.
We were graced by an appearance of the GM who now must have realized that the ‘P’ in PHHH stands for Petaling and not Phuket.
After the GM’s introduction and advice to follow paper the run started in the usual manner along a wide track which allowed the fast to separate from the slow. Across the usual valley and to a check which seemed to take a long time to break, nevertheless the young and fit came bounding back to race for the lead. Someone should tell them it’s not a race. The papers lead through some uncultivated area of saplings with the paper alternating between a semblance of a track and bashing through eventually leading out into rubber.
There was an inviting track to the right but papers went left into the scrub. The young and energetic blindly followed the paper but wise old heads such as Choo Nai Kwan went to the right and found papers. The papers were laid at either side of the road to try and hide the papers from shortcutters but observant hashers were not fooled by this. Papers again lead through young trees on and off recognized paths to emerge again in the rubber estate. No sooner had we got on to a good track to run on we were back descending terraces and into a valley by a stream full of thorns. Checking forward resulting in skin being ripped apart by thorns, but then this was no deterrent to the hare’s team. However, the check was set to stuff the FROP’s and allow the walkers to catch up by shortcutting on the earlier track above.
The trail continued with a bit of running and then single file walking on creeper and root infested rubber terrace tracks. The pack was kept together because there was no way for passing on the narrow tracks. Then there was the obligatory river to cross, but to get the river crossing there were steep banks to descent, like 10 foot drops and then the opposite side was equally steep having to use rock climbing techniques to move one limb at a time grab hold of a secure rock or tree stump. The majority of the pack was together as the young and fit had run ahead whilst the pack waited for the timid to descend and climb up the muddy slope may worse as each hasher brought more water onto the slope from coming out of the river. We then got into dusun country where the terrain became more pleasant and there was the possibility to start running. Hopes of reaching the beer wagon increased as the track changed to tarmac but remembering we had started in oil palm and there was no oil palm in sight quickly dashed these ideas. We went of the tarmac and on to rubber tracks and then oil palm came into sight; along some oil palm tracks and then the abandoned cleared roads and the beer wagon was in sight.
The weather had turned for the worse for us at the run site as the rain became heavy, but Klang Valley residents would like it as the reservoirs would be filling. The GM turned up trying to give an impression of a zebra but I’m told this is de rigour for the Juventus Newcastle supporters as normal garb for the weather up north. It is worthy of note to mention that the GM was fulfilling his obligations to PHHH hash in running the festivities? after the run in preference to watching his team loose to some newly promoted no hopers.
The rain got heavier so it was time to cabut.
Location: Batang Kali/Ulu Yam
Hare : Rob Stott
Scribe : David Wee
The drive from Ulu Yam to the run site is fantastic after a steady downpour of rain. The forest canopy is covered with mist and the road is ideal for F1 driving!!. Traffic is light, maybe due to the rain or fasting month. By the time we received the run site the rain has stopped with overcast sky. It is nice and cool. .. the right combination for a good long run.. The hare must have engaged a bomoh for his run..
Short write-up
For those, who did not come for this run, the summary is here. 5 checks .The run topography is oil palm, rubber estate, oil palm, pass hot springs/orchards, small streams up secondary jungles and back to run site. First runner in by 1 hour 35 minutes and the your truly back in more than 2 hours. Started with cool weather and ended with drizzling rain. Pretty of hills and mud. Estimated distance is 8-10km.
Write-Up
We have about 60-80 hashers when the ON ON is called. We set off into the oil palm estate with the first check on top on a hill.. We have difficulty breaking the first check as there is one too many false trials. Luckily it enables our slow walker and late-comer to catch up with the runners.. The first 2 checks at the oil palm are confusing with all the fast runners milling all over after being frustrated by false trails.. After the 3rd check, I lost track of the runners.
As we plough on with a few walkers and heard them, commenting on all sundries and the latest gossips in town. We happily followed the paper trail which lead us into another stretch of oil palm estate and from the distance we saw a small group of Chinese native taking bath�in pockets of hot spring. They all looked startled to see hashers running pass them. With the cold weather and the misty environment, we could be from another world to them.
Soon we run into an orchard and followed a small meandering stream for a while. The water is icy cold and we are glad to get out of it into the muddy stretch. Jimmy Legget seems to be every where to connect the paper. God bless you Jim. The remainder of the trail was the usual meandering around the very tortuous, muddy and slippy terraces. To compound all, it started to drizzle and make the hard track very slippy. A few of us ,bite the dirt and test our bum against the hard ground before we reached the run site.
I was told that the first runner came in about 1hr 35 minutes. I estimated the run-distance to be 8-10km. It took me nearly 2 hours . This run is good for walker but bad for kneel. I think some of us will gulp down some glucosamine pills later.
I got some feedback from some of the hashers. There are some of their comments. Pansy.. " Easy run lah� 1 hill only". A guest by the name Grace�" Very tough". One of the lady hasher� "crazy hare� so long run." And another " I enjoy the run� Good run"
Your truly cannot stayed for the Circle and when I left about 7.20pm, it was almost pitch dark. Hope some of you can fill in the missing piece for me especially the rating of the run and etc� .