Hash House Harriers Mountain Run - Chiang Mai
For those of you that are temporarily visiting the country that I have called home for the past 15 years I am sure that you are already experiencing things that maybe you have never experienced anything like before.
How would you feel about going out with a big group of people and running up and down some hills and through the jungle for 5-7 km? Because that is exactly what the Hash House Harriers do here in Chiang Mai.
Basically, we meet at a particular place and start of as the above picture would indicate and head of in a direction of a track that was made earlier that week. It is not a pre-determined route or distance and that is what makes it so fun / hard.
This is not like running around a track or on a treadmill because at certain intervals the track becomes something that you couldn't possibly pass someone on. Then, later on you have the added bonus of the fact that there is a mountain involved.
The start of the incline was fun but then we carried on a loooooong ways at an upward trajectory which was impossible to run on (at least for all of us.) We eventually made our way to the top of this mountain and to be honest the part going down was actually MORE difficult.
Despite the fact that I am one of the youngest people involved in the run, I struggled to make it to the top but when we go there we were greeted by this pretty amazing view and a strange structure that was built to accent it.
It was only a 1 km uphill climb and if you are like me you can understand that I am definitely being sarcastic when i use the word "only" when referring to how long an uphill climb is. It was not easy.
Almost no one other than me even stopped to take a picture of this hand extending from the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai and it ended up being a topic of conversation later at the "circle."
What is the circle?
The circle is pretty much what the Hash House Harriers around the world are all about. They are self-classified as "drinkers with a running problem" and at the circle this is where you find out how true that is. We drink a lot of beer after exercising like this and also we exercise our wits by being really mean to one another. A bystander would presume that we don't like eachother but this is all part of being a member of the HHH (Hash House Harriers)and believe it or not, this is understood with a relatively massive membership around the globe.
You see, the HHH isn't just a Thailand thing, and they aren't just a Chiang Mai thing... It is truly global and I would imagine that there is a chapter near you right now. As soon as you are a member of one of them, you are a member of all of them and they exist in all countries. However, you need to be the right kind of person to make it as a member.
For example: Does this next picture make you excited in any way?
If it does, and you don't mind a bit of exercise in order to have unlimited access to it while a group of potential strangers makes fun of you (and you are expected to throw the insults back - it's kind of part of the process) than the Hash House Harriers might be a group you should look into.
They like to drink, they like to get a bit of exercise in, and they are a global networking opportunity for anyone with the chops to be part of the gang.
It is one of the best things I have ever gotten involved in and it costs only your muscles and wits in order to be a part of it.
I know already that I can go to nearly any destination in the world an will be immediately accepted by the local Hash House Harriers club and well, that makes me feel pretty good. It is truly a unique fraternal organization because who else in the world has membership that is based on a bit of exercise, beer drinking, and a person's ability to throw out an insult?
Good to see you back running and a 1 km climb is big no matter how fit you are. I would welcome it knowing others were walking as well. You must use the sports tag, next time.
most people were walking, especially during the climb. I wasn't running it that is for sure. This particular thing was very difficult to run any of because of the narrow paths.
These "runs' normally have an alternate course for older / less fit people and that was the case today... there was a path for the people who were less hardcore to just walk around the lake at the bottom. They were all around the circle at the end to have beers all the same though :)
Wow. I love the trail. Glad you enjoyed the hike. 😍
it was hard as hell and my shirt was soaked with my own sweat by the time i was back but this was only because i was trying to finish first (I didn't) the people who took it easy and came back 20 minutes after me (my run was 50 minutes) got to drink just as much beer as I did. :)
That sound so much like fun. Wish I got to join. Stayed home instead to watch dorama - Doctor X on netflix.
oh very nice awesome content thank you
Well tbh recently I myself have gotten a lot lazier then the past which is resulting in few bad habits as of now. Hopefully will be on track of loosing weight soon.
While glad to know that you are really enjoying the time and that view at the top is indeed an amazing one. In addition would sure be great to see you use
neoxiantag in your post .Have a nice day !!
I was waiting to be invited to use tags. Didn't wanna step on any toes. 😃
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Got it and understandable about your concern. Neoxian is a general tribe where everything is welcome (If it's an original content/post). As an official curator of this tribe looking forward to your upcoming posts in
neoxian.cityTRIBE : )hahahahahahaha!!! I love that - my boyfriend Dave is a BIG rugby fan and belongs to a local club - they have two slogans - "A drinking club with a rugby problem" lol and the other - which the name of their team and printed all over their jerseys is "FIFO" - fit in or fuck off" haha!
Looks like SUCH an awesome spot to hike. Sadly, here in SA - hiking, even in groups is no longer safe. Although many still do it - I value my life. lol
why is it no longer safe to hike? because of the people or because of animals / something else?
I love it when clubs can have a sense of humor about their alcohol. These guys give off the impression that they are a bunch of drunks but i've been hanging with them for quite some time and I can only identify a couple of people that actually have a real drinking problem... mostly it is just for fun :)
Where is Chang Mai?
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in the north of Thailand. It is a pretty big city but not huge.
I wonder how many actual fights take place at HHH events given the fact that drinking and insults are involved. There is always that one person that pushes things a little too far. There is also that one person that just can't hold their alcohol as well as some of the others. I probably fall into one of those categories. I will leave it to you to figure out which one :) 1 Km doesn't really seem like that big of a deal. If you are going up a mountain though, I can see the problem there!
I have only ever seen one fight and it was a fight of words and one guy just left (he doesn't even drink - there are a few of those guys at these things)
I think that it is really well understood that these things are just a roast... for the most part people genuinely like eachother at these things... perhaps we are brought together by our mutual suffering on the hills.
Haha! Howdy gooddream! What a fun and unusual organization! I've never heard of such a thing and to find that they are all over the world is very interesting. That trail you guys took there looks very challenging, but worth it!
yeah, i'm sitting here 2 days later and my thighs are still feeling the burn. Despite the fact that we are negating a great deal of the exercise by all the booze we consume I like to believe that we are doing some good for our bodies because we could just get together and drink the booze without the exercise now couldn't we?
lol! That's so true. I agree, I think it's a great idea. And it helps people get out, socialize and even get any orneryness out of their system by insulting each other! lol.
Oh, AND the exercise. Very important.