A to B runs: Not something we often do

If you don't know what an A to B run is you probably aren't a Hasher. Even if you are a Hasher you probably don't do them very often and the reasons for this is simple: They are considerably more difficult to pull off than regular runs where we start and finish at the same location.

Normally, we have a place where we park all of our vehicles, have a chat about how the trail is going to take place, do a bunch of running through the jungle, then end up back exactly where we began. Although it doesn't happen very often, even now and then a Hare wants to pull off something a bit more exiting and we get dropped off and the trail ends at a completely different location. That is is exactly what we did this past week.

While the overhead view of this run makes it look like it is massive in scale it is actually a mere 6-8km, much like most of our other runs are.

While a few kilometers longer than a normal run, this one remained relatively flat the entire way, just so we could put a limit on the amount of bitchin that gets done by the people on it. "Wimp" paths are not possible on a run like this because we can't exactly make it a shorter distance to get to something that is down the road.

Because of recent rains and the fact that most of the trail was on or near rice paddies this ended up being a rather muddy run, but most of us don't mind that unless it happens early on. One of the worst things that can happen during a run is to end up with squishy boots because that can really start to hurt by the end of the thing.

We had about 20 people participate in this and the run ended at a pub rather than a outdoor area. That doesn't mean that we didn't put people on the ice though and the pub was kind enough to accommodate our rather bizarre request that there be giant blocks of ice inside the place.

This run did have a beer stop about halfway and it was there that the wimps were offered a ride to the finish point but of course, by doing this you are only setting yourself up for harassment by the others when they get back. Also, as has always been a tradition with the Hash House Harriers, you must pay for your own beers, should you choose to have them, until the pack that ran the entire trail makes there way back on foot.

Personally, I love these kinds of runs because there is very little chance that any veterans of the area are going to be able to predict where the path is going in order to "cheat" to the front. There is no prize for getting to the finishing area first anyway, so I don't know why they bother. Pride I guess.

Towards the end it started to get dark but on this run we had our always effective "caboose" named "TipToe" that made certain that everyone made it back. While it isn't something that happens very often, there have been instances of people getting lost on trail in the dark and well, this is a bad situation. It did not happen this day.

Most of our runs are A to A runs but it is nice to mix it up every now and then with a run like this. Special thanks to the people who made it happen. We are still doing at least 3 runs per week and all are welcome to join. The cost of admission is crazy low, so don't worry about breaking the bank. You can get full details about our meetups on our barely functioning official website