Circle checks, explained (Hash House terminology)
In recent runs we have had a lot of "virgins" (people who have never hashed before turning up and if they are fast, this can be pretty confusing. You see, a Hash run isn't like a regular run because the participants are not aware of where the trail is going to go... and this is what makes it so much fun. You have to find the trail and even though it is marked, it isn't always evident.
The most common type of marker or "check" is the Circle Check and everywhere in the world that I have been uses them on their trails.
Typically, they are comprised of powder or chalk, but in certain wet or rainy environments this obviously wouldn't work. In those instances the check would be a piece of paper, perhaps laminated or in a plastic container of sorts. These will usually have small pieces of paper under a stone that will be used to mark the correct trail once it is found.
When you encounter a circle on a Hash, if you are the first one to it, congratulations! That means you are currently in first place.
However, you now have the duty to find out where the trail continues from this point forward.
The next part of the trail could be anywhere within 100 meters or so of the original circle check and it will normally be marked by powder on the ground or bits of paper hanging in the trees. Once the true trail is discovered you should shout "On On!" very loudly so that the people behind you can know which direction to trail continues.
The people who are back at the circle now kick out part of the circle indicating the general direction that the path continues and spread the bits of paper like breadcrumbs to indicate the trail for the walkers behind. If you are the person that discovers the "on on" it is normally good form to visually confirm that the pack is heading towards you in the correct direction.
There are many reasons why we do this but the main one is so that the FRB (Front Running Bastards) don't get too far ahead of the walkers. We have all sorts of people in our group and not everyone is an elite athlete.... Some would argue that most of us are actually in pretty terrible shape.
These rules should be explained at the actual Hash that you attend, but I have been to places where it is just assumed that everyone already understands how this works, which is a bad assumption to make when you are dealing with a bunch of drunks how just happen to like running a bit..
Upvoted by @isotonic, the @runningproject funding account.
Keep on running!
well, i have been on hashes in other countries (outside of Thailand) and even had visitors from other countries in Thailand that do not follow these procedures and it ends up being problematic for the walkers who once separated from the pack no longer know which direction to head in. It is essential for people to understand these rules, for sure.
I can see how that would be really annoying. We had a group here that was visiting that none of them actually marked the "found" trail as well and we tried to reprimand them for this on trail but they didn't seem to understand what we were talking about. I think this should be addressed at other hashes around the world because it opens a fantastic opportunity for walkers to end up hopelessly lost and perhaps alone in the woods / jungle.