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Tuesday, April 26, 2016

How the Hash organises the jungle run trails

You may have heard of the Hash, who do jungle runs and running all over the world. They started in Malaysia in WWII. In Singapore the men run a more strenuous run on Monday nights, mixed sex on Friday,  families with children - just type kiddie hash, at the weekend, and there's a run with dogs.

The Singaporean hashers think they have the best runs, because they go through jungle. On the other hand it's hot and humid. If you are in America or Australia you can join or start a hash in all sorts of climates and terrains.

I asked somebody who runs every week about how the hares set this trail for the other runners. Do they start on one side of a park or field or jungle or area and come back to the same point for the exit or go across it and emerge the other side?

Given a choice, they think it's more interesting to start one point and end at another. But if there's no exit on the other side (eg if its a cliff by the sea, a reservoir, an airfield, a banned military site, or a housing estate or private land, what do they do?

They have a choice. One is to have the start and end nearby. Leave the end few yards unmarked. Bring people back to end within sight of the road (and the parked food trucks with supper which have not been there when the run started at six pm on the dot, but arrived about 8 for 8.30 supper.

You put a sign, on on home. The runners know just to keep running in the same direction to the main road where the end point will be obvious from the trucks and signs of the earlier runners.

You don't want the out and back signs in the same place.

The alternative is for the two or more hares (usually two, three or four) to wait until the runners have set off. Then to add the signs nearby for the return.

For more information look up the Hash in Singapore or the inter hash event and you'll find the general website.

You will find nearly a hundred runs just in Malaysia. You will find runs in west Java in Indonesia, in  Hong Kong and many more worldwide.

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, CL, ACG, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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