Hash 436 – Woodman @ Fernham

Barely the beginning of May and the weather was beautifully sunny and warm so I was very much looking forward to having a good run. On arriving, Viv directed me to park a little way down in the village as the pub car park was already full. Therefore, after parking we assembled on the green in front of the pub. It was good to see Hilary, Malcolm and James who I’d not seen for awhile. Anyway all hashers (and hashdogs) were mingling happily in the sunshine. All hashers were then called to order (which took some effort) for the hares pre-hash address. I did listen to Viv’s wise words, particularly the bit about the beginning of the hash which was going to be uphill and she encouraged us to occasionally look back as the view was spectacular. It was a pity, though, that having heard this I failed to remember it just two minutes later. John and Viv pointed us in the right direction and off we went ….. turning a corner and going downhill!

Turns out I’m not the only one with a short memory because we all went downhill …. and no .. I wasn’t leading, just following blindly. We turned right at the white cottage (and some went even further) before we realised something was wrong. So an about turn and back up the hill to find the correct trail which …. you guessed it … quickly turned into another hill … upwards this time. Viv was right, it was worth looking back. Halfway to the top was a stile into a wood. I could see the walkers below and assumed that I was the last runner. This was not to be the case but for a while I was running on my own along a delightful track at the wood’s edge with some really lovely views. The trail became wider though muddier when I became aware of some runners in the distance behind me but closing in fast. It turned out to be Andrew with his son and dog. They had gone further on the wrong trail than I’d thought …. anyway this allowed me to run along and chat to Andrew … of course I had to step up the pace for a while, but eventually (well okay after about ten minutes) I had to let them pull away.

So there I was, running on my own again and once more believing I was last. However, once again I became aware of two runners behind me. I waited and was eventually caught up by David and Caroline. They had gone even further along the wrong trail at the beginning and had not heard a call back. So once again I had hashers to chat to …. so I perhaps didn’t show the sympathy expected .. which Caroline pointed out might have got me awarded the shorts. The trail turned downhill and the running became easy … this didn’t stop us losing the flour again though. After a couple of miles we met John the hare for the run inn.

At the après hash we were divided between the back terrace and the front garden so there was a bit of shuffling between the two. Everyone one was in high spirits as it was a fantastic hash as we all agree. So …. thanks Viv and John.