The Art Of Setting A Trail

The Art of Setting a Trial

Setting a good trail is an art within itself...mix a little creativity with a few hounds and a hare (dead or alive) and you have a good r*n. The first rule is simple: there are no rules! However there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure everyone's safety, no one gets lost and everyone has a good time. The idea of the Hash is to get everyone together for a few beers and a bit of fun. Some of you have been Hashing for years and some have not, just remember that Hashing is..."a drinking club with a running problem". A good hare keeps the pack together, uses just enough markings to reveal the trail but not so obvious and gets the slower hounds in before the faster ones.

Here are some basics for hares.....

• Try to have a co-hare. It's a good way to share ideas and looking after the pack.
• Make sure the HareRaiser has the correct r*n directions and where the OnIn is afterward.
• The length of the r*n should be between 1 - 1 ¹/₂ hours.
• Beer stops are a welcome sight about ³/₄ of the way through the run.
• You should be familiar with the area, thus avoiding obvious roads and trails.
• Try to avoid the same area where previous r*ns have been set recently.
• Pick an area where there are many possible trails, this confuses the pack and avoids long, straight stretches.
• Location! Location! Location! good areas have plenty of parking and room for a good circle.

Budget

Each run should be organised on a budget of about 50 Euri. Ask experienced hares what they spend on beer normally, how much beer and other beverages are needed for a regular run. Who is normally bringing other snacks. Keep receipts of your spendings and communicate with HashCash. whatever is left, we use the next week.

The H4 markings....

A trail is set in flour, saw dust, chalk or whatever else comes at hand. Ever since our HushPuppy spend an evening in jail, we switched to sawdust and chalk. But it is your party!

BLOBS - The trail is marked with blobs interrupted by particular signs, such as:

A CROSS - this is a check, the trail is interrupted and the runners that arrived first, the Front Running Bastards (FRBs), have the task to scatter round to find out where the trail continues. A good trail should have at least 6 checks. A trail should start within 150 meters of a check. Vary the direction of the trail from the check, so the r*n is not always in the same direction.

TWO CIRCLES WITH A DOT IN EACH MIDDLE - this is a ladies check, and yes! these are checked by the ladies. A good r*n will have at least one.

CIRCLE - this is a false trail, used to confuse the FRBs. False trails are usually easier to find than the true trail and last for about 200-300 meters from the check. A good r*n will have a few false trails.

ARROWS - these let you know you are on trail. Generally, the hare is behind the FRB's but in front of the walkers, arrows overrule the set trail so that the walker do not need to check or do the false trail.

WALKERS TRAIL - Seeting a separate trail for walkers is another way of making sure the walkers and the FRB's arrive at the same time. Generally indicated with an arrow + W

WHATEVER -You can come up with any type of marking and symbol you want, it is your party! You get the opportunity to explain your particulars before the run starts.

On In, oN On...

ON IN - This lets you know the trail is nearing it's end and the circle and the down-down's are closer than you think. This a major part of hashing and it's up to the hares to arrange enough beer so we never r*n out of beer . It's also good to have soft drinks, peanuts and crisps available. Hash Cash will reimburse you so ask her for a declaration sheet.

ON ON - this is up to the hare. Usually, the H4 goes to a pub or restaurant that is near the OnIn. Try to pre-arrange a discount for menu orders.

Happy Haring!