投稿日: Sep 20, 2009 3:47:59 PM
[Reported by Tapeworm]
Beautiful sunny weather again - just like it was 4 weeks ago when we assembled at this same place on Hayama's fabled Morito Beach for run No 1. Despite the hare's emailed pleas that harriers should be ON TIME, pain of death, etc., only 3 runners actually turned up on time at 3.00pm, including your scribe.
Numbers gradually increased to around 15 over the following 30 - 40 minutes. About 10 minutes behind schedule - and after a long-winded explanation on how we should all run together, finish together and on no account try TO RUN DOWN THE MOUNTAIN - the pack roared off along the beach. The trail, marked in chalk, was soon picked up, up off the beach, across the beach road and left (north?) on to the "main" road for a long straight haul with no trail marks. Your scribe would be the last one to refute the hare’s later assertion that there were chalked arrows at max 100m intervals, so the diligent denizens of Hayama must have cleaned them off, sowing sufficient doubt in the minds of about 25% of the pack, who split up to search for the true trail. After milling around for a while, testing all the dead-end side roads and alleys, chalk was found. The remnants of the pack then proceeded on this trail at a fast jog, totally ignorant of the fact that it was the in-trail. An agitated hare was observed cycling furiously towards us waving and shouting “wrong way!”, “go back!” as he forcibly sent us back up the long straight to a major (for Hayama, anyway) crossroads. Here we were advised to turn right (east?) for a km or so along a wide road, till we came to a footbridge. The main body of harriers had followed the non-existent, but correct trail, guided by Dragon Bitch, who had apparently been “informed” in advance of where to go.
Hare Sweetie said “Go up onto the foot bridge but do not cross, turn right and then go up the hill - “the front-runners (FRBs) will soon catch you up, they are making a loop over that hill on the other side of the road…” Well, they didn’t, being (I later discovered) lost on the hill on the opposite side of the road. Not knowing the fate of said FRBs, we shortcutters ambled up a curving concrete path leading to the top of the hill and - surprise, surprise - down again from where we retraced our steps along the road until we picked up the in-trail we had been some 30 – 40 minutes earlier. About a km before the tunnel (which your scribe investigated as possible additional short-cut), the trail turned seaward. Down a few narrow alleys we came to a major check, catching the co-hare in the midst of breaking the check to shorten the route back “because it’s too late to go up the mountain now – it’ll be dark in less than half an hour”, he said. “No #@*!! way” was your scribe’s reaction, not willing to be sent on yet another short cut. I believe some of the shortcutters did follow the co-hare’s guidance, however.
So I headed on up the hill, reaching the Presbyterian (?) church out-of-breath, but ready for the shiggy trail to the left of the church and up and up to the top of the mountain. The summit was approached by several hundred ball-breaking “steps” seemingly designed to make the going difficult. But it was worth the effort! I was the first runner to the top, just in time to see the stunning Mt Fuji view across the bay. Incredible! I lingered with a bevy of photographers, marvelling at the beautiful sunset. After about 10 minutes the FRBs arrived, just in time to catch the last rays of the sunset. Then the pack set off along the ridge, still going away from the start point, until the trail abruptly broke right, off the ridge and down a precipitous forested slope, which was a bit, um, difficult in the dark. When we reached level ground again, Lapdancer 2, I and another harrier set off at a fast pace down various lanes and alleys in total darkness, to be stymied by a final check indicating 3 possible routes. We took one direction each. I couldn’t find any chalk, but nobody called. Totally no “On Ons”, so your reporter never did find the last part of the trail, I just headed downhill, in the general direction of the beach. Luckily I spotted the co-hare, who was out looking for lost hashers. I followed him ON IN.
Time elapsed: 1h 50m. The rest of the pack straggled in over the next 10 - 15 minutes as the temperature dropped to zero. No one was lost, but very few ice-cold beers were consumed and Sweetie wisely declared that the On On On should start immediately. No time to down-down, toast or berate Hare (Sweetie) and Co-hare (Fullerair).
The On On On was at the same restaurant that we repaired to after Run No. 1, right across from the beach. An excellent and very lively circle-cum-ONONON followed. Hash names were dished out, selected by acclaim. Sweetie appointed a scribe, announced that the next run would be February (wintering in Rome, I think he said) - unless anyone wished to volunteer. As of the date of writing, no volunteers…
Your scribe may miss Run No 3 if it is in February as he will be wintering in Bangkok, finishing his book (I’m a slow reader…) and running with BH3 or the Harriettes.
In summary - a good run, 10km at least (as promised). A shaky start but more than fully redeemed by mountaintop view of Mt Fuji across the water. Unforgettable. Thank you, hares.
Tapeworm