投稿日: Aug 15, 2017 11:46:46 AM
Scribe: Jeff
Hares: Santa-Maria, Kim-Will-Run
Date: 13 August 2017
Start Time: 15:30
Start Location: JR Totsuka station
Weather: partly cloudy
Run Type: A to A
Distance：8Km
Hashers: 21
In July for my first ever Hash Run I was introduced lovingly to the hills of Zushi. Fully expecting more of the same this month I was markedly surprised. Santa Maria took great care in laying out his trail through the Totsuka and Sakae Wards of Yokohama. By great care, as the veteran members of 4H made apparent to all, I mean he took the easiest and most boring path he could find and marked it up.
For this A-A run our starting point was along the Kashio River near the Totsuka station. Some Hashers had a hard time finding the start point as marks were claimed to have washed away. Leaving Totsuka station one had to follow a trail to find the trail. By the time we had finished our mini-Hash and met up with Santa Maria under a bridge like a bunch of trolls the run began before you knew it was happening. The start of the run snaked through a nearby neighborhood and before we knew it we were into those 4H-loved hills. A couple of very steep hills took us into some well-to-do suburbs and thanks to the grade, we were able to walk and enjoy the sights. Cliffhanger again was working toward being the Front Running Bastard. However, this time he had competition from Back Door Hoe. Together, they both maintained a consistent lead on the pack.
After we worked over the two hills we got into the heart of Santa Maria's trail....flatness. He took us through the industrial neighborhoods near the river. There was a brief downhill jaunt that went through some wooded area, but after that we were pounding asphalt and concrete. Crusader later pointedly noted that we ran very near plenty of scenic areas that he would've liked to see. However, Santa Maria had other plans. He desperately wanted us to see the Kashio River, and see the river we did. Once we got to the far end of the trail, we turned back and followed the river home.
At the halfway point Cliffhanger and Back Door Hoe had completely disappeared from sight. Having lost a pacing reference, motivation quickly dropped off to keep running. Looking back Code Poo had disappeared. The humidity had become overwhelming and it was clearly time to slow down. Not wanting to fall victim to heat exhaustion, walking became a must on this run. Instead of a steady run pace, this Hash was all about bursts of speed followed by interludes of walking. This sprint and drift technique proved helpful in keeping one going. Eventually Code Poo was spotted and with a trusty pacer there, the trail became more manageable.
However, at this point the trail began to disappear. For blocks along the river there were no trail marks to be found. If they were ever there to begin with they had since been washed away. Hounds might have started doubting they were still on the trail. Santa Maria had offered one word of advice before it all started though..."if you get lost just follow the river back." With this in mind everyone pressed on.
8.9KM later the On-In was sighted and a very proud Back Door Hoe had earned the title of Front Running Bastard with a time of 52:45 with Cliffhanger right on his heels. The rest of the hounds straggled in as the pack had spread out fairly well over the course of an hour. After refreshments and recharging of livers, a brief Down Down was convened. Everyone praised Santa Maria for his horrible trail. A song was sung in his honor and Santa Maria gladly down-downed his titular wine.
For the On-On we were treated to an outstanding nine-course meal at "Healthy Chinese Restaurant Seiren" Totsuka Modei Branch. The meal started us off with some simple vegetable appetizers, then followed that with a small mixed green salad, fried gyoza, fried chicken, scrambled eggs with vegetables, spicy tofu, fried rice, shark fin soup, and lastly a small custard. The meal was filling and the restaurant staff was very polite and accommodating to our large and raucous group. The highlight for this Hasher however was the automated beer dispenser. As any good beer pourer knows, one must tilt the glass until it mostly full to avoid too much foam. The Japanese have figured out how to get a machine to do this for you. Placing the glass below the spout and pressing a single button fills the glass almost perfectly for you by tilting it at first, then finishing it upright in order to force a (perhaps too tall) layer of foam on top of the beer. Needless to say it was impressive to have a machine attempt to pour me a perfect glass of beer.
In the end everyone thanked Santa Maria for his On-On arrangement and everyone started planning next month's run. As the weather starts to cool, perhaps the heat and humidity will not be so brutal for this Hasher's third ever run.