Cumalot & Knockout teamed up for a run way down the “end” of canal road. A familiar runsite, in the quarries where Pamela set a successful moonlight run. When I got there, the fire department were on hand hosing forest fires – would the trail be ok?
We set off, and the first check was a no-brainer… – right? We had to go right up to the forest and the trails there? I checked well over the 100, right up to the corner, with no sign of paper left right or straight. Turning back, it seemed like others were reluctant to try left – surely it wouldn’t be left? It was left, heading towards the roads, and we ran all the way around the temple complex. Brownie was leading, but the pack was close behind – particularly when he momentarily became blind and didn’t see the paper right next to him.
Sure enough after we’d run around the temple, we were heading towards the nice trails. There was a period where I was checking the wrong way and then needing to overtake the pack to rejoin the FRBs, until finally the FRBs broke loose. I caught HRA, Brownie and GI at a great check – great for me! Brownie and HRA headed left – I would have been very impressed with the hares had they found a way to go there… GI headed to the right, but I remembered a trail that was almost straight, slightly hidden, but you need to do a quick left/right… I was confident so a slowed to a walk until I saw paper “ONON” and set off. Finally leading the pack again. The trail heads right and as it rejoined the trail that Graven had been checking, sure enough, he was there… still checking!
I ran along with Graven, and we got to a circle – already kicked out…. wtf? Further on another circle – already kicked out… wtf? When short cutters decide to kick out trail it only spreads the pack out and fucks up the efforts the hares had put in. Lets face it – the hares put in checks to slow the front runners down – if someone goes and effectively takes those checks away, it fucks up the trail for the FRBs, it means the other runners don’t keep up so easily and miss out on part of the fun, and it fucks up the efforts of the hares.
Turkey got a few checks right, and we were following him for a while until he got one wrong and the trail headed left. We all wanted to go right, but after there were no calls we cut off to the left where we found a 2nd circle up on the open “road”. Finally we heard a call from even further to the left – HRA had figured it out, found the check and found the trail. I headed in that direction, only to find a gorge between me and the trail. I tried to find a way across as GI and Turkey came over. GI also started looking for a way to get to the start of the trail, while Turkey scrambled around a house to intercept the trail further on. The gorge was impossible, so we had no choice but to follow Turkey around the house and rejoined trail after navigating past a fence.
NOYB ran past as we rejoined the trail, so it was nice to see that the confusing checks had allowed the pack to get back together. Another check and all logic said turn right. We could see Turkey Delight running away from us, around 100-150m away. We called “ARE YOU?” No response.
The trail today was great! The hares did a great job of setting a great route – well marked, a lot of fun and good exercise! Great job hares!