GFH3 Run #1,788; 1 January 2015: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A momentous day, run number 1,788; according to the official hash archive, Bite Me and Eat It Raw first hosted the GFH3 Hangover Hash (or GFH5, presumably), run number 675, on the first of January in 1995.  That makes 21 in a row, right?  One more reason to celebrate.

BANG!

GFH3 Run #1,732; 1 January 2014

As per, the GFH3’s bright, shiny new year started with a bang, and then got all muddy.  Paint in the Ass and Greg were reportedly hungover; the other 38 gathering for the hangover hash seemed not to be – though jury’s out on Tastycakes, who arrived wearing ‘last night’s make-up.’

Happy New Year!!

After a brief brief from the Shiny Sisters, Air Horn pulled the... fuse? trigger? string? on Rough Cut’s cannon to create a loud explosion, everyone leaped and yelped (well, I did, anyway), and then a few people started jogging slowly up the street.  Very, very gradually most of the rest joined them, running, jogging, walking – even broken-toed Norm, who made it about two houses down on his crutches and then turned back to the On In.  Speaking of busted body parts, when did the Mufti get that hip replaced?  Sometime in the late spring, wasn’t it?  And there he was, climbing over the fence into Frying Pan Park like he didn’t know there’s such a thing as a recalcitrant joint.  Blazing Straddle, aided by her cane, played Frisbee© with a chance-met sheltie named Duncan, and Suck Squeeze Bang rested up back at the On In, readying for the day she resumes kicking ass and taking names. 

Shiny and bright - don't know about new.

BANG!

Getting at least a little bit muddy.

The walkers wandered the park, meeting few or no baby cows despite the sign out front, abundant sunshine and a brisk breeze.  The runners got a longish trail with wet bits and stepping stones and gentle undulations, and finally encouraging marks that read, “BN,” “Quiche Near,” “Mimosas Near,” and “Bloody Mary Near.”  And they were all true!  Back at the house, not only were the quiches, mimosas and bloody Marys (Maries?  bloodies Mary?) abundant, but also:  breakfast bread (Eat it Raw braided dough around sausage, cheese and other stuff, to loud popular acclaim), bagels, chips and dips, orange slices, coffee, cinnamon rolls and cookies.  Way to start the new year off right.

Food!

Drinks!  And more food!

Mufti roll-called; Gale hit double 5s, Moaner got to 965 or 966 or 967, Raphael made #1.  We hope to see him again, but he lives in Lorton...  Mufti himself is at 1,489, and advised Moaner to ‘get a life.’  Hmmm.  Mufti paid gracious tribute to our swell hosts and their helpers, leading the crowd in a vigorous and well-deserved round of ‘hip hip, ON ONs.’  Nobody sang “Auld Lang Syne.”

We need a host for Saturday!  And the following Saturday!  Perhaps one of the folks pictured in the photos here will volunteer.  (The baby cow munching grass at FP Park as the hash adjourned will not.)  Mufti reports that BC3 has been scouting trail a bit, but should they really have to host once a month?

GFH3 Run #1,713; 28 August 2013

YAAAY!!!  Another first-time host, and in that very pleasant part of Herndon that offers lots of access to the Sugarland Run trails, with a generous backyard, generous parking, and a generous host.  So, many thanks to Gale for stepping up, and may her clean-up be easy and her leftovers few.

Tonight's hash netted about 32 runners, walkers, hosts, co-hosts, chefs and loungers-about, and our hares made a point of sending people out pretty promptly at 7:00'ish, mindful of the ever-shortening daylight.  (NEXT WEEK'S HASH WILL START AT 6:30 -- given the location and the extra 30 minutes, you might expect a woodsy trail.)  The runners dashed away briskly, trying to outrace the humidity, and the walkers strolled off in the opposite direction with local resident Beef Strokemoff acting as guide.  They've got a very nice paved loop of about two miles for walkers, with some of those fun Herndon stepping stones over a couple of creeks.

Everybody loves a water crossing!  If these were runners, Chip Off the Old Dick would be where the dogs are, and Bionic Babe would be up on the stepping stones.

The runners also got some creek crossings, but apparently weren't always certain they were stepping on the right stones.  Easy Strider seemed, to the impartial observer, to be promulgating a calumny when he suggested that "the girls got to gabbing" whilst setting the runners' trail, and therefore scattered their flour less often and in less visible locations than they otherwise might have -- but later Lori, Suck Squeeze Bang and Bite Me confirmed his hypothesis.  Apparently, they also waited out the thunderstorms with a bottle of wine before setting out to set.  So the pack got maybe a little straggly and a bit short-cutty, as it sometimes does. 

About that Easy Strider:  he was a walker last week, given illness and injury.  This week, he was recovered enough to be FRB by a comfortable margin, with the twin engines of Lyme disease and a broken rib apparently turbo-charging him along the trail.  First-timer Rachel demonstrated a nice turn of speed, with Pulls Out Early helping her interpret the (few and far-between) marks.  And everyone else made it in, hot, humid and happy, before darkness fell.

At the on-in, they discovered barbecued chicken, beans, potatoes, corn and two salads (including kale -- last time the hash got super-food, anyone?), as well as a bountiful assortment of beverages including a growler of beer -- from Sweetwater, Brent thinks.  Brent also thinks that the hash should always be hosted by good-looking women who have time to shower and change into their fancy duds before the on-in.  Others may have ideas about what Brent should do, and should make suggestions directly to him.

Hail to the chef!

Mufti's roll call included Rachel's first, Kyren and Chris's seconds (Chris was the bbq chef, very handsome in his brightly-colored apron), and Suck Squeeze Bang's birthday, with a big chocolate cake with extra frosting.  Pulls Out Early (who left early) hit 222, and Rrocks Starr hit 1166.

Animal sightings:  two shelties, one fox, and a few deer.  I don't know why two guys in grey and black insisted on being in the photo of five guys in green, but you can see all the pictures here.

GFH3 Run #1,707; 17 July 2013

Lezley, stepping up onto the curb outside The Buffalo Wing Factory and Pub in Reston:  "Goodness, it's hot."  Everyone else:  "No, really?!?"

On the good news front, it wasn't nearly so humid as it has been, nor as it will be over the next few days.  So while it was somewhat uncomfortable, and the big tub of bottled water on ice on the sidewalk outside the Factory was decidedly welcome, no one was fainting, nor quite so thoroughly drenched in his or her own fluids as everyone was, for instance, last week at Rrocks Starr's.  And good thing, too, since the On In took place inside the said Factory and Pub, where neatly dressed waiters were serving civilized people, and the intrusion of a crowd as -- ummm -- olfactorally unsatisfactory as the hash at its peak of ripeness would have been intrusive indeed.

Storing solar energy to be expended on the run.

But before making the dinner hour slightly less comfortable for innocent bystanders, our crowd of 31 gathered on the sidewalk to receive instructions from Lori, who chose the location and mapped the run, and Bite Me, who set the course with help from Blow in the Hole and a friend with a much-appreciated GPS.  (For those of you keeping track, this makes four times BitH has hosted, hared or helped in the last seven hashes.  Somebody stop her!)  Lori also had printed instructions for the walkers, which they followed until they got into the woods and couldn't read them clearly anymore.  Mufti:  "We'll go half a mile and then turn around.  Someone keep track of where we go."

The runners did a big, zig-zagging circle in a bit less than an hour, with several young whippersnappers helping to lead the pack in, including BMe's nephew.  Since they are young, they don't yet know to mark the checks.  What Easy Strider and Mini Schlonga's excuses are is unclear.

PBR was available in cans for $2, and there was a $10 pizza special back at the Wing Pub place.  Thirty-one hashers squeezed into two very big tables, and the super wait staff coped admirably.  Mufti was not intimidated by the presence of strangers and two dozen TVs showing different sports channels (and some really gross commercials), and called the roll only very slightly sotto voce.  Paint in the Ass hit 400, and as threatened kept her name, despite such alternative offers as "Problem Child" and "Ass the in Paint," the latter of which would allow her to keep wearing her valued necklace.  Spurt hit 600, so if they got one of those cojoined-twins-separation operations in reverse, they could apply for a satin jacket.  I think.

If you finish an order of the 911 Wings, they put your name on the wall.

In the meantime, they could step outside with the Mufti to his car, and receive their super-duper new 31st anniversary and Mufti Appreciation Day t-shirt, zip-locked bagged for maximum shininess.  Air Horn:  "Who's this Shriner on the back?"

Lori says her mum reads this blog, and looks at the pictures.  Hi, Lori's Mum!  Thanks for reading!

GFH3 Run #1,701; 12 June 2013

South Florida was hot and humid this morning; Reston was hotter and humid-er (there's a good pun on humidor in there, waiting to be made) this evening.  And we could all have stayed home in the a/c if it weren't for Blow in the Hole and Bite Me's hash heroics, which dragged about 30 of us to the pavilion for camaraderie, beer and sweat.  Note that four of us arrived in an open Jeep or a sporty Austin Healy, which is not on a par with BitH or BMe's heroism, but is pretty brave in the face of flash-flood advisories.

Did you ever know that you're my HEEE-ro...

Mufti was there, waving the Anniversary Hash flier (2pm!  Sunday!), and Bionic Babe was filling in order slips for the 31st Anniversary t-shirt.  The Mufti formally announced that no one is signed up to host for the rest of all time (other than PPH and PP for Sunday), and offered a paean to the XX half of the hash, lauding our beauty, wisdom and generosity in stepping up when the sign-up sheet is empty, and our hosts (who really live up to the beauty part, though given the weather the wisdom part is open to question) got a well-deserved cheer.

You know it's going to be a great run when the hares announce, in the brief, that everyone should identify and stick with a running buddy, just in case.  They did pull this one together in a rather ad hoc fashion, but included some nice little bits and bobs including a well-cushioned stretch along the back of the Giant shopping plaza that I believe only Gale actually ran, and she did so backwards.  Seriously, it was pretty well marked, and yet.  And yet...

Excellent BN mark that pretty much none of the runners managed to find.

Back at the pavilion, the hosts had laid out beverages and sandwich fixin's and about sixteen different kinds of chips and similar.  Hummus, a great big juicy red tomato slice and cheddar on whole wheat, with a lettuce leaf to top it off.  Yum.  Seriously yum.

Bionic Babe continued to t-shirt (you will *not* want to miss this year's shirt -- order now, or on Sunday) while the Mufti thundered the roll - double 3s for Dave, and #1 (99 to the cup!) for Austin, though that subsequently changed to #3 (97 to the cup!).   The Mufti added a few announcements, which have slipped my unfortunate mind at this point.  You can ask him on Sunday!  And if you'd like to see what we all looked like, wilting a bit as the night drew in, click here.

GFH3 Run #1,677; 1 Jan 2013

The new year dawned -- but who could tell with all that cloud cover?  Clouds or no, the temperature was fairly friendly, and the breeze light, and while there are no rules, there are a lot of traditions, and one of the best is New Year's Day at Byte Me! and Eat it Raw's.  So a whole bunch of hashers (I counted 45; there may have been a few more) convened in Herndon for the ceremonial cannon-firing.

On on!

The walkers are always happy with a stroll through Frying Pan Park, but the runners had to follow directions.  The trail started in the park, but then steered them through the local culs-de-sac, bringing them home through the back yard in about an hour.  Rrocks Starr, deciding to short cut a bit, was the last in.  All that time in California has apparently disoriented him for east-coast streets.

I heard one runner comment that the trail was "a death march," but I'm pretty sure none of the GF regulars would agree.  Anyway, whatever effort you expended was more than rewarded with the Hangover Hash tradition of Bloody Marys, mimosas, vast quantities of quiche in many flavors, a bagel bar, homemade cookies, and so much more.

The Mufti called roll with BC3 commenting, far in the back, that she marvels every time he takes 'control' of the Hash, as "he's nothing like this usually."  There were loud cheers for Byte Me!, Eat it Raw and their several friends who aid in the preparation of this annual extravaganza.  As well, there was a birthday caterwaul (can't call it a serenade) for Paddle My Candee Ass, who also celebrated 111 runs (whoooo), plus a few shouts of "99 to the cup!" for one or two or three newcomers.  Kent showed up for his second run, and there were all sorts of other good people and stuff but it was a big crowd and I can't see everything.

The Mufti called Goes Down on Trail to the front of the room for a moment of deep solemnity:  his 200th run (or 201st, but you know the Mufti Math).  You may have missed that solemn moment; it passed very quickly.  Then there was a great deal of hilarity over the bullets dodged, which included Pantyhose, because the Oral Advocate admires GDoT's legs, and Twitchy, and something about wenching that may have been supposed to be about wrenches; I am really not sure.  However, the final approved name was The Manic Mechanic, to which TMM drank a toast of mimosa, beer and water with way less grimacing than most people would have provided.

He just never seems manic to me...

Okay, I did something deranged and deleted most of the wonderful photos from the trail and the On In.  I am so sorry.  There are, however, pix of a Herndon backyard full of dinosaurs and other fanciful creatures, plus a few hashers, if you click here.