IN Chiang Mai we normally try to get our runs to be in nature as much as possible but there is also some pressure for Hares (the people who make the trails) to do something that is unique, a bit different, or the best possible thing is a trail that we have never done before.
This recent run was one that was made in the neighborhood where one of the Hares lives due to lack of time and a lot of thought went into it even though much of it took place on cement roads.
One thing that I appreciate about these runs that take place in someone's neighborhood is that it normally takes us considerably less time to get the people to the start site. When we are running in the jungle there are normally complications with getting everyone there and we can count on a rather lengthy ride to the site. Not in this situation though!
The only major issue that we can face in urban-ish runs like this is that our trails are normally marked with flour and there are a lot of things that can happen to the trail markings when there are potentially dogs peeing on them or just someone that decides to wash their car near it and then wipes it out. There are also some people in our midst who are going to complain about running on cement but we shut them up really fast and tell them to "set a trail themselves" sometime soon then.
These trails also tend to be almost entirely flat because nobody is going to build a neighborhood on hilly land. For me, the main issue that I face is that we are almost never in the shade on these sorts of runs and since I sweat a lot especially in a tropical climate, there was very little in the way of relief. We do start the run at near dusk but I still got a bit more sun than I would have liked to have had.
This wasn't my favorite run of the year, that's for sure but as we tend to say in the Hash, a bad day of Hashing is still better than a good day of doing almost anything else!
We've already received a preview of what we can expect coming up this next week from the person that is setting it and it looks glorious so far. At the end of the day it is kind of important to never complain about the quality of a trail unless you are doing it in a joking sense because it take a lot of work for the person that made the trail. It's not nice to poo poo on their work even if you don't think it was the best thing ever.
As always we have 3 runs per week on Monday (men only) as well as Thursday and Saturday (mixed groups). All are welcome to attend and you can get full details at our official and poorly made website
On On!
It was such a great run! Actually, I am planning to have some run with some friends soon. I'll just keep up on walking at home first to get my body ready.
it's nice to run with companion , you can enjoy and also challenging , that's the best exercise , to be strong and also proper eating , enjoy your running , have a great day ahead!
The last thing is anyone wants to hear is negativity and you have to mix the runs up even if it means an urban environment. I don't particularly like running on the road as it is not great for the knees.