Hashing around Hale, Tuesday 21st February 2017

The Cheshire Hash House Harriers (A drinking club with a running problem) always run on Tuesday evenings at 7.45pm. Except sometimes, Their website is a mine of information and is worth checking out. I’ve run with other hashes (they can be found all over the world) buth the Cheshire Hash are, in my humble opinion, the finest.

I used to run with CH3 fairly regularly – until my Tuesday evenings got so busy that something had to go….and that was the Hash. Things have quietened off of late and now that my Tuesdays are less busy it was time to get down to some evening running.

Around 15 runners and one doggy gathered in Hale, a fairly upmarket (posh) suburb of Manchester. After a quick speech from Andy, the trail-layer, the throng set off, much to the amusement of Hale’s gentlefolk.

The first mile or so was inevitably on tarmac, even so, every opportunity to run on footpaths was exploited to the full. Eventually we hit the path on the banks of the River Bollin. I’ve used this path in the past and I know that it gets horribly muddily slippy after not a lot of rain. We’d had not a lot of rain and therefore the path was very muddy in parts – I’m surprised that everyone managed to stay upright.

The trail led us alongside, and sometime across, parts of Hale Golf Course. We were on a public footpath but the golf club members would have had a fit if they’d spotted us charging across there precious fairway.

Slipping and sliding our wobbly way, we passed under the M56 and hit even squelchier ground. My nice clean trail running shoes were no longer nice and clean. We were still running alongside the River Bollin.

Skirting the edge of Sunbank Wood, we gradually turned to head back towards Hale, leaving the River Bollin. More bits of tarmac took us over the M56 and then over another section of Hale Golf course, narrowly avoiding The Priory, the private hospital for those with lots of money. Or private medical cover. Whatever, charging back over the golf course would have upset the gold club members, big time. Oh well.

It was nearly all tarmac back to base now. There was the odd treacherously muddy path but nothing too challenging. Not for the Cheshire Hash anyway.

It was a good run, just what I needed – lots of fun and in very good company. There were some new faces, inevitable considering how long it’s been since my last Hash, but there were lots of old faces too

No photographs I’m afraid, I just didn’t have the time. No beer either – I had to charge off as soon as we’d completed the run. This Tuesday evening ended up getting busy again!

Where we went (anticlockwise):

6.45 miles with not a lot of up – maybe 350ft.

Thanks to Andy for planning and setting a really excellent trail, and the CH3 membership for making me feel very welcome….like I’d not even been away!