My weekend jungle run

This weekend I got to have a pretty unique experience, an experience that was so incredibly fun and definitely something I will remember for a long time. On Saturday this past weekend myself and some fellow PC volunteers joined a group called the Georgetown Hashers. The "hashers" are an international running club that have chapters in most major cities around the globe. They actually refer to themselves as a "drinking group with a running problem" but we'll get to that part of the story later :) Basically they are a group of people who get together every couple of weeks and go for runs, usually between 4 to 6 miles, through courses that have been laid out ahead of time by the "hare" which is the name of the person who organizes the race. The runs are usually through what is considered rough or difficult terrain, something that makes the run a little bit unique or exciting and not just your average jog in the park. This week's hasher run was a "jungle run" which is exactly what it sounds like :)

Everyone met up at the British High Commission in Georgetown at 1 pm, the group was made up of embassy people, expats, some local Guyanese, and Peace Corps volunteers. There were 5 or 6 of us who were going on our 1st run and we were referred to as hasher "virgins". We all loaded up in various cars and trucks and headed outside of the city, about an hour away into the jungle. Literally into the rain forest,which covers about 70% of Guyana. I had to ride in the back of a pickup truck, which was both fun and terrifying as we sped down the highway going almost 50 mph. We arrived at the house where the run would start and received instructions on the rules of a hasher run. Since it was a jungle run, everyone was required to stay together as much as possible. The trail is always marked by piles of shredded paper and, when you pass one you have to yell out "On, On!" so that people behind you know they are headed the right way. The hasher tradition was started by the British in the mid-20th century, so there are various other rules and traditions. One runner carries a small bugle type horn with the on the run and blows it occasionally to keep everyone on the same trail.

And then you start running. This jungle run was just about 4 miles over extremely rough terrain. Wet sandy mud that went up hills, through the bush, and through creeks. At one point we ran through an open field that happened to be filled with pricker bushes and razor vines. My legs got pretty beat up from that, which was even more annoying when we realized we had gone the wrong way and we had to turn around and go back through it all. But the best part of the whole run was when we went through the jungle. Think about that comes to mind when someone says the words "rain forest" or "jungle" to you: that picture, that image in your mind is what we ran through. Except there was so much dense vegetation, so many vines and trees and bushes that our run was more like a walk with a purpose :) It was amazingly cool and beautiful and awesome. It was definitely a moment when I kept thinking to myself, holy crap, I live in South America now.

Eventually we made it through the jungle, finished the 4 mile run and made it to the end point, a small open field near a creek. Now, most of you are probably wondering why anyone would run 4 miles, in the jungle, in hot and humid Guyana. The reason is quite simple: at the end of the run there is good food and unlimited cold beer just waiting for you :) We had bar-be-que chicken, rice, and potato salad to reload on all those carbs we just burned off and, of course, cold refreshing beer. Now at this point, the whole thing becomes very much like a frat house, which I found amusing and awesome. Everyone grabs a beer, forms a circle and cheers to the hares, who plotted out the course that week. Then everyone sings a very scandalous and inappropriate song as the hares chug a beer. After that, the hasher virgins get in the middle of the circle and have to introduce themselves. And of course, we each had to chug an ice cold beer, which is never fun. And if you can't finish chugging, the beer gets poured on your head. There were 2 other PCV's who were also hasher virgins along with myself and the group of PCV's who had done this before took it upon themselves to scream "Chug, chug" at us as we drank. Luckily, all 3 of us finished our whole beer. Clearly a very important talent to have as a development professional :)

After all of that it is time to just hang out, eat good food, drink more beer, and reflect on how out of shape you actually are. The hashers do a new run with a new course every 2-3 weeks and I'm already excited about the next one. It was so much fun and we got to hang out with some really awesome, fun people. And the food and the beer didn't hurt :) And so that was my weekend, definitely going down as one of the top Saturdays in Guyana so far.