Hash Runs, Jeddah style

As many of you know, Hash runs are informal runs held around the world. Part social hour, part jog/run, hash runs allow the more active folks in the typically expat community to get a better lay of the land by having them complete a pre-set route, usually something taking on the order of an hour or more to complete. Faster runners can run as much as they want by determining where the false leads are , thereby keeping those bringing up the rear on trail. What almost all hash runs have in common is a finish at a common watering hole; the ones I've done in NYC and Vientien, Laos, brought folks back together at pubs where, for many apparently, the real action started.

Not so in SA, as you could probably guess. Here, and solely based on my two outings with the hash running group in Jeddah, the program seems to revolve around getting out of busy Jeddah for a few hours, enjoying a bit of the barren and ruggedly beautiful escarpment to the east, sharing in some juice and water afterwards and, for the women, enjoying the one time in a week when they can run outside and in clothes that most of the running world would expect a person to wear in 100+ F heat. The terrain is too rocky and the pitch so up and down that most of the run is more like a fast hike, with the occasional tree with thorns, or barbed wire fence at knee high, to keep life interesting, yet we do run when we can, although it's the weather, and not the pace, that is ever sizzling.

Though close to the horizon, at 5 pm the day's sun is still blazing hot. Hashers load up on water just prior to leaving for the run, gulping down cup fulls in anticipation of the challenge ahead . Each carries a liter or more of water for the 1.5 hour"ish" run, which also includes a orange slice/extra water stop. At the end, much more water and juice is served up, with haggard, depleted finishing runners gulping down the liquid. Even so, many runners remain dehydrated and extra hydration is recommended throughout the evening and especially during the next day. On the run one hears English, Spanish, German, French, and Arabic. Since most of these folks have fairly demanding jobs and live in a culture substantially different from their own, the release of stress is palpable and a fun mood pervades the evening. Still, the barren beauty of the escarpment - geographically, the hills/low mountains that connect the huge, higher plain of the Arabian peninsula with its nearly sea-level bordering perimeter, especially along the Red Sea - captivates all of us. Ancient granitic outcroppings that have been pummeled by desert winds for millennia sport bowls, nobs, and holes not unlike ones you'd find in huge rocks in mountain streams, whether wind of water, each demonstrating the tremendous power of nature. Occasionally, the sand-borne winds of time had created such large openings that we could run through their resulting tunnels or climb over their impressive bridges.

Sometimes, folks stay afterwards, spread out the carpets on the flattest ground they can find, bring out the sandwich basket, light the houkkah pipe, and enjoy a magical evening under the stars. Opportunities for casual socializing within a mixed gender group being what they are in SA, I can imagine that this postlude is especially favored by the Arabic speakers in the group. Some time when I've grown a bit more accustomed to the heat, I hope to partake in this lingering, and when I do I'll let you know how the traditional hash pub finish really gets translated in SA. Bye for now, David