What: Harriers Hare 'n Hounds Adventure Run, a free running event for all club members.
Where: Meet at Thetis Lake Park, Main Parking Lot. Bring a loonie or a toonie for parking.
When: Monday, September 3 (Labour Day) gathering at 9:00 am. We will wait 5 minutes for everyone, but 6 minutes for no one!
Why: To wrap up Event #6 of the six 40th Anniversary Celebrations including our Awards Ceremony in March, Easter Egg Hunt in April, Pilgrimage Run in June, Family Day in July and Summer BBQ/Club Reunion in August.
Description: Runners cover a flagged course of approximately 10 kilometres with decisions to be made at every fork in the trail and the one who makes the least mistakes of selecting the correct route is the winner as he or she gets to the Hare first at the surprise finish line with the balance of the Hounds following behind! The trails will be marked with flagging and when you reach a trail junction there will be a blue flag which indicates a decision is to be made. If you go left and reach a red flag, you have gone the wrong way and you must return to the blue flag and go to the other where you will reach a yellow flag indicating the correct route. The correct course will also be marked with bread crumbs along the way. It's not necessarily the swiftest runner that wins this race, it's the one who makes the fewest mistakes. A big advantage may go to a slower runner that sees a faster runner coming back towards them as they can immediately turn back before reaching the red flag that forced the fastee return.
Hares: Gary Duncan, designing and flagging the route, and Bob Reid laying out the bread crumbs.
Hounds: All Harriers who show up for this adventure run on the trails followed by an optional swim.
Dogs: Real hounds are welcome to join their masters at this event to celebrate their PIH Canine membership.
Prizes: Awards will be presented to the Top Dog (first male finisher), Top Bitch (first female finisher), Top Old Dog (first male master 40+) and Top Old Bitch (first female master 40+).
Social Gathering: Following the run and swim, join us for lunch and a few laughs at the Six Mile House.
Harriers History Repeats: The inaugural Harriers Hare 'n Hounds Adventure Run was held in September, 1978 and the event is hosted once every 10 years. The inaugural 1978 Hares were Alex Marshall, Gunner Shaw and Bob Reid. The Top Dog at the first run was Jack Farrell and the Top Bitch was Marion Kirby; there were 26 hounds. This is the fifth running of the "H 'n H" and previous winners include Dave Campbell, Andre Gerard, Dick Palfrey, Ray Baillie, John McKay, Dan Harlow, Christopher Kelsall, Shane Ruljancich, Cynthia Reid, Pam Smith, Marg Melvin, Laura Leno, Sandy Auburn, Merell Harlow, Susan Reid and Catherine Shaw.