The omens for run 902 did not look good as we set off up Highway 1 (once again) for the Vung Tau road (once again). Storm clouds and heavy showers were in evidence. The road was muddy and slippery but, thanks to some judicious honking and gentle hand brake swerving by our driver, we arrived safely at the run site around 1545.

The briefing was short but not as short as Mighty Quinn's run the previous week. She was boasting a 12 Km run when in fact it was only 6 Km. The GM had some sympathy with her poor length judgement, placing the blame squarely at the feet of the male hashers. Tonto wanted to be a 'Hash Buddy' but no-one wanted to be buddied. Suitably miffed, he decided we should move off ASAP because as he put it, 'The sun was setting!' The sun sets every day Tonto, but thank you for providing us with another glimpse of the b.....g obvious. Once it was explained to him that Tonto was not a chief but a character in 'Broke Back Mountain' he settled down to what he does best - running the wrong way at every check point.

The run began in open country and then moved into cashew nut orchards. The heady smell of fermenting cashew fruit was a new experience for most hounds. Some couldn't get enough of it. Tonto, Satan and Mad Cow made repeated forays into the depths of the orchards, claiming they were searching for paper. Seeking new alcohol highs was probably closer to the truth. At the Water Stop, many of the runners were displaying signs of inebriation - red and sweaty faces, unable to speak coherently and unsteady on their feet.

The second leg was shorter and the hounds enjoyed running in groomed rubber plantations. The previous day, Pencil Dick had arranged for the leaves to be swept away from the trees. This made for easy running and also helped those with short sight to spot the soggy paper. Herpes, making a rare appearance with Emma and her racing buggy, was able to take full advantage of these superb running surfaces, leading the pack for most of the way. Apparently, Emma's first words were 'On, On'. Her calling on the second leg put to shame some of the more experienced Hashers who seemed to be having breathing problems. After 9.2 Km the run ended much to Woofter's annoyance as he had been claiming a double digit run. Another case of mistaken length?

The usual routine for the Circle was changed just to keep everyone on their toes. General Erection (Stand-in Religious Adviser) did a great job of introducing the Virgins, Returnees and Newcomers but managed to forget his wife's name for which he was punished. Mad Cow (Hare Raiser) was given the challenging task of organising the Run Report. Her first victim was a dog named Bear Bear. He didn't have much to say. Memo to self, "Don't ask a dog to report on the walk, especially when its owner couldn't even remember the Water Stop!"

At this point, proceedings came to a halt thanks to the local military. A man in a white shirt, claiming to be a soldier and holding a fully loaded phone with the safety catch in the 'Off' position, told us that we were in a restricted area and persuaded us to remove ourselves or risk losing our bus and gear.

At the new site Pencil Dick was iced for once again (nearly) losing the bus. This was unfortunate, as he had taken great care to avoid his favourite trick by keeping the Start, Water Stop and Down Down sites all on the same road.

As the award T-Shirts were now available, Pencil Dick (him again!) made a big dent in the outstanding awards list, presenting 10 Red Hareshirts and 3 25-Run shirts. Lien was named "Bright Spark' for her electrical skills and Ty Dunning was named 'Bog Roll' for obvious reasons. After that it all became a blurrrrrr .....

Woofter
Namings: Lien is now Bright Spark and Ty is now Bogroll
Awards: Red Hareshirts (for first hareset) went to Justin, Jennifer, Shithouse, Fat Bastard, Good To The Last Drop, Bright Spark, Flabs and Julian, with 25-run shirts hoing to Bright Spark, Good To The Last Drop and Snakebite