[Optional thematic intro; include any costume suggestions here]
What: [Theme/trail name]
When: [Date], 6:30 show, 7:00 go (summer) or 2:30 show, 3:00 go (winter)
Where: [Pre-lube location & closest T station]
Hare: [Your name]
Bag car: [Bag car's name or NEEDED or Maybe you?]
Hash Cash: $5
Promises: [Useful and true information, e.g., A to A (starting and ending in the
same place) or A to B (starting and ending at different places), outdoor or indoor on-in, distance
(required if not 3-5 miles)]
Lies: [Various jokes]
Shopping List
Required
Beer: Enough for each hasher to have 1 at each BC and 2 at on-in
Water: Always have water. If it's hot out, have even more water.
Orange food: A few bags of chips or other light snacky things
Chalk: Hare chalk (2-3 pieces per leg) and pack chalk (which usually about half
of pack will take)
Optional
Shots or wine: If planning SCs or WCs
Flour: If laying trail in the rain or if parts of trail aren't on pavement
Cups: If needed for hygienic shot consumption; also recommended if any BCs or
your on-in will be very visible
Trash bags: If any BCs, shot checks, or the on-in won't have trash cans
Gluten-free alcohol option (e.g., hard seltzer): Nice to have for those who don't
do gluten
Non-alcoholic beverage (seltzer, NA beer): Not expected but often appreciated
Preparation
Tell the hareraisers where you are starting (at least the closest T stop) as early as you
can, but at least 1 full week in advance.
Write your trail announcement at least 4 days in advance and do the following with it:
Send it to the hareraisers to add to the BH3 calendar.
Post it to the BH3 Planning WhatsApp group in advance and the day of trail.
Create a Facebook event in the Boston Area Hashes group.
Note: Hareraisers can assist with any of the above if needed.
Note: Trail announcements should use “show/go” rather than “HST” to not confuse visitors.
Before trail:
Find a co-hare (if you want one) and a bag car. The hareraisers can help you with this.
Scout trail. If possible, it's ideal to scout at the same time/day as trail will be to check
for variables like playground usage, lighting, locked gates, etc.
Coordinate with your bag car and ask nicely if you want them to buy the beverages or food
for trail. If you have the supplies, plan for how they will end up in bag car.
Keep track of how much you spend so that hash cash can reimburse you.
Repost your trail announcement in the BH3 Planning WhatsApp group the day of trail.
At pre-lube:
Aim to get to pre-lube by 6:30 (summer) or 2:30 (winter) in case there are any issues.
Tell the RA if you plan to use any non-standard marks.
Make sure either you or bag car are prepared to give the beer check and on-in locations to
any walkers who want it.
Leave by 6:45 in the summer or 2:45 in the winter.
Expectations
Trail length: 3-5 miles true trail.
Start & end locations: Trails should start and end within 0.5 miles of a T station.
If the distance is farther than that (or on a heavily used bus route rather than the T), communicate
this clearly so folks can plan getting to/from trail.
Walkers: Be considerate of possible walkers on your trail. Ideally, walkers should
be able to walk directly to the next beer check in the time it takes runners to get there following
trail. If the runners trail is too direct for that to work, be sure to make an alternate plan for
walkers such as taking the T or having an alternate beer check.
Hash cash: $5 per hasher; hare and bag car don't pay. BH3 will reimburse you for
what you spend within reason, but try not to spend more than $20 over the total hash cash collected
unless you get prior approval from the GMs. Most trails should break even.
Drink checks: 2 beer checks (BCs) is typical but 1 is also common, especially if
the weather is bad. Shot checks (SC) and wine checks (WC) are optional if there are 2 BCs and fairly
expected if there is only 1 BC.
Safety 3rd, but … do not lay trail along live train tracks, on highways, or across
Storrow. Remember that members of pack can be at various levels of drunk and paying various levels
of attention to their surroundings. In general, do not place hashers in situations where they need
to risk their safety to follow trail.
Please don't change the pre-lube the day of, but… If the pre-lube is changed the
day of a trail, the hare is responsible for laying marks from the original pre-lube to the new pre-lube.
The hare should also make every effort to change the location in the calendar and on Facebook.
Choosing Locations
Parking: Be nice to your bag car! When you scout your trail, also scout for legal
and available parking at each location. Also put the names of BC and on-in locations into Google
Maps ahead of time to make sure these go to your intended sides of parks, etc.
Pre-lube: First, make sure it's open and hash-friendly when we'll be
there (not too fancy, too full of brunching families, or excessively crowded).
Especially if you're expecting a large pack (e.g., in the summer), it's not a bad idea to
give a manager a heads-up ahead of time: “Hi! My running club was hoping to get a beer here
before our run this week. There would be about 20 of us here from around 6:30 to 7 this
Wednesday. Do you think you'd be able to accommodate us?”
If your pre-lube is outdoors, please advertise it as such and clarify whether beers are
provided.
If you don't want to make the pre-lube location public (for example, if you're starting at
your home address), leave marks from a T stop and publicize that finding start will be
clear. Don't make people DM you for addresses - that can deter newer hashers
Beer checks & on-in: Parks that won't be full of children or sports teams at the
time of your trail are generally best. The same goes for your on-in, but this also needs to be a
location where pack can carouse for 30+ minutes without bothering neighbors or park-goers. If you
need help finding a good spot in a certain neighborhood, ask some more seasoned hares!
On-after: You aren't responsible for what happens after circle, but since you're
the only one who knows in advance where trail ends, it's nice if you have an idea for a nearby bar
where people can continue drinking after circle if they wish.
Tips: Planning Trail
The buddy rule: Don't lay your first trail alone! If you have an idea for a trail,
many experienced hashers would love to make your dreams of your virgin lay c*m true. If you don't
have a trail in mind but want to try haring, offer to chalk monkey for someone haring an upcoming
trail.
Estimating pack size: Use the pack size from previous weeks as a starting
point. GMs or Hash Cashes can give you these numbers. In addition:
If weather is good, expect that more people will show up; if weather is bad, expect that
fewer people will show up. More centrally located T stops will draw more people, while
farther locations will draw fewer potentially. Having a fun theme may draw more people as
well!
Facebook event “Going” isn't a great indicator for total number.
Use your estimated pack-size x $5 to get a loose estimate of money for the day. Note that
hares and bag car don't pay.
Changing it up: Try to mix up what neighborhoods we are running in, especially if
there might be marks on the ground from a previous trail. You can look at the calendar to see where
we have been running. Note, however, that going too far from the Somerville/Cambridge/downtown Boston
area will likely lead to lower turnout.
On-ins at bars: We used to have these when Boston had dive bars and hash cash
was $15, but it's basically impossible now. There are 3 basic requirements for an indoor on-in:
a good reason (e.g. frigid weather),
advance permission from GMs if you plan to spend more than the hash cash you take in, and
advance permission from the establishment to sing loud dirty songs in their space.
Other considerations: What is going to be fun for everyone? What is going to be
fun for you? Do you need/want a co-hare? Do you need to dead-lay any portion of your trail (mark
trail just ahead of time of trail)?
Tips: Laying Trail
Marks: Aim to lay at least 2 marks per block and almost always at intersections.
Checks: Having the right balance of checks and marks is important for keeping pack
together/making it not a death march, but not creating crazy long trails. If pack is larger, having
more checks is super reasonable. If pack is smaller you might want fewer places for a smaller pack
to scout. Use longer checks such as song checks or hash sitapedes to bring pack back together when
needed (after a tough check or long straightaway, for example).
Checkbacks: If you're using one, really count your marks well - miscounting from
checkbacks is the easiest way to get people lost.
The Goat Rule: Don't lose pack at the very start of trail. Later on, you can play
around with checkbacks and falses and such, but let pack get going first.
Mileage: True trail should be 3-5 miles. If on the lower end, more check backs and
falses are great to add to mileage. If on the higher end, be considerate of checkbacks/falses so
distance isn't too high.
Snaring avoidance strategies: Song checks and hash sitapedes are both good for
slowing down pack if they're catching up. Tit checks are also a compelling reason for many
hashers to stop and wait. Some hares also carry an extra shot check that they can lay when they
need an extra 6.9 minutes. (But also note that getting snared is not actually a big deal.)