The 400th Running of the Winnipeg Hash House Harriers

First of all, apologies for not posting in a while, but the last week has been hectic and something had to give. In retrospect I could have planned things a bit better, starting on Wednesday, when I was still working full time, and trying to pack everything in my house, and had dental surgery as well. Thursday was my last day in the office, and more packing. Friday was all pack, pack, packing, followed by loading almost everything out of the house and into my storage space, and my last night in my first house. Saturday was the scramble to get everything else out of the house, and the big Hash event. Sunday was my first chance to come up for air... and blogging just wasn't at the top of the list. I'm sorry, but also: get used to it. My life has absolutely no structure anymore, so while I will certainly continue to blog, the happy Tuesday-Friday schedule of posts that most of you probably never noticed anyways is officially a thing of the past. Just enjoy 'em when you get 'em.

So on to today's topic: The 400th running of the Winnipeg Hash House Harriers. The event was a photo scavenger hunt, which was a LOT of fun. To quote the illustrious organizers (also my generous hosts for my last days in Winnipeg):

To celebrate the 400th run of the Winnipeg Hash House Harriers we organized a photo scavenger hunt. The group was divided into four teams and sent on a 3 hour odyssey around Winnipeg. The list was extensive and included four categories: basic tasks, locations or things; random acts of silliness; interpretation of common sayings and interpretation of movie quotes.

All team members had to be in every photo. The teams were allowed to run, walk or take transit. No biking and no cars allowed.

I was on a team with 4 others, and we had a blast running around Winnipeg for 3 hours, getting sunburned and accosting strangers to get them to take our picture (and I learned how to use the self-timer on my camera, which should prove to be a useful skill).

Here are a few of the shots of my team, with accompanying captions:

Everyone jumping (no feet touching the ground)

In a shopping cart

"Few and far between"

"Fore!"

I am proud to report that my team completely smoked the other three teams and won the event by a significant margin (what were the rest of you guys doing all day anyways?). We claimed the grand prize of frozen margarita mix and tequila, and then there was beer and chips and hotdogs and cake.

Most surprising though, was when the Winnipeg Hash House Harriers presented me with an uncharacteristically generous going away present. Keep in mind that this is a group of individuals who often can't cough up the $5 fee to cover beer costs for the weekly run, so imagine my surprise when then presented me with an envelope of cash and strict instructions for its use. I'm supposed to wait until the worst day of the trip when things are crappiest and I just want out, and use the money to check in to the fanciest hotel I can find and have one night of luxury, courtesy of the hashers. Thanks guys; you are the best. I will definitely write a post from my posh hotel room, hopefully while wearing a complimentary bathrobe and enjoying a bit of room service.

There's more to write about the previous week - lots of emotions about finishing work, and leaving my beautiful little house, and the seemingly endless rounds of goodbye lunches and dinners. But I figured I'd have some fun today and bash out a post about the hashers, so everyone can see some of the great folks I'm leaving behind, and so I can focus on the good stuff.