Since we live in one of the most mountainous regions of the country, having some elevation changes in our treks/runs isn't actually very rare but some Hares like to try to punish more than others.
Normally, going up to 450 meters of elevation or so isn't that big of a deal but due to the increased rains we get this time of year the runs with elevation seem to be a bit more difficult because footing can be tricky. There is an increased chance of slipping and hurting yourself this time of year so speed is discouraged. I once tried to be a hero and ended up twisting my ankle badly... don't do that!
For the most part a sub 5km trek would be considered a bit lazy in our circles but "skidmark" knows what he is doing. As one of the longest-running residents of Chiang Mai in our group he seems to know the countryside a bit better than most people and takes advantage of our naivete to an extreme level. One of the things he likes to do is apologize for the run being so flat but he was lazy this week and didn't feel like doing much exploring into the hills. Then immediately after that he sends us out and we once again, quickly realize that he was lying the entire time.
After a while you learn to not believe anything that certain members say but they have become so good at it that even though almost all the veterans suspect he is lying that he will tell us with a stern face that this time the run really is without elevation and "sorry about that, but I was busy this week." Then we get about a km into the run and see a looming massive hill in the distance and realize we were duped yet again.
he knows exactly what he is doing. He lulls us into a false sense of security feeling like today is going to be an easy day and then there is a 400 meter increase in altitude that wears everyone out. He intentionally makes these treks shorter because 7km with this sort of up and down would be too much for most of the oldies that are here.
I'm one of the people that tends to be near the front of the pack and I always get a kick out of the fact that "Skidmark" will always be there at the end with a big ol' grin on his face because his tricks worked yet again. That's the thing though, he doesn't do this every time so you never can tell if he is being truthful or not. He is an exceptional liar and I suspect he must have been CIA at some point or perhaps still is.
It was a good time though and 4.2km with this sort of terrain was more than bearable. Even our own rather perpetually injured member "Tiptoe" made it back without a word of complaint but we suspect that is just because he is Austrian and doesn't speak English very well. He could complain, but none of us would understand him.
We are still doing runs at least 3 times a week. Mondays are men only, and Thursdays and Saturdays are mixed runs. The women-only runs don't have a schedule but normally will have at least one run per month. All of this information can be found at our poorly-made and barely functioning official website
On On!
