Every year we have a larger-than-average event in Chiang Mai Hash House Harriers called "The Ballbreaker." This is a trail run like the other ones that we do, the only difference is that this one is over 20 km and involves significantly more planning. Normally we will have around 50 participants and we hope to do the same in 2026 even though it appears as though the Thai government is doing everything in their power to discourage people from traveling here.
Our normal weekly events consist of 4-7km or trail run followed by drinking beer in the circle and making fun of one another. This happens in the evenings and takes a few hours. The BallBreaker on the other hand, has to start a lot earlier because while we don't yet know how long the run will be yet, it is almost always more than 20km.
The above would be considered a good turnout for a regular event. At the BallBreaker, you can expect 3-4 times as many people to be there because this is one of the only events that we advertise internationally about and people travel from all over the world to partake. In many years in the past we had to declare the event is sold out because there was so much interest. While I do not believe that will be an issue this year because Thai immigration keeps mucking about with the rules, it is a possibility, so if you are interested it wouldn't be a terrible idea to book in early.
Every BallBreaker includes a commemorative T-shirt that has your Hash Name printed on it as well. The one pictured above is from 2020 and it is one of my favorites of all time because for once, they made the shirts using a breathable fabric instead of stupid cotton.
We are kind of making fun of actual athletic events with this shirt and it is a really good one that have. It normally says "finisher" on it just like marathons or actual races would have but at the Hash House Harriers... this isn't really a race unless you want it to be and we aren't overly concerned about whether or not you actually run the entire trail. In fact, most years very few of the people that show up actually do the entire trail.
Doing the 20+ km is only part of the battle though, if you want full honors you also are required to drink a full beer at each one of the 4 safety stops. We also have water and first aid at these locations and people are encouraged to bail out if they are feeling tired rather than pass out in the jungle and make it so we have to get Thailand rescue service involved in getting you out of there.
Terrain like this can be expected and since most of the run takes place during the daytime, we try to make sure that we put as much of the trail in the shade as possible.
Most people do not run the entire thing, in fact, I think almost nobody does because while some of us are in decent shape, none of us are genuine athletes so you can expect to see a lot of walking on the trail. I know that I intend to walk at least half of it.
We also tend to conclude the trail run somewhere scenic like next to a body of water that doesn't move in order to give you maximum exposure to mosquito bites... just kidding about the mosquitoes but we do have a load of insect repellent on hand should you need it.
It's still several months away on January 18th, but if you want to make sure that you get your spot held go to the Chiang Mai Hash House Harriers and get yourself booked in to hold a spot and get your Hash name on the shirt.
More details will be released as they are updated or remembered.
On On!
