Author Archives: Vilnius Harriers

“Over the Edge”

Date: 30th April, Sunday

Start time: 2pm

Start location: Antakalnio g. 1, Vilnius 10312 – Outside the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Map link: https://goo.gl/maps/4CwbyJy8J6qm62SZ9

Parking:

Paco g. right behind the Church / Bar

Nearest bus: There are public transport stops Šv. Petro ir Povilo bažnyčia and Vasaros nearby. Heaps of options.

Beer: Sakwa, near the starting point. https://goo.gl/maps/VfM4U2P8JRFSECTL8

Hares: BS and Sheriff

Cost: 10 euro to cover beers and trail marking

Survival tips: Bring shoes with good grip, there is steep off-trail.

Draugai, vietiniai gyventojai, užsieniečiai, paskolinkite man savo ausis!

Sena tradicija Vilniuje baigėsi prieš 10 metų, o šiandien atėjo laikas ją atgaivinti… ankstesni Harrieriai čia tiesė trasas Vingio parke ir įtraukė daug lietuvių ir kitų. Tai buvo pasaulinio nepriklausomų Harrier klubų tinklo dalis, o jų dar ir šiandien galima rasti, pavyzdžiui, Taline. Daugelis klubų turi kvailas “tradicines” apeigas, tačiau jos nėra privalomos

Vilniaus harrieriai yra socialinė grupė, ypač skirta atvykėliams, nors paprastai ją mėgsta ir vietiniai gyventojai. Kasmetinė žiemos vakarienė vyks Sue’s indiškoje raja, kaip visada tradiciškai!

Klubas sujungia neformalų socialinį tinklą tiek naujokams, tiek senbuviams, taip pat orientavimosi sportą / žygius pėsčiomis / lauko vaikų žaidimą 路藍

Tai mėgėjiškas BENDRADARBIAVIMO komandinis sportas, paremtas senuoju anglišku žaidimu Hare & Hounds. Jis žaidžiamas labiau dėl pramogos ir aktyvumo, o ne dėl varžybų ar aukšto lygio “profesionalaus” fizinio pasirengimo. Jis ugdo charakterio savybes

• nepriklausomybę ir atsparumą
• komandinį darbą ir bendravimą.
• atkaklumą ir lyderystę.
• smalsumą ir tyrinėjimą
• socialinius įgūdžius ir galbūt net toleranciją.
• ir labai svarbus humoro jausmas!

Kiekvieną mėnesį vienas ar du nariai, vadinami “zuikiais”, naudodami nekenksmingus miltus ar kreidą, dažniausiai miške ar parke, nutiesia pėdsaką, kuriuo bando sekti visa “banda”. Kai pėdsakas sustoja, “kiškiai” bando įvairias kryptis, šaukdami “tikrinti!”, o kai pėdsakas randamas, šūksniai “pirmyn!” vėl suburia gaują.

Tai suteikia lėtesniems “šuneliams” laiko pasivyti, todėl NEREIKIA būti greitu bėgiku – arba bet kokiu bėgiku.

Tako pabaigoje laukia užkandžiai, remiami iš komandos fondo. Visi prisideda, visi gauna naudos! Galime išmokyti, kaip tiesti takus, o nauji nariai po 1 ar 2 takų bus pasirengę kiškiams!

Tai išbandytas būdas susirasti draugų, atsikratyti streso, juoktis ir linksmintis, išlikti aktyviam ir pažinti savo miestą – dažnai geriau nei kiti žmonės, kurie čia gyvena visą gyvenimą.

Iš pradžių klubas bus draugiškas šeimoms, t. y. trasos bus pakankamai lengvos vaikams (jie PRIVALO turėti tėvus!). Didėjant narių skaičiui, galėsime pridėti ir tik suaugusiesiems skirtą taką.

Jei tai skamba gerai, susisiekite su mumis. Mums reikia dar maždaug 5 ar 10 šeimų, kad galėtume surengti starto vakarėlį!

O dabar visiems, kurie perskaitė iki šiol, pateikiame originalią 1950 m. konstituciją:

• Skatinti mūsų narių fizinį pasirengimą
• atsikratyti savaitgalio pagirių
• Įgyti gerą troškulį ir jį malšinti alumi
• Įtikinti vyresnius narius, kad jie nėra tokie seni, kaip jaučiasi

Friends, locals, foreigners, lend me your ears! 

An ancient tradition in Vilnius ended 10 years ago today, and it’s time to revive it… the previous Harriers here used to lay trails in Vingis park and included many Lithuanians and others. It was part of the worldwide network of independent Harriers clubs, and they can still be found e.g. in Talinn today. Many clubs have stupid “traditional” ceremonies but these are not mandatory 

The Vilnius Harriers is a social group especially for newcomers, although usually locals like it too. The annual winter dinner will be at Sue’s Indian Raja, as was always traditional!

The club combines an informal social network for newcomers and old locals alike, plus orienteering / hiking / an outdoor kids’ game 路藍

It’s an amateur CO-OPERATIVE team sport based on the old English game of Hare & Hounds. It’s played more for fun and activity than for competition or a high level of “professional” fitness. It builds the character traits of
– independence & resilience
– teamwork & communication
– perseverance & leadership
– curiosity & exploration
– social skills & maybe even tolerance
– and the all important sense of humour!

Each month, one or two members, called “hares” set a trail, using harmless flour or chalk, usually in the woods or a park, and then the whole “pack” tries to follow. When the trail stops, the “hounds” try different directions, yelling “checking!”, and once the trail is found, shouts of “on on!” bring the pack back together.

This gives slower hounds time to catch up, so you do NOT need to be a fast runner – or any kind of runner.

At the end of the trail are refreshments, supported by a team fund. Everyone contributes, everyone benefits! We can teach you how to lay trails, and new members will be ready to hare after 1 or 2 trails!

It’s a tried and true way to make friends, get rid of stress, laugh and have fun, stay active, and get to know your city – often better than other people who have lived here their whole lives.

The club will initially be family-friendly, meaning trails will be easy enough for kids (they MUST have their parents!). As membership grows we can add an adults-only trail too.

If this sounds good get in touch. We need about 5 or 10 more families to have a launch party!

Now as a bonus to anyone who read this far, the original constitution dated 1950:

• To promote physical fitness among our members

• To get rid of weekend hangovers

• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer

• To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

Strangely, even though harriers clubs have an old tradition going back many generations, they are still new to many people. Why is that? And why should we bring back this new / old sport today, especially for and with our kids?

Harriers run together in a game called Hare and Hounds. The hares lay a trail for the hounds to follow and catch them. It’s a reanactment of a hunt in playful form.

• It’s a team game. Kids learn cooperation, patience, team spirit, generosity, and communication.
• It’s cooperative, so kids learn that winning does not have to mean beating other people. There is a sense of solidarity, not “us against them”.
• Kids learn creativity and problem solving in a real world environment, very unlike the “safe” but often really dangerous world of rules-heavy, artificial “professional sports”.
• It’s informal, amateur, and volunteer-led. Kids learn the value taking initiative, donating time and effort for the good of our friends and ultimately ourselves.
• It’s just for fun! Although we reward ourselves for a good run, there are no prizes for “performance”, whatever that is, but there are plenty of opportunities for a sense of humour, creativity, and shared entertainment.
• It’s natural, people run, jog, or walk at their own pace. Kids learn to know their limits and pay attention to their own physique, not aiming for some arbitrary measure of “success”.

Not a lot of people know this but there was a hash house harriers club in Vilnius up until 2011. They took a 10 year break, but this year, hashing is back in Vilnius!

We are starting up again, after a few false starts, as a family-friendly hash house horrors (kids!) run, every month, on the 3rd Saturday.

The first trail was set by the grandmaster of VH3, grandpa. After meeting in the glamorous car park with the wrecked car

The trail went straight up a vertical incline AKA cliff, and the proceeded to disappear.

Some of the kids from the 3 families who actually turned up (one family was too late to run but did a great job of helping eat the snacks and drinks) found trace amounts of flour but grandpa insisted on running back about 4 or 5 times before just giving up and running blind, making this the least fair check in hash history.

We eventually found the end ofnthe trail and somehow ran it backwards.

So much for the brilliant checks and trail plan, but the generally very sporty kids made short work even of the long cuts down by the Neris river and through the woods, villages, and light shiggy.

We need to get some more hares for next time so please contact us at h3heretic@gmail.com to volunteer.