September 16 will see the tenth major Isle of Wight hash house harriers running event - and this one will involve a whopping 180 participants and span nearly 20 miles, from Egypt Point to St Catherine's Lighthouse.

Among those taking part in the Great NorthSouth R#n will be Richard Pearson, who has been a so-called hasher for over twenty years.

This former soldier once received a medal for running a marathon in Berlin, when it was still divided by the wall, before moving to the Isle of Wight in 1995.

In his own words, here's how he came to be involved...

In 2001, my dear friend, Les Keeling, invited me to join a running group called the Hash House Harriers.

Life changed immediately.

I was off all around the world 'hashing', as it is known, and my first visit overseas run was in 2002, in India.

Nine years later a fellow hasher said: "Wouldn’t it be good to do a run from the north to the south of the Isle of Wight?"

Having formed my own club by this time - the Vectis Lunatic Full Moon hash house harriers, which meets monthly, on the Wednesday evening closest to the full moon - I decided to take on the task.

I approached Cherry Shannon, herself a hasher and Ryde Harrier, to help design a course which excluded the centre of Newport and added in a pub or two en-route.

It would allow participants to have a comfort break and a glass of something (for hydration).

A hash is not a race. Instead, it is based on the traditional paperchase and, I might add, the worldwide community of hash house harriers always go to a bar after a run, to socialise.

We carried out a recce of the route in 2011, when about ten of us ran the 19.6 miles, complete with a map and Cherry leading the way.

I instantly knew it was going to be a real challenge, but also a great day out for runners from all different clubs.

In 2012,  I organised an event based at Ventnor Rugby Club and a couple of other club runners came along too.

Then, I decided to open it up to everyone on the Isle of Wight. The 'it’s not a race' mantra became our motto - everyone would wear the same shirt.

By 2014, about 40 people were taking part part.

With the exception of 2020, due to Covid-19, the event has taken place every year since then and places - usually 150 - are filled very quickly.

For 2023, I have increased that to 180 and all have been taken.

There are no marshals.

Instead, runners follow a trail laid with markings of chalk and wood shavings, set by a team of seven people on the evening before the event.

At each pub, we station a checking-in team, to ensure nobody gets lost.

With September 16 fast approaching, I am hoping we have good weather and everyone involved has a great time!