They’re Making A Beer Run Hashers Around The World Have A Grand Time Participating In Modern Version Of Hare And Hounds

It’s the middle of December and most runners and running clubs have hung up their running shoes for the winter, relegating their workouts to indoor gyms.

Not so the Hash House Harriers.

This social running club holds events year-round. But these aren’t races, necessarily. They are more like games, where people are discouraged from winning and encouraged to have fun and meet people. And best of all, there are no rules, except you must be at least 21 years old.

“It’s a combination of orienteering and a party,” hasher Don Chase said. “It’s non-competitive and the concept is to have fun.

This is how these events work: Everybody lines up at the starting line, with none of the runners knowing the course except one designated as the “hare.” The hare takes off first and marks his trail by dropping flour. A few minutes later, the rest of the pack takes off and follows the flour droppings to a checkpoint, the first of two or three on the 4-6-mile course.

From there, it gets interesting. The hare marks three different trails from checkpoint one, but only one is correct. The other two are dead ends.

The runners take off in all three directions, working as a team. When one of the groups figures it’s on the correct trail, members blow a whistle twice, or yell, “On, on!”

“In some ways, it is like hide and seek,” Chase said.

This continues for additional checkpoints. At some of the checkpoints and at the end, the hashers have a “down down.” The runners enjoy 12 ounces of their favorite beverage, usually beer.

Hence the hashers nickname: “Drinkers with a running problem.”

“Some people may view this as a drinking club, but it is too much work to just drink beer,” Chase said. “People who just want to run a race or just drink beer wouldn’t have fun. It’s a social thing.”

In fact, someone who actually tries to treat it like a running competition and runs too fast, is rewarded with a pink sweatshirt to single them out as a party-pooper.

These events are conducted everywhere - through malls, around cities, and across rivers - but Chase adds, “We try to stay on public property.”

All hashers have nicknames because the concept is to get away from everyday life. The runners are also not permitted to talk about work or running races or they will be punished by the Grand Master, the president of the club.

“We all kind of have a rugby mentality,” Chase said. “And we’re not always politically correct.”

Hashing began in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when a few friends decided running was too boring. So they decided to make it a game by dropping flour and paper, laying trails across the countryside, adding false trails and loopbacks.

Then they rewarded those who completed the course with beer. The stories differ, but those beers were supposedly consumed at hash houses, the Far East’s version of a cafe, and the Hash House Harriers were born.

There are more than 100,000 hashers today in more than 1,200 hashes (groups) in 130 countries around the world. In the United States, Washington, D.C., is the hashing capital, with nine groups.

The Spokane hashers number more than 40, with at least 20 at any given event. There are both men and women, ranging in age from 21 to the mid-60s.

Hashers are like fans of the Grateful Dead - wherever they travel, they’re always welcome into other hashing groups for a run.

“I can go anywhere in the world, get out my laptop, go to the hashing home page on the World Wide Web and call up that group’s phone number to find out when they are running,” Chase said. “I’ve done it in Seattle and Malaysia.

“For people who like mild exercise and to be social, it’s great.”

The next local hash is Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College. For more information, contact Chase at 838-6564.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: HASHING TERMS Hashing: A 4-to-6-mile run, often through briars and streams, based on the old hare-and-hound chase. Runners follow a trail laid out by a “hare.” The Hash: The collective bunch of misfits making up individual hash groups. Harrier: Male hasher. Harriett: Female hasher. Hash: White flour or flour/shredded paper mix used to mark the course. Jell-O is added for color if there’s snow on the ground. On, On: Words used to inform those behind you that you are definitely on the true trail. Down, Down: Twelve ounces of your favorite beverage. Once you start to drink, you are expected to finish it all. If not, you pour it on your head. Source: USA Today