Hashing: A drinking club with a running problem?
- Mar 6, 2018
- 2 min read
Have you tried Hashing?
Originating in Kuala Lumpur in 1938, hashing is based on the old public school hare and hounds paper chase.
A hash blends running with orienteering as groups of "hounds" chase a "hare". The trail is set by the hare using non-permanent materials such as chalk, sawdust or flour. The pack follows this trail and uses co-operation and teamwork to regain the trail wherever it disappears.
Image: London Hash House Harriers
The trail itself is only constrained by the immediate environment, and the hare's imagination. It could take the pack through streets and footpaths, parks and forests, swamps, jungle, car parks, hotel lobbies and more!
A hash welcomes all abilities, so routes often contain checkpoints, false starts, dead ends and loops to allow slower members to catch up with the elite cheetahs.
Every hashing run ends at the designated pub where the group gathers together and observe certain traditions, including punishing individuals for misdemeanours, either real or imagined where those selected "consume the contents of his or her drinking vessel or risk pouring the remaining contents on his or her cranium".
Image: West London Hash House Harriers
At your first hash, you can be expected to be introduced to a hasher with a bizarre name such as ‘Martian Matron’, ‘Boy Blunder’ or ‘Bulldozer’. These are hash names.
"You can’t choose your own hash name. Names are earned, and behind every name there is a story," the London Hash website explains.
The London Hash House Harriers hold weekly events. They currently run on weekends, meeting at noon. In the summer they run on Monday evenings, meeting at 7 PM. Each trail is from a different location, all accessible by tube or train. Their trails go through a variety of terrains, followed by plenty of drinking and socialising.
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