On
On
Hashing Combines Run and Fun
The
Post-Standard
August 10, 1998
By Dr Kamal Jabbour, Contributing Writer
Hashing traces
its origins back to the 1930s, when a group of
British civil servants organized a series of fun runs
in Kuala Lumpur. Those harriers viewed running as a
way to socialize in between drinks. They started and
finished their runs at the Royal Selangor Club
Chambers, nicknamed the Hash House for its tasteless
food, thus referring to themselves as the Hash House
Harriers.
After the end
of World War II, the practice of hashing spread
throughout Southeast Asia, and was brought home to
the rest of the world by returning soldiers. The
close relationship between hashing and drinking
brought a new definition to a hash club as a
"drinking club with a running problem."
Hashing is
loosely modeled after the English game of hares and
hounds. Before the start of a hash, a runner receives
the designation of hare, and is given a reasonable
head start. The hare is expected to mark a trail with
flour or chalk for the hounds to follow. The hounds
follow the trail, usually a few miles long, and
always ending at a tavern. There, the runners
celebrate by drinking, which is their reason for
running in the first place.
The only rule
of hashing is that there are no rules. The hare can
trace a trail through city streets, shopping centers,
parks, swamps, cow pastures, and even storm water
tunnels. The hounds follow because there may be beer
on the way, and there is always beer at the end.
As the hounds
in the chase pack follow the trail, they shout their
distinctive cry On-On. That cry indicates that they
have found the trail, and alerts the hare of their
approach. The hare's goal is to reach the finish
tavern before the hounds, to avoid the embarrassment
of getting caught.
If the hounds
catch up with the hare, tradition requires him to sit
bare butt on a block of ice in the tavern while the
victorious hares celebrate and drink. The hare gets a
larger lead and another chance to plan a trail the
following week at the next hash. If, on the other
hand, the hare makes it back to the tavern safely,
then the last finisher among the hounds assumes hare
duties.
The run itself
is a community effort, with the whole group working
together on finding the trail and catching the hare.
A clever hare plans a trail that goes through several
taverns, giving the hounds additional beer stops and
himself more time to avoid capture. When a route
forks and the flour marks are unclear, the hounds
split in two or more groups to search for the next
mark, and reassemble at the shout of On-On when one
group finds the mark.
Often enough, a
hasher makes the news by being arrested on suspicion
of possessing a controlled substance. Concerned
citizens observing a man throwing handfuls of white
powder rush to lock their dogs and cats indoors, and
call the police, mistaking the flour for rat poison,
or worse. Invariably, the hasher is released, after
diverting the hash trail through a public safety
building or a police station.
Each Hash House
Harriers club has its own character that evolves with
the character of its members. Some clubs use live
hares exclusively, meaning that the hare must mark
the trail on the run. Other clubs allow the hare to
plan and mark the trail in advance, then run it
without the burden of flour sacks.
Another of the
rituals of hashing involves the selection of a hash
name, used to conceal the identity of hashers in news
reports and club newsletters. A hasher gets a hash
name after completing five runs, although some
hashers qualify sooner by doing something really
stupid. Hash names may refer to prominent body
features describing the hasher, such as Hot Buns or
Stick Legs, or describe a hasher's unusual stupidity,
as in Cow Brains.
In Syracuse,
hashers have organized as the On-On-Dog-A Hash House
Harriers. They hold occasional hash runs at unusual
times and odd places. Look them up on the web, if you
care to join them, or just keep an eye for flour
marks at your neighborhood corners.
Kamal
Jabbour prefers computer code hashing. His RUNNING
Column appears in The Post-Standard on Mondays. He
maintains The Syracuse Running Page and receives
email at [email protected].
Copyright (c)
1998 The Herald Company