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When you think of runners, visions of lithe-bodied alphas
who see fitness as religion come to mind: Beer guts don't.
Your pretty picture is about to be trampled by a vulgar
new breed of runner: The Oregon Hash House Harriers, a local
chapter of an international organization dedicated to running
and drinking beer.
"Our runs are the worst. We'll run anywhere. We've gone
through the mud, we've run through toxic waste. Up and down
the escalators at Nordstrom's." So says a card-carrying
member of the Harriers whose code name rhymes with Snow
Job. Many hashers use aliases to avoid embarrassing colleagues
or their more-respectable neighbors and spouses. But don't
get me wrong, the Harriers are a proud, nonconformist people.
The self-described "drinkers with a running problem" meet
once or twice a month.
The origins of the hash date back to 1938, when British
soldiers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, started a "hares and
hounds" running group to purge their morning hangovers.
The vigorous runs ended at the pub, or "hash house," followed
by a nice cold ale. Today there are thousands of Hash Harriers
all over the globe, but Oregon's dedicated Hashers want
their state to be chosen for America's Interhash in 2003.
A modern hash is set up along a few simple guidelines.
The appointed "hares" lay the trail beforehand, in the woods
or an industrial part of town. The tricky hares will leave
signs en route to guide the runners, or "harriers." The
harriers then take off down the trail in search of the markers
left by the hares.
The group of runners may have to split at points along
the path in search of the right way. Once the other harriers
alert them with a yell or the blow of a whistle that they're
on the wrong path, the disoriented runners double back until
they find on the right trail. One of the many signs a harrier
could come across during the course of a run is "BC," or
"beer check." This instructs the thirsty harrier to pull
off the trail for a quick one. At the run's conclusion,
the harriers sing songs and, of course, drink beer.
So the next time you're out in the woods enjoying a little
quiet contemplation and you hear a lot of whooping, hollering
and burping, it's probably the Oregon Hash House Harriers.
Unlike other local hashing groups, the OHHH isn't really
interested in a sanitized version of the Hash. "We're true
to the heritage," says Snow Job.
Hash House runs are usually held the second and fourth
Saturdays of each month and on the full moon.
To find out about hashing near you, check www.half-mind.com,
or call the hotline at (503) 321-5125 for late-breaking
information about upcoming runs.
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