by Kristen V. Brown

Swigging back PBR and chanting old English pub songs, a group of 30 or so sweaty runners look conspicuous in a scarcely populated downtown bar on a Sunday afternoon. One runner is summoned to the center of the circle and issued a punishment: drinking beer from her running shoes for the crime of sporting a new pair.

Confused? It’s “a running club with a drinking problem,” explains Tim Reed, Joint Master of running group NYC’s Hash House Harriers, one of four “hashes” in greater Gotham. Once a week the group meets to hash — an exercise that, boiled down, involves an extended run from one bar to another, beginning and ending (naturally) with beer.

Running + Beer = Hashing

When the sport was first founded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, circa 1938, the main goals of hashing’s British expatriate founders was to burnish hangovers and get a little fresh air.

The sport hasn’t changed much since: The goal of contemporary Hashers is less to sculpt the perfect bod and more to hang out and have a good time.

“It isn’t a race,” said Richard Frear, or “Rude Boy,” by his hashing nickname. “It’s about the ability to get out and get some exercise, but also to meet people and have some fun.”

“I love running,” said Ianthe Dugan, a frequent Hash House Harrier, “But this is a different sort of thing entirely.”

How to Hash

Every run is a little different, but the basics remain the same. One hasher, dubbed the “hare,” sets a trail ahead of time, using chalk, or flour in foul weather. The trails are often complex, winding over bridges, off trails in places like Central Park or through busy Manhattan intersections.

Half of the fun is finding the trail — runners meet at a bar (the “On-In” in hashing) to “pre-lube” (read: drink) and then take off in search of the trail. After four or five miles, the trail leads to the “In-In,” a second bar where runners essentially imbibe until the pool of money runs out. At each In-In, the group holds a circle where memorable hash moments are “awarded” — for events like running the wrong way or showing up to run in new kicks.

Today, hashing is a global addiction. “Wherever you travel there’s probably a hash,” says Heather, aka “Hot Rod,” a hasher who wished to not disclose her full name. “It’s a good way to meet people immediately, and a really different way to see a city.” The NYC Hash House Harriers often have tourists as guests on their runs, and several runners have hashed in places ranging from Oregon and D.C. to China and Australia.

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