Lesson I - What is Hashing? - Chicago Hash House Harriers

Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Lesson Outline
1. Who are the Hash House Harriers?
2. Where & how did hashing originate?
3. How did this little drinking & running club spread so far?
4. What’s the history of hashing in Chicago?
5. Review
6.Additional Reading & Links
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Who are the Hash House Harriers?
• The Hash House Harriers are an international non-competitive
running and social club
• Members of the club colloquially refer to themselves as
“hashers” (sometimes female members are referred to as
“harriettes"), events organized by the group are known as
“hashes,” & participating in said events is called “hashing”
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Who are the Hash House Harriers?
• Local chapters or “kennels” of the Hash House Harriers can be
found in most major cities worldwide
• Currently over 2,000 kennels in existence across all seven
continents
• Runners & walkers of all ability levels are welcome to join this
“Drinking club with a running problem”
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Where and how did hashing originate?
• Hashing has its roots in the classic British
paper chase game, which was sometimes
referred to as “hare and hounds”
• British paper chases have literary
references as far back as Elizabethan
England, but grew significantly in
popularity in the 1800s as a school game
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Where and how did hashing originate?
• One or more runners (the “hares”) receives
a head start and sets a trail for other runners
(the “hounds”) to follow
• The hares set false trails to confuse the
hounds and increase the likelihood of escape
• These games would give rise to the term
“harrier,” which is now used to refer to all
kinds of cross-country running
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Where and how did hashing originate?
• “Hashing” originated when a group of British expats
stationed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia began meeting
for weekend games of “Hare and Hounds” and
drinking in 1938
• When informed by the Registrar of Societies that they
qualified as a “group,” A.S. “G” Gispert suggested
they named themselves after the local club where they
all met, nicknamed the “Hash House” for its bland food
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Where and how did hashing originate?
• The Constitution of the Hash House Harriers has four
tenants:
1.To promote physical fitness among our members.
2.To get rid of weekend hangovers.
3.To acquire a good thirst and satisfy it with beer.
4.To persuade the older members that they are not as
old as they feel
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
How did Hashing spread?
• Hashing continued until the outbreak of
World War II and the Japanese invasion
of Malaysia with founder A.S. “G” Gispert
dying in battle
• Once hostilities ended, hashing
returned in 1946 but remained a
localized in Kuala Lampur for over a
decade
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
How did Hashing spread?
•In 1962 the second kennel was founded
in Singapore by expats who had
previous been stationed and hashed in
Kuala Lampur
• Thanks to the help of the Armed Forces,
hashing would continue to spread
throughout Southeast Asia and eventually
the world as expats returned home
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Hashing comes to Chicago
• The Chicago Hash House Harriers
were founded by Guy “Sir Guy of
Guy” Woodford and held their first trail
on June 19, 1978
• In addition to Chicago H3, there are
seven other kennels that hold trails at
least once a month in and around the
Chicagoland area
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Hashing comes to Chicago
Kennels in Chicago:
• Chicago H3 (weekly)
• Thirstday H3 (weekly)
• Second City H3 (bi-weekly)
• Full Moon H3 (monthly)
• First Crack of the Moon H3 (monthly)
• Big Dogs H3 (monthly)
• Bushman H3 (monthly)
• Whiskey Wednesday H3 (monthly)
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Review
•Hashing is a worldwide “drinking club with a running problem”
• Hashing originated in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia before World War II
and was based on a the classic British game “Hare & Hounds”
• Hashing spread throughout Southeast Asia in the 1960s and
worldwide in the 1970s thanks to the members of the Armed Forces
• The Chicago H3 was founded in 1978 and is one of eight kennels in
Chicagoland that meet at least once a month
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Additional Reading
• History of the Hash House Harriers (harrier.net)
• A Historical Review of the Hash House Harriers (gotothehash.net)
• A Brief History of Hashing (chicagohash.com)
• Hash House Harriers (Wikipedia)
• Half-Mind.com
• HashSpace
Lesson I: What is Hashing?
Chicago Hash Links
• Chicago H3
• Thirstday H3
• Second City H3
• HHH in Chicago (Moon, First Crack, & Bushman)
• Whiskey Wednesday H3
• Chicago H3 Facebook
• Chicago H3 Twitter
• Chicago H3 Meetup