Seven continents<\/strong><\/p>\nThe club which organises Hash Runs, with participants calling themselves Hashers, Hares and Hounds, currently has more than 1500 members.<\/p>\n
Internationally, beer remains an integral part of a Hash, though the balance between running and drinking differs between each branch, with some groups placing more focus on socialising and others on running. World Hash currently has 1,700 branches spanning the seven continents and most major cities have at least one branch.<\/p>\n
John Kanyarati, a Grand Master at Nairobi Hash also known as NH3 says each club is managed by the MisManagement team which consists of the Grand Masters (GM), a ceremonial leader of the hash and other individuals with various duties and titles.<\/p>\n
Hashers at the NH3 meet every Monday for the weekly run and organise events within and out of the city on different occasions. Kanyarati says apart from the Monday runs, the group holds other runs in Nairobi and tops them up with more in different parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The most recent activity was the Nairobi -Naivasha relay that takes place every October.<\/p>\n
In the Nairobi-Naivasha run the hashers divide themselves into different teams and compete in the over 80-kilometre run through ragged village terrains to the outskirts of Naivasha town.<\/p>\n
‘Those running are left to start the run while the rest of the hashers move in vehicles to where the runners will end their relay to cheer them up,’ says Kanyarati.<\/p>\n
Yusuf Andoyi, one of the officials of the Nairobi Hash club says, the next activity will be the run of the full moon early next month that will take place around Karen at night.<\/p>\n
‘Every hasher will be required to have a spotlight for the run that takes place every November,’ says Andoyi.<\/p>\n
During the runs, one or more members (Hares) lay a trail, which is then followed by the remainder of the group (the Hounds).<\/p>\n
Kenny Nyaboga, a recorder with the group says the trail often includes false trails, short cuts, dead ends, and splits.<\/p>\n
Nyaboga says the reason for this is to ensure that all hashers keep together regardless of fitness levels or running speed, as front-runners are forced to slow down to find the real trail therefore allowing the laggards to catch up.<\/p>\n
At the end of a trail, all the runners get an opportunity to socialise, have a drink and observe traditions of the hash at a nearby restaurant.<\/p>\n
“Members continue socialising at the finish point where a social gathering takes place, new members are welcomed in style, sinners (those who went against the rules of the run) are punished,” says Nyaboga.<\/p>\n
Down-to-down<\/strong><\/p>\nThe transgressions include failing to stop at the water check, pointing with a finger, or the use of real names.<\/p>\n
Hashers who wear new shoes to an event may be required to drink from that shoe. The social event also recognises individuals for outstanding service or for their status as a visitor or newcomer.<\/p>\n
In many branches internationally, candidates who have been sentenced to consume a down-down sit on a large block of ice as they await the completion of the down-down song.<\/p>\n
Depending on the extent of the offence that resulted in the down-down, the hasher may be subjected to a long song with many verses to keep them sitting on the ice.<\/p>\n
No membership fee<\/strong><\/p>\nKanyarati says the use of real names during a hash is discouraged and members are typically given a “hash name,” usually in reference to a particularly notorious escapade, a personality trait, or their physical appearance.<\/p>\n
Andoyi says the naming of a hasher is focused on innuendo and some go out of their way to make the name as bawdy, offensive or politically-incorrect as possible.<\/p>\n
In the Nairobi Hash, which pools together people from all classes and ages, top lawyers, business people, old people, obese and weaker runners, those who cannot run the entire 10 kilometre race every Monday get shorter and easier trails.<\/p>\n
Generally, the NH3 weekly runs are open to the public and require no reservation or membership but members pay Sh150 for a run, a small fee, referred to as hash cash, to cover the costs incurred on food and drinks at the end of the run.<\/p>\n
According to the World Hash House Harriers website, hashing began in December 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when a group of British colonial officers and expatriates began meeting on Monday evenings to run. Albert Stephen, Ignatius Gispert, Cecil Lee, Frederick “Horse” Thomson, Ronald “Torch” Bennett and John Woodrow are listed as the original members.<\/p>\n
They would run in a fashion patterned after the traditional British Paper Chase or “Hare and Hounds”, to rid themselves of the excesses of the previous weekend. Having met for several months, they were informed by the Registrar of Societies in Malaysia that as a “group,” they would require a Constitution and an official name. Harriers” after the Selangor Club Annex, known as the “Hash House” for its notoriously monotonous food.<\/p>\n
Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and finding the trail, harriers reaching the end of the trail would be rewarded with beer.The Constitution of the World Hash House Harriers is recorded on a club registration card dated 1950:<\/p>\n
It states that, the groups seeks to promote physical fitness among members, to get rid of weekend hangovers, to acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer, to persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel.<\/p>\n
Hashing died out during World War II after the invasion of Malaya, but was re-started after the war by most of the original group, minus Gispert, who was killed in 1942 with the Japanese invasion of Singapore. Apart from a “one-off” chapter formed on the Italian Riviera by Gus Mackie, growth of Hashing remained small until 1962, when Ian Cumming founded a chapter in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The idea then spread through the Far East, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and North America, booming in popularity during the mid-1970s. During the setting of a run, which is held in different places in the city, the hares mark their trail with chalk, with special marks used to indicate a false trail, a back track, a shortcut, or a turn. Kanyarati says the most commonly used mark is a Check, indicating that hashers will have to search in any direction to find the continuation of the trail.<\/p>\n
The Nairobi hash trails pass through shaggy terrain including back alleys, residential areas, city streets, forests, swamps, or shopping malls. The hashers are often encouraged to shout, whistle or carry horns to communicate with each other.<\/p>\n
One of the hashers, Patrick Namwamba, says hashing has given him an opportunity to run and exercise in the busy city.”I have managed to remain fit because of running 10 kilometres every week in this busy city,” he says.<\/p>\n
Claire Muigai said the hash runs help her keep fit as she has fun with the group.<\/p>\n
“This is the opportunity I have always wanted because I exercise while having fun,” she says.<\/p>\n
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Business Daily (Nairobi) Jacob Ng’etich 1 December 2011 In case you are wondering what this is all about, welcome to the Nairobi Hash House Harriers, a group of socialites where physical fitness meets social ‘madness’. The group of runners includes middle class and senior people in the corporate world including Kitili Mbathi CEO Kenya Tourist Board, Caroli Omondi of PM’s office, Nairobi lawyer, Ambrose Rachier among many others. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
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