Do You Hash?

Monday night I had the pleasure of joining my team-Zmates for the newest team activity…hashing. I’d heard of it before, and there have been rave reviews of the latest addition to the team calendar, so I decided to check it out.

Not being much of a drinker (okay, I don’t really drink at all) I have shied away from hashing before. From what I heard, you drink beer during and after the run, and there are all kinds of esoteric traiditions and vocabulary involved. Yet, I kept seeing all of these messages saying how much fun the first few hashes were, and how it is fun even if you don’t drink, so “what the heck, why not?” I thought.

I showed up to PRR on this very cold past Monday night dressed in five layers on top (well six: sports bra, long sleeves shirt, short sleeved shirt, two more long sleeved tops, fleece vest) for which I was called out later.  It was a chilly and windy 31 degrees.

Then we learned to deal. Basically, you run around with the group and attempt to find the trail (which is just the route, mostly on paved streets/sidewalks and occassionally over grass). Someone has gone out ahead of time and marked the trail with dollops of flour and chalk. Without going into detail, you run along and try to figure out the correct course, which can sometimes be tricky. Along the way, there are marking that indicate beer is near (BN) or shot check (SC).

It was really fun! The best part is that during the hash, you’re not really thinking about how much further you have to run or how long you’ve been going. You’re looking for trail signs and trying to figure out if that mound is flour or snow. It was a great change of pace from the usual boring run. I might be hooked.

Afterwards, everyone gather for beverages, “orange food” (i.e., cheezits, Doritos, and other such yumminess) and revelry. This includes some drinking games and the calling out of strange or inappropriate behavior such as wearing race paraphenalia or new shoes (from which you are forced to drink).

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, chips and juicy-bevies which may or may not contain alcohol, whatever the quantity, are not sufficient post-run nutrition. This I learned when I woke up hungry at 1 am. Doh! Maybe I need more chips next time.


For more about hashing, check out this Wikipedia article.