The Hash House Harriers is an international network of social running clubs. Although the club's core purpose is running, heavy emphasis is placed on the social aspect. The main aim of members is to have fun. This means that the weekly runs are usually followed by drinking fair amounts of alcohol. Though non-drinkers are also warmly welcomed. Members jokingly call themselves "a drinking club with a running problem".
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History and traditions
The Hash House Harriers were first formed by British colonialists in Malaysia in 1938. Since then the concept has spread all over the world and there are now thousands of clubs worldwide.
The Hash House Harriers have all sorts of traditions, most of which come with the aim of being as deliberately silly as possible. After having hashed for some time, everyone receives a pseudonym or "Hash name". These are often a play on words - frequently with juvenile innuendo - relating to something embarassing or trivial that the runner has done. The names are chosen for you, you don't get to pick one yourself.
Clubs in Germany
In Germany there are active groups in Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt (http://www.frankfurt-hash.de/), Hamburg, Munich, NRW, and elsewhere. The clubs are a mix of English-speaking expatriates and local Germans. Both languages are spoken although English is usually more dominant. All nationalities are welcome and encouraged to join. Each regional group operates fairly independently and has its own schedule of events, but the groups frequently meet up for joint "running" holidays and adventures. In particular, every second year hashers from around the world meet up for "Interhash", an event which attracts thousands of hashers from around the globe. On alternate years, Eurpoean (and some non-European) hashers meet up for "Eurohash" held somewhere in Europe. In addition, many countries have national runs every year, often referred to as a "nash-hash".
Munich
The Munich branch of the Hash House Harriers is quite an active club. They have around 100 members. The runs take place every second Saturday and there are usually around 20 members on each run. Naturally the numbers are higher when the weather is good.
- Munich Hash House Harriers - up-to-date info on the next run
- Munich Hash House Harriers - the Munich club's own website
Dresden
The Dresden Hash House Harriers was founded in November 2005 and has 28 members (as of August 2006). Website: Dresden Hash
Rhine area
- Combined Rhine Area Pack (C.R.A.P.) House Harriers - the website for Düsseldorf, Cologne and Bonn
External links
- Hash House Harriers - the global website
- Hash House Harriers - Wikipedia article