. The Hash House Harriers is a social club of runners
that have been described as, "a drinking club with a
running problem." Ex-pat British businessmen,
accountants, lawyers, civil servants, etc., started the Hash
in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It is a social club based on the old English game of hares
and hounds where one or two members would be given
several minutes head start and would drop shredded
paper as the "scent." The hounds would then follow, after
the prescribed time, and attempt to catch the hares. The
hares would lay the trail in a straight or obvious line, but
then would stop laying trail and run off in another direction
and begin laying the trail after 100 meters or so. When
the hounds discovered that they were no longer on trail,
they would fan out in all directions in search of the "scent"
and would call to the others when the trail was once again
discovered.
The founder of the Hash, A. S. "G" Gispert, in 1937
discovered the Springgit Harriers, one of the paperchase
clubs in Malacca. He introduced Ronald "Torch" Bennett
to the concept and the stage was set.
When "G" returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1938, he became
a member of the Federated Malay States Volunteer
Reserves, which trained on Mondays. "G" and many of
the other ex-pat Brits were housed in barracks in the
Royal Selangor Club where he and "Torch" would often
discuss starting a harrier club in Kuala Lumpur.
Finally in about December of 1938, "G" convinced about
a dozen others to follow his inaugural paper trail. Gispert
then suggested the name of Hash House Harriers in
mock allusion to the mess at the Selangor Club, where
many of them dined. The runs were held Monday
evenings after reserve training and were followed by
refreshment of Tiger beer.
A.S."G" Gispert was killed in battle defending Singapore
from the Japanese at 0400 hours 11 February 1942. The
HASH has grown from those humble beginnings to
include thousands of chapters and tens of thousands of
hashers worldwide.
Much of the information presented above comes from
the book "On On! Run #2 Hash House Harriers
1938-1992" by Harrier International and the late Tim
"Magic" Hughes, Phhh.D.
that have been described as, "a drinking club with a
running problem." Ex-pat British businessmen,
accountants, lawyers, civil servants, etc., started the Hash
in 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It is a social club based on the old English game of hares
and hounds where one or two members would be given
several minutes head start and would drop shredded
paper as the "scent." The hounds would then follow, after
the prescribed time, and attempt to catch the hares. The
hares would lay the trail in a straight or obvious line, but
then would stop laying trail and run off in another direction
and begin laying the trail after 100 meters or so. When
the hounds discovered that they were no longer on trail,
they would fan out in all directions in search of the "scent"
and would call to the others when the trail was once again
discovered.
The founder of the Hash, A. S. "G" Gispert, in 1937
discovered the Springgit Harriers, one of the paperchase
clubs in Malacca. He introduced Ronald "Torch" Bennett
to the concept and the stage was set.
When "G" returned to Kuala Lumpur in 1938, he became
a member of the Federated Malay States Volunteer
Reserves, which trained on Mondays. "G" and many of
the other ex-pat Brits were housed in barracks in the
Royal Selangor Club where he and "Torch" would often
discuss starting a harrier club in Kuala Lumpur.
Finally in about December of 1938, "G" convinced about
a dozen others to follow his inaugural paper trail. Gispert
then suggested the name of Hash House Harriers in
mock allusion to the mess at the Selangor Club, where
many of them dined. The runs were held Monday
evenings after reserve training and were followed by
refreshment of Tiger beer.
A.S."G" Gispert was killed in battle defending Singapore
from the Japanese at 0400 hours 11 February 1942. The
HASH has grown from those humble beginnings to
include thousands of chapters and tens of thousands of
hashers worldwide.
Much of the information presented above comes from
the book "On On! Run #2 Hash House Harriers
1938-1992" by Harrier International and the late Tim
"Magic" Hughes, Phhh.D.
| WESTSIDE HASH HOUSE HARRIERS |
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