Running with Mother Hash

Runners with the Mother Hash chapter usually have to go through thick undergrowth, swamps, streams, steep hills and even waterfalls.

Here’s an outdoor activity where cross-country runs through jungles, swamps, streams and steep hills are rewarded with lots of camaraderie and liquid joys.

FAST-PACED and stressful are not exactly the first words that come to mind when trying to describe the running ritual with the oldest Hash House Harriers (HHH) chapter in the world. But those words come pretty close.

This chapter, affectionately known as “Mother Hash”, is an all-male grouping that promises members and guests an honest-to-goodness run every Monday, come rain or shine.

Unless you have experienced running with them, you may never be able to appreciate the true meaning of hashing and the wonders it can do to your body and soul.

The pace is brisk and the stress level can be high if you are unable to keep up. Although hashing is not, strictly speaking, a competitive race; one’s ego is at stake and so the runners try their level best to be one of the early finishers. To do this you have to give everything you’ve got.

Although hashing is not a race, runners will often try their best to finish ahead.

Membership of Mother Hash is strictly for men. For the mixed (male and female) hash chapters, the pace and intensity are much more moderate than what one experiences in a Mother Hash run.

The original running event has a colourful history. The idea was to mimic the British-style chase of the hare-and-hounds. But instead of chasing animals, it was decided to do a “paper chase” (see 75th anniversary Hash bash).

A few hours before the run, a “hare” is sent to a predetermined venue where he lays a eight to 10km long trail with bits of paper, ie, the “paper trail”. Some of the common run sites are around Broga, Hulu Langat, Bukit Subang, Rawang, Lembah Beringin, Ulu Yam, Semenyih and Bukit Beruang (all in Selangor) as well as Bentong, Pahang; places which are all approximately an hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur.

The carefully planned run will take you through the finest “Hash country” with rubber plantations, oil palm estates and secondary jungle serving as the backdrop. Runners will have to go through thick undergrowth, swamps, streams, steep hills and even waterfalls! Endurance with Mother Hash involves both running stamina as well as the ability to maintain composure while going through mosquito and leech-infested country. These have become part and parcel of the tough but challenging weekly ritual.

To spice up the trails, “checks” are laid to slow down the fast front runners and to enable the slower ones to catch up with the pack. On seeing the checks (indicated by a cluster of paper bits), the frontrunners have to search for the continuation of the trail, usually laid about 100 metres away. With all these extras, the hare is usually assisted by “co-hares” .

In the earlier days, they also had to watch out for snakes, especially cobras, but these slithery creatures are rarities nowadays. Runners cry out “On! On!” to indicate that they are “on” the paper trail, but given the trials and tribulations that they have to endure en route, it has become something of a battle cry to encourage everyone to keep moving ON!

To further slow down the front runners, false trails are laid where the paper trail simply peters out, resulting in a wild goose chase. By the time the front runners find the correct paper trail for the continuation of the run, many of the back runners would have arrived at the check and perhaps even had time to take a breather.

Sometimes, the back runners get lost because they are unable to find the connecting trail and may have to find their own way home. Hence it is good to keep up with the main pack.

An average Mother Hash run takes about 60 to 90 minutes to complete, while the back runners arrive within the hour, by which time it is already dark as the runs usually start at 6pm. Cases of hashers getting lost in the jungle are common especially if they try to take shortcuts off the paper trail.

A hash run is not a race as there are no prizes for those who complete the trail early, except bragging rights! Everyone is a winner if he completes the entire run (and does not shortcut).

There’s little doubt about the whole run being a strenuous and stressful one as you have to keep pace with the main pack or else end up being left behind.

But at the end of the run, you will realise what a fantastic workout you have had – an indescribable feeling that money cannot buy. The adrenaline just keeps flowing and the weekend excesses are taken care off!

Hashing clubs like Mother Hash are more than running or jogging associations. Their main aim is not only to give members a good workout but to provide an avenue for fun, friendship and social contacts.

The “merry making” occurs before, during, and immediately after the run where they are amply rewarded with water, isotonic or soft drinks and, perhaps most famously, what Hashers refer to as “the yellow nectar”: beer.

However, probably about 20% of Hashers don’t drink alcohol, perhaps to avoid putting back calories into their bodies after doing all that hard work!

After a quick impromptu shower (hashers come prepared with water containers) and a change of clothes, the runners gather in a circle and reminisce about the run over drinks.

The hares and co-hares for the run will be “hauled up” and thanked the Hash way by having to down one bottle of beer each! The same treatment is also meted out to guests and “sinners” who have broken rules!

Sometimes the hare throws a small makan (meal) at the site, in other cases the hashers go to a nearby restaurant to have dinner and continue their merry making.

Rich rewards accrue to those who stick it out long enough – great stamina, overall fitness, and feelings of self-satisfaction. Many men also claim that their intimate lives have improved significantly! All this explains why hashers don’t mind driving for an hour or two to get to and back from the run sites. The rewards are just overwhelming.

On! On!

The homepage of Mother Hash is www.motherhash.com while the Facebook page is “Mother Hash”.

Dr Pola was a former active Hashman and a front runner too; at his peak he was a member of five chapters running every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Mother Hash opened a new world for him. He would brave the foulest weather and most terrible traffic jams to get his weekly quota of exercise.

He was rough, tough and developed an enviable physique. Unlike many Hashers, he didn’t drink, a practise that led to him being ridiculed at the Royal Selangor Club since “his people” are known to hold their alcohol well!

Nowadays, he can be seen running up the hills of Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, almost every day.

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