Shana Kennedy Photo

Retiring for a post-hash drink at New Haven’s Anchor bar.

They can't say for sure where they hash, how often they do it or how exactly it's done. But that's not to say hashers don't have rules.

"The first rule of hashing is that there are no rules to hashing," says Shana Kennedy, a regular with New Haven Hash House Harriers. "Much of the culture of a hash depends on who started it and where it's located."

Hashing began before World War II in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when a group of expat British accountants decided they should do something healthy on a Monday night after a weekend of drinking. They decided on more drinking, preceded by non-competitive running.

Based on the English game of hare and hounds, its mission is for the hounds to catch the hare before it reaches a designated finish line. The hare originally marked a course with a trail of paper set by one member to be followed by the others. Over the years, paper gave way to chalk, wallboard and even flour.

"Hashes start with the hares who explain how it will work that day," says Kennedy. "Usually they will tell you a bit about the trail, some things to expect, what the markings look like and what they mean, if there are any special markings. When you come to a check mark, usually a circle or an X, you need to figure out where the rest of the trail is."

After a runner finds three marks in one direction, he or she yells "on-on!" so the pack will know where to go.

The trail may or may not have a beer stop along the way. It may end up at a bar, at someone's house or in a parking lot, but the conclusion will always involve beer, and often the singing of songs in a circle where people are called out for violations committed along the route.

"The key is the non-sport nature — words like 'rules' and 'win' are banned from the collective vocabulary, and even the word 'run' is frowned upon," says David Byron-Brown, a British expatriate residing in New York City who weekends in Branford and hashes in New Haven.

"The main attraction is social, and to some extent the predictability," he adds. "The self-improvement element central to most exercise is mostly absent as well. Any calories you might lose from doing the trail are quickly restored by beer or pizza."

Hashing hit the U.S. in the late 1970s, and New Haven in 2007. There are now some 2,000 hashing groups worldwide.

Kennedy and Daniel Salchow (along with an unnamed woman who has since fled to Florida) founded the New Haven chapter. Some hashers use their real names, but many never reveal their true identities.

Kennedy says roughly 10 hashers show up for any given hash. At the big events, 20 to 60 turn out. For professionals, hashing is often incorporated into business trips.

From time to time, despite the best unlaid plans, things go horribly wrong — such as the anthrax fiasco of September 2007.

Evidently, leaving white powdery substances out in public — in this case, the parking lot of the New Haven IKEA — can cause misunderstandings with law enforcement.

"The anthrax ordeal is really something we'd like to keep behind us," says Kennedy. "A huge misunderstanding between our trail-setting habits and the police resulted in two of our hashers being charged with felony D–breach of peace ... After three months, several court dates, hundreds of letters from hashers around the world, and a legal defense fund set up by fellow hashers, the charges were finally dropped." (Once the hashers agreed to donate money to some local charities, that is.)

So, can anyone hash?

"Hashing attracts people of all ages, races, shapes and sizes," says Byron-Brown. "The ability to walk or run and the willingness to submit to some ritual humiliation during the post-run ceremonies are the only requirements." He adds, "There is a pretty even spread of males and females. Many marriages have resulted from the hash."

The next New Haven hash is scheduled (loosely) for Apr. 11. Keep updated at www.newhavenh3.org.

editor@newhavenadvocate.com