What is Hash House Harriers??

According to Webster:

• hash house (slang), n., a cheap restaurant.
• harrier, n., 1. any of an English breed of dog used for hunting rabbits.
  2. A cross-country runner.

About Hashing in Cairo ...

So you're interested in Hashing. Maybe it's because you've seen strange flour and lentil droppings in Wadi Digla or Wadi Hof on your hikes. Or maybe on an occasional Friday you've seen a pack of funny-dressed joggers making their way (loudly yelling "On On!") all over Maadi. Maybe you've read about us in a local magazine. More likely, it's because a hasher's silver tongue convinced you to consider "Hashing".

Variously described as "the lunatic fringe of running" and "the drinking club with a running problem," the Hash House Harriers are a worldwide loosely organized collection of individual clubs. The Cairo Hash kennel welcomes all people - and well behaved pets - of any age, class, size, shape, sex, religion, philosophy (or not), and running or walking ability (or not).

Our premise is simple, a couple of  harriers (the Hares) lay a trail of flour, lentils or paper over a course (the Trail) they choose. The other harriers (the hounds) try to find and follow the trail. It stops a few times in the next 45 to 75 minutes at regroup stops (the Checkpoints) to allow back markers to catch up. And finally returns to the starting point.

There is a a parallel trail just for walkers.

We have everyone sign "OUT' before the Hash and sign "IN" upon return to make sure we have left no bodies, er evidence, out in the desert.

Then we have the Circle. This is where the social and social drinking phases of the Hash formally start. We have funny?, toungue-in-cheek ceremonies and singing to make the brew go down easy.

We usually leave the desert before dark and convene at a restaurant or club (The On On On).

The typical hash is 3-4 miles through the deserts and within 45 minutes of the Autostrada at Maadi, often on the Ain Sukhna Road past the toll booths or off the Autostrada south of Helwan in Wadi Hof.

The hash is definitely not a race - it is strictly non-competitive. In fact, racing on the Hash is a Hash Crime (all will become clear in the Circle...).

Finding and following the trail is the challenge, camaraderie and beverages are the rewards.

Established 19 October 1980, the CH3 hash has Hashed nearly 1500 times around Cairo. Check us out for our second Millennium!

On On!