DC Area Hashes
There are over 300 hash groups in the United States with 10 groups that run regularly in the greater Washington, DC metro area. In fact, the first hash in the U.S. was started right here in DC in 1972 by Tumblin' Bill Panton, who ran with the mother hash and now maintains the hash geneology. It was called, oddly enough, the DC Hash House Harriers (DCH3). That group is still in existence today.

DCH3, also known as "the Men's Hash" was closed to women. In 1978, Naoe Hiruta, formerly a stewardess with Cathay Pacific, and an avid hasher in Hong Kong, arrived in D.C. to pursue her studies. With two good friends in the men's hash, she began running as their guest, hoping to meet new friends, and explore the area in her own style, on foot, and at a good pace. Since the Men's Hash had a genital requirement, Naoe started her own hash, the DC Hash House Harriettes and Harriers (DCH4). Things started slowly for the first few years, but they've been running regularly since then and now have over 1500 runs. They run at 3pm on Saturday afternoons.

The genesis of the Great Falls, Virginia Hash (GFH3) stems from John Gurr's run with the San Jose, Costa Rica Hash while on a business trip there in May, 1982. Peculiarly smitten with the concept of hashing on the basis of that single run, Gurr convened a meeting of several local runners upon his return to Great Falls and proposed the formation of a local Hash chapter. Attending that meeting at Gurr's home were Jay Rini, Bob Clark and Bob Ozols. Clark volunteered to host the first run and it was held at his house on June 23, 1982. Today, Great Falls has over 1400 runs. They run on Wednesday evenings in the spring and summer, and Saturdays in the fall and winter.

The Mount Vernon Hash House Harriers (MVH3) was founded by two derelicts, The Dribbler and Snow Fairy, in December 1985. The first hash, attended by eight people, was such a fiasco that even the hares' next door neighbor refused to attend the second. Somehow, they persevered and celebrated their 1100th run in May 2008. They run on Saturday mornings at 10am.

Mad Dog and Double D began the Annapolis hash in 1986. Swamp Bitch and Areola co-founded the Baltimore hash in 1990. They ran on alternating Sundays, and Baltimore also ran on Wednesday nights. In 1994, the Baltimore and Annapolis hashes were combined under the leadership of Hangman (the Grand Master of both the Baltimore and the Annapolis Hash at the time) to create what would be come known as the Baltimore-Annapolis Hash House Harriers (BAH3). They will celebrate their 1100th run in April 2009 and run every Sunday at 3pm.

The White House Hash House Harriers (WH4) was founded on June 23rd, 1987 by Monica “SmoothOperator” LaPlain, John “Ahab” Epple, Thomas “NoPopCorn” Osorio, Marly “WrongWay” van de Ven, Chad Freckmann, Jacky Taylor and Susie Cummings. Bill Daoulas showed up at the third run and Spinal Tap at the 48th run. Garfield soon followed. White House is perhaps the second largest hash in the area, providing them with justification to purchase their own beer van back in 1996. The first van didn't last long, but they purchased the beloved "Shitty Shitty Bang Bang" in 1997. SSBB was retired after serving WH4 hashers for 11 years and was replaced by "I'd Tap That." White House has 1200 runs under their belt and runs on Sundays at 3pm most of the year, and Monday evenings in the summer.

Over the Hump Hash House Harriers (OTH4) was founded by the infamous "Sex Cadet" on 19 March 1991 when he came home to Quantico MCB from the Okinawa Hash House Harriers. As a twice-weekly hash, O-T-H meets every Sunday at 2 PM and every Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. Normally the first Sunday trail of the month is a family trail with a bash after the trail. Wednesday night trails are designed primarily for adults - 17 years of age or older. They will be hosting their 1900th run in February 2009.

Everyday is Wednesday (EWH3) was founded in December 1999 by HolyTit and MonkeyPiss who wanted a mid-week alternative to the other hashes. They originally ran on Wednesday evenings, hence the name, but soon switched to Thursday nights in order to get a jump on their weekends. EWH3 quickly became the largest hash in the area in terms of numbers, generally attracting over 100 runners. They run inside the DC beltway and are always metro-accessible so that their members don't have to worry about driving home. They have over 500 runs and will be celebrating their 10th year anniversary in December 2009.

So Happy Its Tuesday H3 started in September 2002 by Tupperware, O-69, Hood Whorenament, and Field of Cream. And How's Her Bush and 14K also quickly joined in and helped things run smoothly. SH*T celebrates analversaries in multiples of 7, rather than 5. They always run their trails "live" and run on Tuesday evenings throughout the year. They've got 300 trails under their belts and counting!

SMUTTy Crab H3 was found ed in December 2007 by Major Private Tickler, Windup Toy, and Testiclze, and run mainly in St. Mary's and Charles counties of Maryland. Their runs are normally every other Saturday.

One of the newest hashes in the DC area is the Hillbilly Hash (HbH3). They usually run far west of the DC beltway, but they do join us for special events and regularly participate in the Tour duh Hash.

Recently, hashing popularity in this area has spawned several new hashes. We now have a ladies-only hash - the Red Tent H3 and a new hash in Baltimore known as the Emerald City H3. And for your Sunday morning reovery, we have the Hangover Hash House Harriers (H4).

There is also the DC Full mOOn (yeah, that's US!), which runs once a month somewhere around the full moon. We aim to foster camaraderie and cross-pollination of all the hashes. Each of the DC kennels takes a turn in sponsoring one Full mOOn event a year so that we can experience the different flavors of each hash. We host a twice-yearly meeting of all the area's GMs in order to coordinate efforts and avoid making you have to choose between two great events because they're planned for the same time. We also sponsor the Tour duh Hash, a summer-time event that tests your endurance, by visiting every DC hash over a 10 day period. In 2007, 14 wankers ran every leg, and in both 2008 and 2009, more than 30 wankers completed every leg of the Tour!

Lastly, this discussion of DC Hashing wouldn't be complete without mentioning the annual DC Area Red Dress Run, usually the first or second Saturday in October, where everyone wears—you guessed it—a red dress. This is the area's largest single-day event, attracting over 600 hashers from all over. With other kennels sponsoring runs around the RDR, it has become a huge hashing weekend.

Each of the area hashes provides its own unique atmosphere, and we encourage you to check out any or all of them. For directions and other information, call (202) PUD-JAM0 (783-5260) or check the DC Hash web page [www.dchashing.com].

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For directions to any hash, call Pud-Jam0 (202-783-5260)

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