No “LGBTQ Run” In Johor – Get To Know Hashing, A Worldwide Network That Started Right Here

Recently, three participants in the Pan Asia International Run in Johor Baru allegedly dressed inappropriately and marred the image of Hash Runs for charity.

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You might have seen the pictures by now. Recently, three runners participating in the Pan Asia International Run in Johor Bahru were allegedly seen exposing parts of their bodies and committing indecent behaviour.

It was a charity run where participants were encouraged to wear red dresses for the Red Dress Run in the name of fun.

The three suspects are a Taiwanese man wearing traditional attire with his butt exposed, an Indian national wearing saree with a blouse, and a local man wearing a housecoat.

This led to confused people online claiming that it was a run promoting LGBTQ+ and condemned the event for taking place in Malaysia.

The police have detained the three suspects and the run organiser, Johor Baru Hash House Harriers chapter, is cooperating with the police.

All three suspects tested negative for drugs and have no criminal records.

Participants were allegedly told to maintain proper etiquette during the family-friendly fun and social event. Unfortunately, a few did not heed the requirement and marred the event.

Johor’s Hash House Harriers president Datuk A. Magendran said the run was purely for fun and charity, not for cross-dressing to promote or support LGBTQ+ causes.

So, if it’s not that, what is the run about? To understand this, we first need to know the history of hash or hashing. No, not marijuana.

What is Hash or Hashing?

Hash House Harriers is a global network of non-competitive running clubs. The runs they organise are known as “Hashes” or “Hash Runs.”

It’s different from the usual marathons because in hashing, it feels like a mystery-solving game because participants seek and follow the trail.

In Hash Runs, one or more members will lay a trail using paper, flour, or chalk marks to mark the trail. They are known as the “Hares.”

The remainder of the group, the “pack” or “hounds,” will try to look for the marked trail and follow along.

To make things interesting, the Hares might leave some false trail marks to mislead the group. These features help keep the pack with various fitness levels together. It allows fast runners to get ahead and look for the “true trail” while the people at the back get to catch up.

The trail ends when the group find a check mark. Participants will know they’re on the ‘true trail’ if they can find three check marks in a row.

However, the number of check marks highly depends on the organisers and the information regarding symbols used will be revealed during Chalk Talk before the run. So, pay attention!

Believe it or not: Hashing started in KL

A group of British immigrants started Hashing in December 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor (when Malaysia was known as the Federated Malay States).

They designed the race based on the traditional British game of hare and hounds. Hares scatter the trail while hounds track the trail. All participants of the Hash Run are known as Harriers.

The original members included Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert (“G”), Cecil Lee, Frederick Thomson (“Horse”), Ronald Bennett (“Torch”), Eric Galvin, H.M. Doig, and John Woodrow.

The Royal Selangor Club is Malaysia’s oldest private club. Image: Royal Selangor Club

Gispert suggested the name Hash House Harriers after the Selangor Club Annex, known as the Hash House. Several of the original hashers lived and dined there.

Harriers would celebrate by partaking in beer, ginger beer, and cigarettes at the end of the run. There’s an emphasis on the social aspect of the run so there would be tons of singing involved too.

All Harriers have a hash name (like a nickname) to discourage the use of real names. In some chapters, hash names would have to be earned. They could earn the hash name by performing certain feats or have reached astounding achievements.

Hash names can be family-friendly or slightly vulgar but comically censored (it’s those days lah). So there’ll be hash names like “Lost My Way” (family-friendly) or “Purple Vein” (an innuendo).

In simplest terms, the hash names are like that because it was a guys-only thing back then. When women joined way later, they were collectively known as Harriettes (compared to the male Harriers).

Hashing ceased during World War II when Malaya was invaded. It restarted in 1946 after the war. Gispert was killed on 11 February 1942 in the Japanese invasion of Singapore so the annual Gispert Memorial Run is still held by many chapters globally in memorial.

After World War II, the Registrar of Societies told hashers that they would need to register their group.

This was when the objectives of the Hash House Harriers were formed:

To promote physical fitness among our members.
To get rid of weekend hangovers.
To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer.
To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel.

The second chapter was founded by Ian Cumming in Singapore in 1962 while the Johor Baru chapter was founded in 1968.

Chapters, also known as Kennels, quickly gained popularity and spread internationally.

How did the Red Dress Run start?

In 1987, a woman named Donna Rhinehart was taken to a hash in Long Beach, California, to be introduced to the sport. She was invited to wait in the truck while her host returned.

Instead of waiting, Rhinehart joined the hash run in her red dress. The year after, the San Diego Hash House Harriers sent her an airline ticket to attend the inaugural Red Dress Run.

Hashers wore red dresses for the event and Rhinehart was known as the OG “Lady in Red.” She was like a proper influencer because she suggested such hashes to be held to raise funds for local charities and they said Yes.

The Red Dress Run spread globally and has raised millions of dollars for charity. The Red Dress Run has become a part of the Hash House Harriers’ heritage ever since.

Rhinehart died in 2013 when the Hash House Harriers celebrated the 25^th anniversary of their Red Dress Run.