Pittsburgh Hash House Harriers venture through Oakland

Standing in a circle on the sidewalk in front of Uncle Jimmy’s Tavern on Semple Street in Central Oakland, members of the Pittsburgh Hash House Harriers anxiously awaited the start of their twilight journey through an area referred to by some of the veteran runners as a “student ghetto.”

Despite the cold weather conditions on the evening of Jan. 26, the members were enthusiastic and ready to traverse Pittsburgh’s infamous hills in hope of finding beer, snacks and camaraderie.

HHH is an international social athletic group, participants of which refer to themselves as “a drinking club with a running problem.” Local group members meet up periodically to participate in “hashes,” hunt-style events that involve both pastimes. Pittsburgh’s chapter formed in 1980 and now has a faithful following and a website dedicated to increasing group membership.

During the hash, a “hare,” — the host — creates a course that’s typically between four and five miles long, on which important locations are marked with a check, indicating that the “hounds” — the runners, also called “hashers” — are correctly navigating the course. In some cases, however, the hounds might stumble on an “x,” which indicates a false trail and forces the runner to reroute.

The trail leads to a number of meeting points, at which participants socialize and receive free beer and snacks.

With origins dating back as far as World War I, the tradition started among British soldiers overseas in Kuala Lumpur, a city in modern-day Malaysia.

Veteran Pittsburgh hasher Tim Minard, 53, of Mount Lebanon, explained that the soldiers were looking for a way to keep up with their exercise while also having the opportunity to enjoy a few beers. To do this, they designed a race modeled off the traditional British “hare and hounds” chasing game.

Minard said HHH received its name from the mess halls of the soldiers, who called the halls “hash houses” because of the poor quality of their food.

This weekend, the participants met up at Uncle Jimmy’s, awaiting instruction from the “hare,” the hasher who arranged the trail.

After leaving Uncle Jimmy’s, participants ran through Central and South Oakland, finally arriving at the frozen pond in Schenley Park, where they were treated to a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, nonalcoholic drinks and snacks.

Then, after a short rest and opportunity to converse with other hashers, the group left for Flagstaff Hill, where the participants received a cup of hot chocolate.

The hare of Saturday night’s race was a veteran hasher of 27 years who goes by the group nickname “Moon.”

“The Pittsburgh HHH started in 1980, and I joined in 1985, so I’ve been around a while,” Moon said. “I’m not the leader, since everyone in the group contributes, but I would say I’m an influential member of the ‘Hash Illuminati.’”

Other participants were fairly new to the hashing experience.

Michele Okun, 43, of Regent Square, had known about the group for a few years but did not start participating until this past July.

“We usually have anywhere between 25 and 40 runners each race. A couple weeks ago, when the weather was warmer, we had close to 60,” Okun said.

Okun said the trails typically span between four and five miles. She added that she usually runs the course, but had chosen to walk Saturday night because of a recent surgical procedure. She said one of her favorite aspects of the group is that it is international — she participated in a hash race during her recent trip to Costa Rica.

Before the race started, the formed circle of hashers turned their attention to Moon and his “Chalk Talk” — the introduction of the race and review of the trail markings. For this race, Moon had created a mixture of flour and orange carpenters’ chalk, although he had used other materials in the past.

“Sometimes I mark the paths with paper tape. Once, I ran out of chalk and had to use crushed-up pretzels,” he said.

Moon drew an arrow on the sidewalk with his mixture and informed the group that it meant “you might be on the right track.” He then drew a handful of other signs that signified different clues — on the wrong track, near the beer stop or at the beer stop.

Rookie hasher Ann Bustamante, 49, of Bethel Park, explained that trail markings and hares aren’t always completely trustworthy.

“They wanted to give me the nickname of ‘Up Moon’s *ss’ because on one trail, I followed him the wrong way for most of the run,” Bustamante said. “Everyone in the group except the newbies has nicknames, and they’re usually pretty crude. My crazy boyfriend, who got me started on hash racing, is called ‘Honey Nut Squirrelio.’”

Despite commenting on its craziness, participant Mike Juricich, a California University of Pennsylvania graduate, said he’d definitely hash again — when the weather was a little more suitable.

“I probably will come again — maybe I’ll wait till it gets a little bit warmer — but I’ll definitely be back again,” he said.

Even though she had just undergone surgery, Okun was eager to get back to hashing, as well.

“Everyone in the group is so nice, even though they can be very crude. With hashing, I get to exercise, drink beer and meet great people. It’s the perfect trifecta. I love it,” Okun said.

Moon had similar sentiments about Pittsburgh’s HHH.

“I love the sense of adventure and the energy from the group. These people end up being my close friends,” he said.