Is It True That You Can't Pass Orgo Unless You Join The Princeton HHH?

In 1938, in Kuala Lumpur, a group of British expatriates started a running club known informally as the "Hash House Harriers". Since then, improbably enough, "Hashing" has spread throughout the world. There is scarcely a large city anywhere without a group of "hashers." Although most of the early expansion was in the Far East, hashing eventually spread to the West, and the Princeton Hash House Harriers were one of the early groups in America. Although few people in Princeton are aware of us, we have been running here since 1979. As of August, 1997, the PH3 had completed 621 hashes.

Hashing is basically a variant of "Hares and Hounds." On Saturday, one or two people (hares) set a trail, marked with flour or lime, which runs from 3-4 miles through a part of Princeton or the surrounding area, ending at a cooler of beer and soda. Every Sunday at 2 o'clock, 5-20 "hounds" gather behind Stevenson Hall at 91 Prospect Avenue from where they are driven to the start of the run. If this were all there were to it, a "Hash" would be nothing more than a race to the end of the trail. But the trail is laid in a way that is designed to confound the faster runners and to keep the pack together. It does this by incorporating a large number of false trails and "checkpoints." At every branch point the path splits. One (or more) of the trails is false, leading nowhere after a few marks. One of the paths is the real one, but it is impossible for a frontrunner to tell which one it is. Other marks signify a "check" which simply means that the real trail picks up again somewhere nearby. One spends much time looking for lost marks, and the "pace" can be judged by the time required to negotiate the 3-4 miles: about one hour. A skillfully laid trail keeps all together.

It is traditional to lay the trail through difficult country; fields of mud, stream crossings, thorns and other impedimenta abound. The more sadistically difficult the terrain, the better the run is treated in the weekly write-up, which is mailed to all local hashers. Although hashers love the difficulty of the run, it is as likely that a 10 year old child will finish first as a marathoner. The Princeton group consists of townspeople, Princeton faculty and students, and occasional visitors from other hashes. Similarly, when a Princeton hasher travels he or she is likely to carry a HHH directory listing contacts for the weekly runs all over the world.

This short description does not convey the special flair of hashing. The Princeton HHH cannot match the story of the time when runners in Malaysia ran through a camp of heavily armed revolutionaries, but there have been some memorable events. Hashing also helps to develop the devious way of thinking so necessary to success in the world in general, and orgo in particular.

Chemistry Department members include Profs. M. Jones (258-3909), and R. Pascal (258-5417) who can be contacted for further information. See also the Princeton Alumni Weekly, October 1993, p 20, or follow the link to the PH3 Home Page.

Don't wear good shoes.