Six thousand drinkers with a running problem are set to descend on Chiang Mai when the city hosts World Interhash 2006 from October the 27th to 29th. This biennial event will attract members of Hash House Harriers clubs from Australia to Zimbabwe, and all countries in between.

What is a Hash House Harrier? I used to think the term referred to a British designed, but American "modified" vertical takeoff and landing strike aircraft. The US Marine Corps lost more than 140 of these machines after refusing to follow the age-old advice - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

But I digress. A Hash House Harrier is many things to many people. He or she will be a public spirited soul who runs for fun. Hashers have raised many millions of dollars for charity since the organization was formed back in the late thirties in Malaya. The movement was founded in a moment of postprandial inspiration at the Selangor Club, a popular watering hole for expat and local businessmen. The founders were a mixed bunch of expatriate Brits and local Malays: E.J. Galvin, a writer with the Malay Mail recalls that the real founder was A.S. Gispert, a Brit who was to die on Singapore Island in 1942 while serving with the famous Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders regiment.

Eric Galvin's account of those colonial days in Kuala Lumpur is nothing short of Kiplingesque. Characters such as "Horse" Thompson," Torch "Bennett, and Alberto Stephano Ignatius Gisbert leap from the page to drag me back to my boyhood days. Gisbert, the son of Spanish Catalan parents, was born in London and worked as a chartered accountant with a firm that posted him to Malacca in the 1930s. He is the recognized founder of the Hash House Harriers; the name was a mock reference to the Selangor Club, and the quality of food served therein.

Then, as today, the idea was for like-minded people to run for fun, as opposed to the more austere athletic events, such as marathons and cross-country races. To those readers unfamiliar with "The Hash", allow me to expound, albeit briefly, on the shape and form of this event that, since its formation in British colonial Malaya, has spread worldwide, attracting a following of near religious proportions. A Hash is a paper (sawdust) chase, beginning and ending at a place chosen by at least two volunteer members (the hares) who are responsible for organizing the event.

The course (trail) is laid out with a number of breaks (checks), allowing the not-so-fit (back markers) to pause for breath, while the more athletic (front runners) search for the next stage.

Yes indeed, hashers have their very own language. "On, On" is the cry from the front runners. "Checking", can be heard when runners reach a checkpoint. I first encountered a "Hash" in Hong Kong in the late seventies. It was a glorious Sunday morning at the old Hong Kong Football Club in Sports Road, Happy Valley. We HKFC lawn bowlers were facing the opposition from the then adjacent Craigengower Cricket Club, in a league match.

As I prepared to deliver my wood to the distant jack, there came the thundering of hundreds of feet from nearby Wong Nai Chung Road. We all stood quite still on the green as roars of "On, on" swept across the club wall.

"Good God," said an old China hand, and fellow bowler. "It's the bloody Red Guard again," he gasped; alluding to the student riots of 1967 in the then British colony. It was, in fact, members of the local Hash House Harriers enjoying a run. Indeed, Hong Kong hasher Phil Kirkland is credited with coining the phrase - "If you have half a mind to join the hash, that's all you need!"

While there remain today a number of all-male hashing clubs, ladies have taken to hashing in a big way. And, contrary to popular belief, you need not partake of alcohol when the run is over, although you will be in a minority. Of the expected six thousand hashers coming to Chiang Mai this October, many will bring with them wives, husbands, children, and friends who, while not taking part in the run, will be spending like sailors in the shops, restaurants, bars and hotels of this fair city. It makes excellent fiscal sense, therefore, for the city fathers to give, as they clearly have, their blessing to this excellent event.

Chiang Mai Interhash 2006 is being organized by hashing clubs in Thailand, China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Details are being finalized on routes/ trails, presentation ceremonies, guest lists etc. But one thing that's already set in stone is a curtain-raising event entitled "The Red Dress Run".

This will be a run through the old city area of Chiang Mai, and looks likely to cost each runner about twenty US dollars by way of an entry fee. All revenue raised from this event will go to local charities; and with an estimated six thousand participants here for the main event, that adds up to a lot of money heading for good causes in a great city.

Organizing such an event calls for the formation of a top-notch organizing committee, comprising members from all six countries in the Mekong region who are taking part. It also calls for close contact with government agencies, local authorities and potential sponsors.
For information on World Interhash 2006 Chiangmai, go to the official website: http://www. chiangmai2006.com/