About Hashing & Crapaud Facts
Bike Bashes too!
The Crapaud Hash House Harriers (Crapaud H3) Club runs in the Channel Island of Jersey and occasionally on other Channel Islands and the adjacent French coast (much to the surprise of the locals!). "Crapaud" is the name that those generous Guernsey "Donkeys" call Jersey folk and it means toad, hence the logo.
What is Hashing all about ? Some joke we are "Runners with a Drinking Problem", combining building up a thirst from an hours cross country running and then quickly slaking our thirst with a beer. Beer always tastes extra good after our Runs. Really its much more, we are Fun Cross Country Runners enjoying our glorious countryside. The "Pack" (that's all runners) follow a Trail marked out by the "Hares" who have planned a route, we hope mostly off-road. The Hares often lay the trail across Fields (by kind permission of the farmer) and we frequently discover little known tracks and places you would never otherwise find. The Trail is marked with sawdust, chalk or sometimes flour (before the Run you will be briefed on what substance/s to look out for) and three marks means you are "On Trail", at which point our FRB's (front-running b*****d's) cry out On On ! to alert the rest of the Pack where to go. Beware - the FRB's often go up "False Trails" only having maximum two marks - and then have to run back down the way they came to catch up with rest of the Pack. There are other tricks the Hares play to catch out the unwary.
Every so often there is a "Check" marked with a circle, or "Hold Check", marked with an "H" in middle of the circle, where the whole Pack pauses to chin wag while they let the rest of the Pack (or "Back Markers") catch up. We also have SCB's (short-cutting b*****d's) who like to find the shortest route, mainly diagonally across Fields but anywhere else will do, while attempting to keep up with the Pack. The Run lasts for between 1 to 1.5 hours at which time (if the Hares have planned it right) we arrive back at the selected Hostelry to enjoy the "On Downs", being a beer or two, gossip and grub. We have a great social time, finished off by a kind of ceremony. You will have to come running with us to find out what our ceremony entails! Hashers are an eclectic group from all walks of life, but everyone is welcome and equal on a Run. We dont have airs and graces and we are not highly strung athletes - just normal people with a zest for fun, cross country running, alternative humour and a few drinks. You dont need to be particularly fit to go running with us as the Trail is designed to suit all ability levels. So come on, give one of our Runs a try and see if you like it. It is said that "If you have half a mind to join the Hash, that's all it takes"
"Hashing is a state of mind- a friendship of kindred spirits joined together for the sole purpose of reliving their childhood or fraternity days, releasing the tensions of everyday life, and generally, acting a fool amongst others who will not judge you or measure you by anything more than your sense of humor."
Crapaud H3 has been established since September 1989 and enjoys a permanent membership of around 60. Runs are every Sunday morning starting shortly after 10am, Winter and Summer, normally from a pub serving good beer. There are also occasional 'special' runs, occasional weekend events, Crapaud expeditions 'Off the Rock', plus our magic 'French Bike Bash' cycle trip first weekend of every September, the most brilliant total "switch off" break you could ever imagine. If you have never been on one of our trips you have missed out on a fantastic life experience so book one soon - but you have to run with us first! We achieved our 1,000th run on 21 September 2008, see the pictures in the Gallery, the notes in the Archive and elsewhere on the site. We celebrated 25 years of Hashing in Jersey jointly with our Mother Hash, Jersey H3, over weekend of 7-9 October 2011, see the Report in our Archive giving all the gory details and best pictures. On the 29 July 2012 we celebrated our 1,200th run with an Olympic Mega-Party, download the Olympic Gold Medal Edition report for review of the medals we won!
Our Club is part of the Hash House Harriers worldwide movement. How did this all start ? To begin at the beginning, as they say in all the best yarns, one should go back to 1938 in Kuala Lumpur in what is now Malaysia when a group of ex-patriates associated with the rubber plantations started a modified paper chase in order to work up a decent thirst before retiring to the Selangor Club. There the restaurant was known locally as the "Hash House" so naturally the name was adopted by the harriers and in contrast to other groups undertaking similar activities the name stuck. The particular genius of the founding father, Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert, nicknamed "G" (for short!), was to make the traditional hare & hounds running more fun by making it non-competitive. Moving on quickly to the Second World War and its aftermath which became known as the Malayan Emergency when British and Australian troops joined in the fun and when posted elsewhere began new chapters and the Hash House Harriers spread throughout the world experiencing exponential growth: 1938 - Kuala Lumpur H3 (Mother Hash) founded, 1969 - Longmoor H3 (first UK Hash) founded, 1977 - 90 Hashes known in 35 countries, 1986 - Jersey H3 founded (Crapaud H3's Mother Hash), 1989 - Crapaud H3 founded by Dave "Shiggy" Stuart, going forward to 2010 - 1,987 Active Hashes known in 185 countries with 250,000+ Hashers having great Runs & Fun. The Constitution of the Hash House Harriers is recorded on a club registration card dated 1950: "a) To promote physical fitness among our members; b) To get rid of weekend hangovers; c) To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer; and d) To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel". To find our more details about the History of Hashing go to the World Hash House Harriers Hash Bible.
Don't wait to get in shape, just come on out and join us. The only pre-requisite to hashing is a sense of humor. You might want a pair of trainers and 'jogging' gear as well. We welcome visitors & newcomers whether from other Hash House Harrier clubs or not. Our runs are publicised here and listed in Friday's Sports Diary of our local Jersey Evening Post newspaper. Or find out more by phoning +44 7797 722364.
Risks, Liability & Insurance: Although accidents & injuries are very rare during our activities when you Run / Walk with us or participate in any of our Jollies or other Events you personally accept that any personal injury / accident (including injury to other participants) & property damage that may arise from your involvement is at your sole risk, which by participating you agree are your own personal liability and responsibility. We recommend you take out personal injury, accident & third party insurance to cover your contingent liabilities. The Crapaud Hash House Harriers (CH3) Mis-Management Officers & Committee hereby disclaim liability for any perils and claims arising from your involvement in activities with our Club. CH3 does not carry any insurance because this type of cover is unavailable.