The Hash Runs with the China Hash House Harriers Taiwan King Dragon Jietu

In my first article about Taiwan, I already briefly mentioned the Hash Runs. I will explain what exactly that is here.

A Hash Run looks like this: There are 2 Hares who run a route and mark it with flour. They get a certain head start and then the rest of the runners follow, who have to find the right way. The routes are between 5 km and 10 km long and can go anywhere, including trails through the forest. The runners are theoretically supposed to catch the Hares, but that rarely happens.

On the route, you may come across a circle with a cross (Check). Then the path continues somewhere within a radius of 100m, but you have to figure out exactly where. Usually, you are never alone and at such points, the group disperses to find the right way. If you find flour, you shout 'ON ON' loudly, which means the path continues there. 'Checking' means you haven't found it yet. Then you mark the path with chalk for all the following runners so they don't have to search. A simple and fun concept.

But the most important thing is the beer afterwards because it is not for nothing a 'drinking club with a running problem'. Then the run is evaluated, the fastest rewarded with beer, and many other reasons are conjured up just so you can drink more.
We were on the road with the China Hash House Harriers. You can take a look at their website to get a little impression. It is a colorful mixture of foreigners and Taiwanese. English is spoken (mostly) and there are many silly jokes flying around, but you shouldn't take them too seriously. It includes people from young (~ 10 years old) to old (over 70 years old). But this is not the only group in Taipei because Hash Runs exist everywhere in the world and there are many different groups in Taiwan as well.

Our first run was in Taipei in the district of Xindian and went over the Hermei Mountain. It was our first time, and we had no idea what to expect, we didn't even have appropriate equipment. The run was themed '12 months a bore' because one of the Hares had not drunk alcohol for a year. We were greeted very politely, given an explanation of the rules, and then it started. The route led along the water, over a bridge to the foot of the mountain. That was the first Check. It took a while and passers-by were visibly puzzled why a group of runners was shouting through the streets, but then we found the way. The route took us up the mountain, down again, through a few bamboo fields, up the mountain again, and then down one last time. It was a mixture of normal hiking trails and ones that went somewhere through the terrain. It had rained before, making everything muddy, and fortunately, ropes were attached to the critical descents. It was really fun, and the debriefing was really funny and alcoholic. As 'newbies', we naturally had to drink our share as well. Finally, we went to a pizzeria where there was more beer. At some point, the three of us were quite tipsy and made our way home to the train.

The second Hash Run was called 'I will carry you to the end' and was the first bus run of the year. We met in Taipei and then drove together with the (party) bus to the mountains around Taoyuan. The bus had a karaoke system that was used a bit and caused a lot of laughter. It was raining constantly, but that didn't bother anyone. The run took us through an incredibly beautiful landscape. There was a lot of ups and downs, so the run was quite challenging, but we managed to get through fairly quickly. I could have been much faster, but the descent was very muddy and my shoes had almost no grip. The route mainly went through the forest, mostly on a ridge, and shortly before the end along a small stream. It was a lot of fun, and we were quite wet when we reached the finish line. There we had beer, t-shirts, and some snacks.

After the usual debriefing, we then drove to a restaurant nearby for the bash (the meal afterwards). There we had delicious Chinese/Taiwanese food and a lot of alcohol. The return journey on the bus was also a little awesome party. Loud music and a little dancing in the aisle.
Definitely the better of the two runs, but they are not much different. The people are incredibly nice and open to newcomers, as everyone is drunk anyway. Certainly a running concept that I could get used to...

Note: Not all of the photos are mine, but the photographers have agreed to their use.