The Red Dress Hash House Harrier Walk! (Say that 5 times fast.)

I’ve written about the Hash House Harriers and I’ve been doing the walk with some regularity (maybe once a month, though they now have walked 2-3 times per month).

But this weekend was a special walk, it was the “Red Dress Hash.” The Red Dress run is a Hash House Harrier unique tradition. It dates back to 1987. (Ancient history. *cough*) A woman was visiting her friend. Her friend decided to bring her to this “wacky running group” in southern California. The woman was wearing a red dress and heels and the Hash organizers told her to just wait in the car for her friend since she obviously couldn’t run. But run she did.

Kinda as a joke, the hashers sent a plane ticket back to the red dress woman one year later. In honor of her return, everyone wore a red dress. Hundreds attended, wearing dresses, and the woman suggested that it become a charity event.

And a tradition was born.

Red Dress Hashes are held in every city all over the world (though not at the same time). And each group chooses their own charity. The Xiamen Hash chose a local private school for poor kids to help.

But really, the charity part is overshadowed by the red dresses. Because everyone should wear them, including the guys. (No, I didn’t wear it. I wore a red shirt and just normal sports pants. I hate dresses and not even peer pressure can change that.)

Actually I wasn’t the only girl not wearing a dress. There were plenty of girls in pants, and yet, almost every guy decided to wear a dress. They barely needed any encouragement. Then someone passed out balloons to “fill out” the dresses. The guys not only wore them, but seemed to specially enjoy it. The Hash is best seen through pictures, rather than my description so here’s a little peek into the Red Dress Run:

I think this is the last hash for me for awhile. It’s just too damn hot. Even though it was cloudy and windy, I still ended the day hot, cranky with a major headache. In fact, the following day I was supposed to go to a cafe to write and I decided to just stay at home writing. I just didn’t have it in me to go outside and sweat through more clothes. I’m officially over the heat of the Xiamen summer. And it’s only the beginning of June. I am screwed…

Anyway, on a lighter note, it was quite fun. It was a good walk and I got to meet a bunch of new people. Hashers have groups in most places so if you have an opportunity to take part in a red dress hash, make sure to do it!