We all get together and have a bunch of a fun and drink a bunch of beers multiple times a week. From the outside looking in it probably appears as though we are just a bunch of drunks that have more money than sense but that is DEAD wrong. There is a ton of organizing, planning, budgeting, and even some arguing that goes into how our organization functions and while I can't speak from first hand experience, I would imagine that the same is true from Hash House Harrier kennels around the world.
The core individuals that meet up once a month to plan
Yeah we drink a lot, yeah we have a lot of laughs, yeah we do fun things and that is what Hashing is all about but behind the scenes there is a lot of things that go on particularly if there is some sort of international event involved.
For example: Last year we had something called the "Inter Hash" which was an open invitation Hash event for any Hasher anywhere on the planet if they booked early enough. There was nearly 500 people attending this event and we had to make certain that we had enough booze, food, and transportation to accommodate everyone involved. We had to pay for this stuff ahead of time as well so it was necessary for us to have a lot of money on hand to prepare for it.
One of the worst things that can happen at an event like this would be if we were to run out of beer so we drastically over-prepared to ensure that exactly that did not happen. The end result was that we had hundreds of cans of beer that were still around after the event was done. It doesn't much matter because that WILL eventually be used.
There is also the tracking and recording of number of runs that each member has in our individual kennels. This is important because certain milestones such as when "Tiptoe" made it to 300 is a really big deal. Attending 300 events is a fun and important stage in a Hasher's life and most people never even make it that far. Tiptoe is 112 years old or something and there are other people that are probably going to surpass him such as this young fella who has hit 100 runs before his 12th birthday.
Once again I want to remind everyone that we do NOT give alcohol to children and that is water in his glass although he is drinking out of the ceremonial cup that is only given to people on their 100th run or beyond.
When people turn up to our events in Chiang Mai, mostly things go pretty smoothly and this is because we have to get together on a regular basis to evaluate how much money we have on hand and if it is not enough we adjust the fees that happen at each event accordingly.
No matter where you go to Hash in the world you will notice that the costs are extremely low considering what it is that you receive. When i was in New York City, where it is common to pay $5-20 a beer at any regular bar, the fees for a run, pizza and unlimited cans of cheap lager (well, kind of unlimited) was only $20 total. It was so cheap that I don't really even understand how it is possible.
This is because the Hash isn't about making money... we are not a business. We are a group of drinkers with a running problem and even though we do have to donate our time and sometimes money to make it happen, it really is worth it every time and I think I speak for everyone involved when I say that we would gladly do all that we have done in the past again in the future.
As always I want to encourage everyone out there in Thailand to come and join us on our 3x weekly runs (sometimes more) and if you are not in Thailand to have a look and see if there is a Hash chapter in your area. I promise it will change your life in a positive fashion! ON ON!