Above: In this photo taken by Ben Durrant, the Juneau Hashers celebrate the departure of their friend and fellow member.
Ben Durrant, a.k.a. ‘Harry the Flamingo Hasher’ explained why there were flamingos flocking through downtown on Saturday.
“We’re a local group here, but we also have other groups internationally. So Hash House Harriers is a kennel. We don’t call it a club because that’s far more organized than us. We call ourselves a drinking club with a running problem,” he said with a laugh. “So, it’s a game invented in 1938, in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. And it’s like a paper chase, hound and hare, where one person goes off running and then people chase them. We were wearing flamingos on Saturday because one of our members is transferring to Bahrain and he’s a huge fan of flamingos in the keys in Florida. So, we decide to wear flamingos in tribute to his departure.”
The Hashers Juneau Facebook group has over 200 members, and he added that people are welcome to join.
“Hashers are without a doubt the friendliest and most welcoming people I’ve ever experienced. So, I spent 20 years in the Coast Guard, traveling from city to city to city. Every time I transferred I would look up the local kennel and they would just welcome me in and I’d have instant friends,” Durrant said. “So, if you’re looking for a good time, if you’re looking to just go for a run or walk, lots of us are walkers. That’s totally non-competitive and very welcoming. Come on down and check us out.”
This article was written by Jordan Lewis and Jasz Garrett.
