Rumson running club sets course for camaraderie
Long on tradition, 'hashers' run in every corner of the globe
BY LARRY RAPPOPORT Correspondent
So your life is a cup of weak tea without sugar. Not to worry. Rumson's Hash House Harriers know how to spice things up: Go hashing!

Rumson Hash House Harriers celebrate the 86th birthday of Bernie Stover (center, wearing the white cap), the group's senior member, who has been running with the club since its founding 29 years ago, earlier this year.

"Hashing" is a lively blend of running, drinking and socializing. Members follow flour-marked trails through challenging terrain and obstacles. At the end of each run (or sometimes even during the run) is the promise of cold beer.

"It's all about having a sense of adventure and a sense of humor," said Jim Fitzmaurice, who has been running with the group for 22 years. "We're really just a bunch of guys that like to run in the woods."

It's basically an all-male group, although the Harriers do have females participate from time to time.

Rumson's Hash House Harriers, a member of the larger international Hash House Harriers organization, has been an outlet for running, camaraderie and drinking since 1978, when Rumson resident Gil Jackson founded the local chapter.

Rumson Hash House Harriers members Gil Jackson (l-r), Bernie Stover and Jim Fitzmaurice.

Since then, these colorful characters have developed quite a reputation for good-natured fun. They've been called "a drinking group with a running problem." As one member famously said, "If you have half a mind to join, then that's all you'll need."

The Rumson Hashers run every Saturday, regardless of weather. On a recent Saturday, a group of hashers gathered in the parking lot of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport (location changes each week). One has a black T-shirt that reads "Rumson Hash House Harriers: The Hell's Angels of Hashing." On the back in huge letters, "Boldly Going Nowhere."

Another emerges from his car jokingly wearing a snorkeling mask.

"The group brings together people from all walks of life that you wouldn't normally find in one place," Fitzmaurice said.

Indeed, there's Crazy Eddie Borkowski (they all have self-appointed nicknames) - the F4 fighter pilot who fought in the Vietnam War and used to be a United Airlines pilot. There's Lazlototh (Fitzmaurice), an artist, designer, sculptor and mural painter. And "The Colonel" (Bob Hogan), who used to work with the New York City Police Department and has worked with the FBI on the investigation of the 9/11 attacks.

And there is Corduroy (Kent Sabin), who has been with the Rumson club practically since its inception. He wasn't even a runner back then, but decided to join anyway (he wore corduroys and boots since he didn't have running clothes; hence the nickname). He was so inspired by the group that he has since run 49 marathons and has hashed with sister clubs in Maui, Sydney, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Members span the ages. Bernie Stover, a World War II veteran who recently celebrated his 86th birthday, has been with the group since the beginning. He no longer runs, but still comes to the events - which are unusual and sometimes complicated, to say the least.

Prior to each run, a different member who has been designated as the "hare" marks the "Scouting Trail." This is done by spreading fistfuls of flour along a path (total run is typically about an hour long).

"Wherever the marks are, you follow them," Fitzmaurice said.

Keeping the group together is accomplished through checkpoints every so often marked by a circle of flour. At the checkpoint, the flour marks end and all runners must stop to find where the trail continues - not always an easy task.

"The checkpoint serves to keep the group together," Fitzmaurice explained.

Lead runners can't get too far ahead if they have to slow down to determine the path. Once a member finds the new path or "true trail," you'll hear them shout, "On! On!" (hasher speak for "Let's go!").

The trails are challenging and typically run through all sorts of obstacles, including fences, forests, streams and rivers - maybe even the Garden State Parkway. On one recent run, the harriers had to dash through a storm pipe. The difficulty of the trail depends on the whims of the hare.

"You get to know the personalities of the hares setting the trails," Fitzmaurice said. "Like when Crazy Eddie Borkowski sets a trail, you know you're going to be a bloody mess."

If this sounds a little like the old children's game the "Hares and the Hounds," you're right. Hashing has its origins in Kuala Lumpur. In 1938, British soldiers stationed there created the activity based on the children's game. However, they altered the game by adding a beer wagon that would follow them throughout the run. Afterward, they would go to an eating establishment called "the hash house." The Hash House Harriers were born.

Hashing has become so popular, in fact, that the organization now hosts hundreds of clubs throughout the world. About half of Rumson's members run with other clubs in New Jersey or anywhere in the world, for that matter. There are even interhashes every so often where hundreds of hashers gather for days of festivities, including skits performed by the members.

But there's more to the Rumson Hash House Harriers than just running and fun events. They're also about charity. Each November they sponsor a Cheesequake "Hashathon" to benefit Bernie Stover's grandson, Kevin, who was paralyzed in a skiing accident many years ago.

It's just this type of spirit that has made Fitzmaurice so fond of this group.

"I like running with these guys," he said, "and knowing I'm going to see them all the time."

Interested in joining the hash? Contact Fitzmaurice at lazlototh3@comcast.net