BY DAN FABRIZIO EDISON, NJ--The most successful Freezing Cold Hash to date was held on January 5th with over 150 people participating in this annual event sponsored by the Kenneth Vercammen Law Office NJ Personal Injury Law Center in Edison, in conjunction with the Rumson Hash House Harriers. An abundance of canned food was collected at the event and donated to the Saint James Food Bank. The Freezing Cold Hash Run consisted of a free 4-6 mile group trail run through Edison Park. Although no times were kept, and no awards were given, many prizes were bestowed to some lucky participants at the postrace social held at the Green Derby Bar. Everyone was congratulated by the race organizer and founder, Ken Vercammen, Esq., for completing the difficult course that pre-warned the "hashers" of some of the potential dangers they may encounter: buried bombs with mustard gas, bitten by starving animals, slip on snow and break an arm, run into tree branches and poke an eye out, fall off bridges into cold water, exploding gas pipelines, sticker bushes, crawl under barbed wire, slip on ice and break bones, cut a leg on sharp branches, touch 29,000 volts of electricity, angry deer with huge antlers, frozen rats and other dead stuff, slide on mud cliffs, and encounter bad drivers from New York who don't speak English. Ken Vercammen told everyone to follow the "hash" marks laid out with baking flour marking the trail, otherwise they faced dangerous obstacles. Vercammen, an accomplished runner and seasoned "hasher" explained that a hash run is not a race, but a non-competitive group run that follows an off-road course laid out with flour by the organizer, called a "hare." The participants or "hashers" do not know the course ahead of time and must try to follow the hash marks in order to finish the course. Hashers must often stop and look for the trail, so the emphasis is on fun not time. Hashers are also known as "drinkers with a running problem" because they often have a beer or two before, during, and after a hash. Vercammen added that hashing originated in England last century and has groups worldwide that host group runs every week. For more information on local hash runs, call the Rumson Hash House Harrier Hotline at (732) 219-0301. The 15th Annual Freezing Cold Hash Run will be held on January 3, 2009 starting at the Kenneth Vercammen Law Office NJ Personal Injury Law Center in Edison, NJ at 10:00am. For more information on this event, call (732) 572-0500 or visit www.njlaws.com/FREEZING_COLD_HASH_RUN.htm |
