Hashing is more than just a walk in the park Runners take part in fun run with water hazards and false trails BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Above: On your mark, get set, hash. Runners began the 6-mile hash run on Saturday morning. The fun run is a social event with deep historical roots. At left: Ken Vercammen, who planned the hash run, demonstrates what some of the markings will look like throughout the course. All markings were made with flour. EDISON - Running is often considered a solo sport. It is just one man against himself, the coarse and the clock. Just do not tell that to the hashers. More than 50 men and women came to Thomas Edison Park on Saturday to take part in the annual Freezing Cold Hash Run, a 6-mile, off-road, impediment infested fun run. The point of the run is not to best your fellow runner, nor beat the clock for your personal best. The point is to socialize, have fun and follow the white flour into various dead ends and hazards. Ken Vercammen, who has organized the Freezing Cold Hash Run in Edison for the past 10 years, said that this is not as stressful as a regular run. That does not mean that there are not stressful moments along the way. Hash runners have to deal with the elements and the dark pleasure of the one who laid out the course. PHOTOSBYSCOTT PILLING staff "It's called false trails," Vercammen said. "So you'll send people into sticker bushes. One guy was in water up to his chest because he either went the wrong way or took a short cut. That's not where I would have wanted to be." The hashers have a long and storied past that Vercammen said began with British soldiers stationed in Malasia before World War II. The soldiers would use flour to mark the way for their runs through the woods. The soldiers started a club called "The Hash House," Vercammen said, and what started as a training exercise became a social event for the soldiers. "There are hash clubs throughout the country," Vercammen said. "So when I went to England five years ago, I ran with the club in England." The combination of running and socializing has continued to this day and Vercammen said there are hashers that run every week. He wanted to open up his run to people who might not already be hashers. "I try to put a lot of effort into it - try to bring in other people who aren't regular hashers, " Vercammen said. Hashers take all kinds, though. The people at Vercammen's event were of various ages and skill sets, ranging all the way up to marathon winners. "One of the guys who ran it won the Philadelphia Marathon twice," Vercammen said. Once the run is over, it is customary for hashers to participate in the "On-On," which consists of socializing some more, this time at a local bar. Vercammen said this year's hash run went off without incident. There were no problems that those participating could not assuage during the "On-On." "There were no complaints afterwards [from the hashers]," Vercammen said, "except from their wives."