There are fun runs. And then there are hashes.

This version of "Hares and Hounds" was established in Kuala Lumpur nearly 80 years ago by the British, who figured out that combining exercise and beer made for a very happy hour.

Hashing has been called a drinking club with a running problem.

In Hawaii, hashing is not always about the brews at the end of the running trail. The five hash houses in the islands maintain the decades-old traditions of disorganization and frivolity, with participants known only by their hashnames (nicknames).

How serious can it be when following a trail laid out by "Short Strokes" and "La La" or tagging behind "St. Jude" and "Jiggy Jiggy" on a given evening?

"There are no rules, no officers," said Dwight "Hard OnOn" Jackson, who has been part of the Honolulu Hawaii Hash House Harriers (H5) since 1980. "If we ever got organized, our first order of business would be to disband the organization.

"It’s a really fun activity. I like the running. I like the people. The whole thing is positive."

The attraction for many is the unpredictability. Hashers rarely know where the trail leads and follow clues left by the designated "hares" in chalk, flour or hiking ribbons.

"I’ve been doing this since the ’90s," said one hasher identified as M.O.M. "What I like is that the runs are always different. We go to parts of the island that we’ve never been before, from the sources of our water to sewers and everywhere in between.

"I probably have a thousand favorite runs that we’ve done. Once it was Moanalua Valley across the mountain range to the Stairway to Heaven. We’ve popped up from manhole covers in the middle of the street. It’s always an adventure. It’s always fun."

It’s also casual and non-discriminatory. As one H5 hasher nicknamed "Grounded" said, "There are all levels of running ability. Some just walk. And we’re from all walks of life and all ages. It’s a social group. It’s about fun and camaraderie."

There is a bit of trickery to it as well. Hares lay trails with markings that indicate a false trail, a backtrack, a shortcut, or a turn. The most commonly used mark is a "check," indicating that hashers have to search in any direction to find the continuation of the trail.

Once hashers find they are on the correct trail, they will call out, "On-On." There are always refreshments — known as the "On-Afters" — at the end or "Circle" that is a time to socialize.

Not that a reason is needed, but often hashes have themes. Last month’s Halloween Hash included a pumpkin carving and decorating contest between the sexes. Decorative items were anything hashers picked up along the shiggy (terrain) around Diamond Head and brought to the finish.

Like many activities, interest waxes and wanes. Jackson said the H5 Tuesday hashes average 30 to 35 participants, but other hashes may draw around 70.

Need to find a hash? On-On to aloha3.org.