In the Spotlight - Kenya
Hazukashii
In the Spotlight – Kenya
By Ed “Hazukashii” Howell
7 May 2023
Kenya is located in East Africa, and has a very long and significant history. Believed to be ground zero for homo sapiens (modern humans), excavations have uncovered artifacts and bones dating back as far as 320,000 years ago. Going even further back, the remains of a homo erectus dubbed ‘Turkana Boy’ have been found dating back 1.5 million years.
Geographically, Kenya is surrounded by Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Indian Ocean. With a population of ~56 million, it is the seventh most populace in Africa, and 24th in size at 580,000 square kilometers. The capital is Nairobi, which is also the largest city.
Like many modern-day countries, Kenya has a long history of foreign occupation as well. The Portuguese first arrived in the 1490s, according to the World Factbook. They were forced out by invaders from Oman and Pate in the 1600s. Eventually, the United Kingdom and Germany arrive in the 1800s. After a solid decade of clashes with the United Kingdom, Kenya declared its independence in 1963.
It would not be long after independence, that the Hash House Harriers would arrive and doom the country to a legacy of chasing trails and drinking beer, forever. According to the HHH Genealogy, the first hash club to form was the Nairobi H3, founded by Gareth Randell on 9 October 1971, who had come to Kenya from Brunei. There are no other details currently available about this hash, but it appears that it faltered after some time. It would not be long before the second (and current) club in Kenya, also named the Nairobi H3, was founded by Arthur Schrock on 2 October 1978, who arrived from Ethiopia. He was assisted by Chris Swain, Sue Morris, and Larry Hogan. This Nairobi H3 has endured, and has completed over 2350 hash trails. You can find this club currently running weekly, on Saturday afternoons.
The Mombasa H3 was founded by Dave Hamblyn on 11 April 1983. This club must have also faltered for a period of time, but appears to have restarted sometime back in 2015. They currently do not have any activity listed on the website.
Hash clubs to form that are no longer active are the Turi H3 founded by Martin Pickup in 1993, the Swahili North Coast H3 founded by Trevor 'R'Hole' Fellows on 14 July 2001, and the Malindi H3 founded by Sandra '69' Faull on 1 October 2001.
There are currently 4 active hash clubs in Kenya, the first being the current and longest running Nairobi H3. As this club grew too big, it was determined that another club would be required to split up the membership, and thus the Original Nairobi H3 was formed on 21 February 2000, by Aggrey 'Electrocuted' Chabeda, assisted by John 'Missionary' Edwards. This club has completed over 1175 hash trails, and runs weekly on Monday evenings.
The Sunday Nairobi H3 (a.k.a. the Sash) was founded by Sam 'Emoro' Kiteng'e, Wanjira ‘Bypass aka’ Kamwere, Ken ‘Taka Taka’ Thairu, Elizabeth ‘Cinderella’ Atieno, and Joyce ‘Kangura Tosha’ Njenga as a splinter off the Original Nairobi H3 that ran on Monday, and had their first trail on 1 December 2007 during an event weekend. The reason for the split was the inevitable traffic that had grown over the years at rush hour, which had become an issue for getting out of work and being able to reach the run site. The name ‘Sash’ is a Swahili slang word for Sunday, and running on Sunday gave hashers a much easier time getting to the run sites. The Sash is known for longer trails and they rarely use checks. They just mark out a splendid twisted route through the countryside, and allow everyone to blaze along at their own pace. The hash anthem below is the traditional start of the circle.
Deck the Trail with Mugs of Tusker, (Falalalalaaa for the Sunday Hash)
We will find our way to [the next run], (Falalalalaaa The Sunday Hash)
We will get there Drunk and Sweaty, (Falala lalala Sunday Hash)
Then we’ll Drink some more and Party, (Falalalalaa The Sunday Hash)
Finally, the Diani H3 was founded by Simon Udie on 18 April 2004, who arrived from the Ikeja H3 in Nigeria. This club is located down on the coastal town of Diani Beach, and runs monthly, having completed over 210 trails.
On my recent visit to Nairobi, I was able to run with the Sunday Nairobi H3 and the Original Nairobi H3 (not to be confused the with actual original Nairobi H3). The Sunday hash was created for the runners, and trails are much more straight forward. I found the trail to be very well marked, as we ran through the city along side streets and alleyways. The circle was very lively, and while you bought your beer at the bar, down down beers and a buffet meal were provided for a mere 200 shillings (~$1.50 US).
The hash on Monday was also a city run, out around the United Nations complex and Embassy Row. The cost was 910 shillings, but all the beer was provided, along with a tasty dinner of chili and salad, with all the fixings. The circle was also very engaging, and fun was had by all. It was just a coincidence that both trails were city runs, as they often can find plenty of shiggy trails right in the city limits, as I discovered on two most excellent hikes in and around Karura Forest. The hashers of Nairobi were so friendly, I will definitely be headed back for another visit on future trips to Africa.
Kenya has hosted the Pan Africa Hash three times, 1998 in Mochakos, 2003 in Mombasa, and 2015 in Malindi. Kenya also hosted an alternate INTERHASH in 2012.
As always, you can find links to the websites of all the hash clubs in Kenya from http://gotothehash.net . . . and if you get the chance, do not pass up a trip to Kenya.
For many more articles like this on the history of hashing, check out . . . http://gotothehash.net/history/inthespotlight.html