Dario
Quintavalle is a proud and enthusiastic member of the
Rome
Hash House Harriers, the international running club, where he is
known under both the nicknames of "Succulent" (due to
his extremely juicy, big, plump lips) or "Gnocco"
Since
its foundation in 1986 the Rome Hash has been causing chaos and
confusion in the streets of Rome and its surrounding environs, as a part
of a world-wide (dis)organization -
The Hash House Harriers, or HHH
- which counts over 1500 chapters.
Founded
in the 30's by a group of British settlers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
"Hash" comes from the name they adopted for their
colonial club where the early run started - it was called "Hash
House" because the food was inedible. (Please
note: HASH has nothing to do with Hashish !!!)Those who survived war
founded new Hashes, and their example was contagious: now there is an
Hash in every Capital and important city of the planet. In Italy, you
can also find Hashes in Milan - spit! - (The
Royal Milan & Bordighera HHH), in Naples (Bella
Napoli HHH,formerly
"Nato Naples"), in Sardinia (LaMad HHH), in Sicily (Etna
Ash Hash), in Friuli (Aviano
Friuli HHH and
Sacile Madness) and in Pescara (Adriatic
HHH).
"HASH"
could be described as a sort of Hare and Hounds or treasure hunt with
beer as the treasure. The way we Hasher like to call ourselves is:
"seriousdrinkers with a running problem"...
Hashes follow the same loose (very loose) format all over the world: the
organizers for the day's run (the Hares) lay a trail of flour or paper.
The pack (the rest of the layabouts) follow it. Everybody can run,
the fit and the unfit (most of us are definitelyunfit).
As each one has his own pace and training, not everyone runs at the same
speed - but the idea is to follow the trail more or less together. The
way the hares achieve this, is to lay false parts of the trail, tricking
the front runners (FRBs). Checkmarks force the FRBs to find the trail,
while the slower sedate Hashers catch up. Shortcutting is positively
encouraged. Competition and racing are severely punished! The run is
followed by the ceremony of the "down-downs". The infractors
of the day will have to swallow a pint of beer while the rest of the
pack will be singing. And what they can't drink, they have to tip on
their heads!
The
Rome Hash runs every week, normally on a Sunday, or alternating with
Mondays in the Summer. Each run is followed by copious festivities. The
Hares provide food and drink. Beer
is the Hash Drink, but, for those who
are not drinkers (nobody is perfect!) soft drinks and - which is more
disgusting! - water are also provided.
Hashers
are mainly English speaking, but they come from every country and
continent in the world. Most of current Roman Hashers are "expats"
resident in Italy, but there are also Italians ad visitors from foreign
Hashes. It is the best entertainment in the International
Community and a great way to meet new people. The average
"Pack" per week is around 30-40.
There
is an extensive social life leading off from the Hash, including parties,
bars, Embassy do's, etc. Groups of Rome Hasher visit other Hashes every
year and participate in the great
Hash
events, as the national, continental and world runs (Nash Hash,
EuroHash,
InterHash)
As
a visiting Hasher, Dario took part in great events, such as the
unforgettable Brussels EuroHash '97, the Dutch Nash Hash '97, the Finale
Ligure Ghost
on the Coast '97, '98, '01, the Oktoberfest Hash '94, the Cardiff
InterHash 2004. He
was running as a visitor also with Magnarp (Sweden), Copenhagen, Pescara,
Nato Naples, London,
City
of London,
West
London, Brussels,
Amsterdam,
The
Hague, Riga
Beerslayers HHH. He never missed an Italian Nash Hash, and he was part of the load of fools which crossed Italy from Rome to Pescara
in the legendary 24-hours "Coast to Colosseum" run .
In
summer 2001, when living in Brussels, Dario became member of the
Brussels
Manneke Piss HHH.From
2002 to 2003, while
residing in
Trieste,
he was hashing with
Sacile Madness,
Ljubjana and
Zagreb. With
Zagreb he took part in the two editions of
Dalmatia
Hash Cruise. In 2004 he was shortly a member of the
Geneva chapter
If
this short description tickles your fancy, join the Hash and try! You
are absolutely welcome, there are no admission formalities. Hash House
Harriers is an open society, and anyone with a good amount of sense of
humor can be a part of it.
Enjoy
a moment of life where:
"The
Only Rule Is, There Are No Rules At All!"
Music
background:
"Swing low, sweet chariot"
(world Hash hymn)
