Successful Danish Hash run

Ib Larsen and his Danish gang of hashers organized a successful Danish Constitution Day run in KL recently. It was apparently the first time such an event had been organized in Malaysia and it was supported by many non-hashing members of the Danish community… including the Danish Ambassador to Malaysia, HE Børge Petersen.


 


Though hashing is not part of the Danish Ambassador’s regular duties, on this special occasion he made exception and joined the Danish Constitution Day run with the KL Harriettes running club to celebrate with fellow Danes and to fly the Danish flag in new territory.


 


At first he was addressed by regular hashers as “Your Excellency”. Then it became “Mr. Ambassador” or “Sir”… and it ended up with “Old buddy” or simply “Borge, old friend”. All in all a sure sign that the Danish Ambassador HE Børge Petersen was exactly that, an excellent Ambassador for Denmark in an environment where he does not normally practice his diplomatic skills. The Ambassador however, did reveal in his opening speech that he did his first hash run some 25 years ago and had the last one around 20 years ago.


 


Hashing is normally a pretty relaxed affair but on this special day, which was also supported by Danish companies Carlsberg and Emborg and a number of private Danes, the run was officially started by the Ambassador cutting a red ribbon. An attempt to sing the Danish national anthem turned out a poor sound by the hashers of all nationalities but it was much appreciated as this is normally not done on a hash. Here songs typically have another character.


 


The crowd was particularly large this week for a KL Harriettes run with some 100 plus registered runners against the normal 50 people or so. A sign of the anticipation for post run celebrations.


 


“It was beautiful”


The run took place in Paya Indah Wetlands, a safari park area which has been closed down for renovation for a few years. Thanks to good contacts and smooth negotiation skills by Dane Ib Larsen, an unusual permission was given by the Director General of National Parks to open the park for a hash run with post run celebrations at the HQ buildings. The park is soon ready to re-open to the public so the hashers and the Danish Ambassador had a chance for a sneak preview.


 


“It was very beautiful and I enjoyed my walk tremendously”, said Ambassador Børge Petersen after the run which took him approx. 1 hour 45 mins. “My wife Jytte and I always enjoy our walks and this somehow reminded us of a walk we occasionally do in Denmark. Here Paya Indah Wetlands we saw beautiful scenery and some wildlife but no doubt there would have been more to watch if we were on our own. Hashing seems to be an excellent way to get some exercise and obviously not all hashers are running as we had some nice conversions with hashers who were also walking. We are both enjoying the evening very much”, said the ever smiling Ambassador after the run.


 


Danish delicacies


The initiator of the event, Ib Larsen who has previously been living in Kuching for a number of years, was happy when the event was over.


 


“I got a bit nervous when I didn’t have all runners back in by 2 hours and it was getting dark but I had been assured by the park authorities that they had locked away all buffaloes which are normally not too friendly with human intruders. However, other wild life would still be in the wild so there was always the chance that somebody got held up for some reason or other, like watching birds”, said Ib with a smile all over his face. It turned out that a snaps stop en route was the main culprit why the last people were held up for a little longer than anticipated. However, all arrived back to the starting point safely but a bit wobbly, albeit in the dark.


 


After the exercise everybody enjoyed a few mouthfuls (!) of the golden Danish nectar provided by Carlsberg and food prepared by the Danish gang of organisers.


 


Many compliments were received from the Malaysian hashers on the food, particularly the herring and frikadeller (Danish meat balls). Traditional Danish style hot dogs went like hot cakes, perhaps because of the Chinese affinity to pork. The never ending supply of beer also kept many a smile warm and red cheeks aglow. All in all a successful event that still generates compliments from local hashers


 


 


Want to join the KL Harriettes, then check details here: http://www.klharriettes.org/


 


Here’s information about other Malaysian Hash clubs:

Photos by Ib Larsen and Charlotte D Parks

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