There first rule of the Hash House Harriers is that there are no rules, just traditions and suggestions. The earliest recorded rules are very basic and antiquated and they include things like no smoking opium and no women are allowed. The opium one probably still stands but I haven't been to a hash where it was necessary to remind people of this and the no women rule has been rescinded quite some time ago even though in certain places including Chiang Mai there are certain days of the week (it is Monday here in Chiang Mai) that we have a men-only run. This would likely be illegal in places like America where everyone wants to throw away all traditions of the sake of being politically correct.
We also have women only runs just to show that we are not trying to be patriarchal or misogynistic. It's just the way it is.
There are a few "rules" out there that if you violate them you are not going to get kicked out or anything like that but if you violate them you can expect to be put on the ice and reprimanded in a light-hearted way. If you like to be put on the ice go ahead and violate this rule but the point of the traditions is to have some sort of uniformity and camaraderie. So if you want to comply here is one that actually isn't told to people until usually after they violate it.
Towards the end of a hash run, you are going to encounter an "ON IN" written on the ground (most likely) that is put there in chalk, flour, or some other powder. This will indicate an easy to find direction such as the arrow at the top of the pic there as to what direction you are supposed to head. It is an indicator that you are very near the end and you can use this time to cool down if you were running or to be very relieved if you were doing a lazy 5 km walk.
Once you see the ON IN you are not meant to pass anyone else from that point forward without asking permission to do so. If they tell you that YOU SHALL NOT PASS, you are meant to stay behind them in the line of people returning to camp. Of course no one is going to force you to do this and it is just another way of "getting you in trouble" so that someone can put you on the ice and make you drink. So if you don't mind getting a friendly ribbing about violating the standards go ahead and do whatever you want.
There are some people out there and even in our own kennel clubs that seem to enjoy getting put on the ice and this is a sure-fire way of making that happen for yourself. A good way to get to know people if you are new is to intentionally violate this rule and then have a snappy retort planned for when you are sitting there such as making fun of the person that you passed for being "slower than I can possibly walk without sitting." People get a kick out of that and it is all in good fun.
I actually accidentally violated this "rule" during my first few runs and I will admit that on occasion I will violate it intentionally these days.
So now you know and you can choose the heed this information or to intentionally violate it just for fun.
