Bend Hash House Harriers runners Ryan Mortimore, left, and Ron Taylor make a turn at the chalked ‘BN,’ standing for ‘Beer Near,’ on Saturday afternoon in Bend.

Remember when you were a kid and you used to run around the neighborhood for hours on end? Never once did you think to yourself, “I’m exercising and burning calories.”

No, you were preoccupied with whatever adventure you and your friends might be on, whether it was collecting as many sticks as possible or seeing who could run the fastest down a stretch of road — again and again and again.

You were focused not on the act of running, but rather on your mission to create fun.

Which pretty well describes a hash: You run for miles and don’t realize the distance you have covered.

The Hash House Harriers is an international group of noncompetitive running, social — and drinking — clubs. A “hash” or “hash run” is a running event featuring routes that are marked with symbols to direct runners either the right way or the wrong way.

“It’s like a treasure hunt and you are trying to find the trail,” explained Bend’s Cate Hill during Saturday’s urban hash. “It’s a social event.”

Hill joined the Bend Hash House Harriers on Saturday for her second hash run, having recently discovered the social pastime.

Two hash groups have recently started up in Central Oregon: the Bend Hash House Harriers, and the Central Oregon Hash House Harriers — better known as COH3.

The two organizations started about the same time a few month ago, neither group at the time aware of the other. But the groups soon discovered each other after a few running events.

The Bend group meets once a month, usually on Saturdays. The Central Oregon group meets twice a month, usually on Sundays.

While both groups aim for the same thing, each has its own character. The Bend group is characterized by its older runners (30s to 50s) and longer course distances. The COH3 draws a younger crowd (20s to 30s), the courses usually are only a few miles long, and the group has what is known as “religion.” Religion is a gathering at the end of a hash, when the leader of a particular run initiates a group singalong or hazing.

“Their kennel and our kennel are a little different,” said Jeff Garrison, 29, of Bend, who started up the COH3. “I like to do religion at the end of (the hash) where I kind of haze some people.”

Garrison has been hashing for about four years. He said he has joined groups throughout the country, from Hawaii to Washington, D.C, and abroad in China.

“You can go to any major city in the world and find a hash,” noted Garrison.

Hash groups have formed all around the world since the activity was founded by a casual group of British colonial officers in 1938 in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia.

According to the Web site www.gthhh.com, 1,879 hash groups in 178 countries currently are registered in the world hash directory.

While hashers say there are no rules to hashing, groups usually have traditions that they carry out.

For instance, no one is allowed to talk about racing, intense training, or their profession.

“It’s basically the antithesis of hard-core running,” explained Teague Hatfield, an avid runner. Hatfield joins the Bend Hash runners from time to time. On Saturday, the entire group was led through FootZone in downtown Bend, the running store of which Hatfield is the proprietor.

“It’s another way for runners to get together,” said Ron Taylor, 53, of Bend, who helped form the Bend group along with several other running enthusiasts.

Participants who run with either group week after week will be presented with a nickname. But, in the beginning, newcomers are known by their first name with the word “just” in front of it (for example: “Just Katie”).

Hashing is a way for all runner types to stay together and run as one big group. Whether a runner is in tiptop shape or just starting to get in shape, he or she can enjoy a social jog with other runners who may not run at the same pace.

“It keeps fast and slow together,” observed Peter Mersereau, who said he has hashed all around the world. “You can have anyone from hard-core runners to walkers, and they all pretty much stay together. … That’s why there is a beer check (runners gather to drink about halfway through the run), too, so that everyone can regroup and start over. It’s like a reset.”

How hashes work:

A group gathers at the beginning of a run to socialize, some individuals drink spirits, others drink water to prepare for the hour or hours of running. Participants learn what kind of markings they might find along the set course. Then all participants set out on the run together. Hashes can involve three participants to hundreds of participants depending on who shows up to run.

On Saturday, at the Bend hash, the 20 participants learned about the four or five different symbols that were marked with white powder along the sidewalks and streets. Saturday’s run was an urban hash that led runners through downtown Bend and some west-side neighborhoods. Hashes often take place on trails.

Taylor set up the course at a distance of five miles. He explained that if runners are led astray — which they often are — they could run up to 10 miles if the they follow false markings much of the way.

Course setters use dots of powder or paint to mark the route. If runners come across three dots and an arrow (for example, dot — run 50 yards — dot — run 50 yards — dot — run 50 yards — arrow) they have found the right route. But if they come across three parallel lines, they have found a dead end and must backtrack to find the correct route.

The “X” symbol means the course could go in any direction, and runners must sniff out each possible turn which means runners might run half a mile one direction and then have to return, and perhaps do this again and again until they find the right one.

“The faster ones do all the work,” said Bend’s Celine Godin, 46, as she jogged along during Saturday’s hash. “They get ahead and look for the right trail and then we show up and they are like ‘Oh, it’s this way.’”

Most hashes have checkpoints, which are meant to bring the group back together if runners have spread out. The checkpoints also provide a place for the participants to socialize, and maybe enjoy a beverage of choice.

At the end of the run, participants gather to eat, drink, and laugh about the day’s jog. Again, they don’t talk about work or intense training or races. They sit sweaty and smiling, carrying on casual conversations.

“It’s just a good way get exercise in a nonstressful environment,” said Mersereau. “People aren’t obsessed about racing and training and talking about those things. It’s just exercise, socializing and, you know, we happen to have a few beers afterward.”

Information on upcoming runs:

Bend Hash House Harriers

www.BendHash.com

Central Oregon Hash House Harriers

www.COH3.org