The Houston Hash has an exceptionally long tradition of supporting the Houston marathon, and I would hope that we would keep up that tradition. The race in 2019 is on Sunday, January the 20th. Let’s do it justice – again.

Quick note – there are 5,500 volunteer “Race Crew” jackets (total) that are first come first serve as far as volunteer registrations are concerned (see below). These will run out approximately December 23rd. Don’t say i didn’t warn ya.

onon, mcp

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Hashers

People have been asking, “How can I volunteer at the marathon?” Well, I’m glad you asked. There are several ways that the Houston hash volunteers at the marathon:

Marathon STAFF : These volunteers put in months of work at positions like Course Director, Sector Captain, Mile Captain and Starting Corridor, and many others – like“Honorary Hasher” MaxiPad (the Marathon’s Big Cheeze). This includes hashers like Sperminator & RollerBalls (Race flow), Scud (Starting Corridor), WowMomWow & HairyPalms (Sector 4), McP & Cums Anyway (Sector 5), and Red Snapper (Sector 6). And probably 10 others I’m missing. You can’t sign up for this directly.

OFFICIAL MARATHON VOLUNTEER – (Hereafter to be called “volunteer”) These are positions that you have to sign up for and are expected to work, and if you are doing it correctly, it is a lot like work. Most hashers who have done this in the past have signed up to be road guards. This is a position designed to keep the runners safe, vigilantly watching the crowd and the runners for potential problems, and solving them before they happen. Some important things about being a Road Guard, or any other volunteer position:

IF YOU SIGN UP TO BE A ROAD GUARD, YOU CANNOT BE DRINKING ALCOHOL WHILE BEING A ROAD GUARD. You can drink after your shift, but you need to remove your “official tshirt/jacket” etc.

You can’t hand out beer while wearing your “official t-shirt/jacket” etc.

You actually have to obey the rules that you are supposed to be enforcing (for example, standing on the curb and not in the street).

Basically, just remember that you are representing the Houston Marathon if you are wearing their “official tshirt/jacket” etc. and signed up to do so. If your shift is over and you want to drink, please remove their logo’ed attire. Most hashers road guard at Mile 24 near the Hash Hoopla station (see below), but some hashers do other miles, like 20 in Memorial park where Pipes is Captain, or closer to their homes and then bike in later. The signup link to be a volunteer in this capacity is:

https://hou.emos1.com/volunteer/RegisterVolunteer.aspx?eid=12&JScript=1

(you would then need to pick “Sector 6 Road Guard,” “Mile 24” to volunteer to road guard near the hash hoopla)

Mile 24 HOOPLA – (Hereafter to be called “Hoopla”) is basically the party for that mile. There are no expectations of anything other than showing up and cheering on the runners. This could include handing them beer (don’t hold it by the rim, that’s fucking nasty, and wear gloves for god’s sakes). This is not an official capacity, you won’t get a t-shirt, you can drink all you want provided you do so legally, and you don’t have to rego. HOWEVER, if you plan on showing up and you want any kind of FOOD or BEER to drink, you should donate to the planning committee. See WHP or ICP for details on this (I know WHP always puts together good information on how to make this a good time).

Hopefully this creates more answers than questions. If I missed something, please ask and I will quickly redirect. Thanks and onon