For These Runners, Finding Way to the Finish Is What It’s All About

San Juan Capistrano, prepare thyself.

The Hashers are coming.

The who? The what ?

The Hashers, a zany bunch of runners--officially known as the Hash House Harriers--who seek to run the most ridiculous road they can find.

Hashing is a take-off on the old English game of hounds and hares. It works like this:

Two or three runners, or hares , don rabbit ears and start out 15 minutes ahead of the hasher pack. The hares mark a trail using chalk, flour or toilet paper. Although the trail officially ends four to six miles away, the hares also set false trails, meant to lead the runners astray.

When the front-running hashers track the right trail, they blow whistles, honk hand-carried horns or yell “On-on!” (meaning on trail) to let the slower, back-of-the-pack runners know which way to go.

It is this team effort that characterizes the hash. There are no winners or losers. Competition is, in fact, forbidden.

Where does the trail end? Wherever the hares decide. Mostly, though, the hares get together a few days before the hash to check out trails and organize the post-hash food, beverages and entertainment.

(According to hash historians, the post-hash activities, called down-downs, are required by hash tradition. After all, when hashing was invented by English army officers stationed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1932, the hashers always concluded their outings at a local pub, The Hash House).

Saturday, an estimated 800 Hash House Harriers will converge on San Juan Capistrano for the second day of a four-day Interhash, a mega-hash event that happens every two years and attracts hashers from around the world. Saturday’s hash will include runners from across the United States as well as Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Egypt and Bali.

Although the 1989 Interhash is taking place mostly in San Diego--hashers will run in the San Diego area Friday, Sunday and Monday--San Juan Capistrano was the designated Hash House field trip.

Saturday, the hashers will gather at five different starts in the San Juan Capistrano area. Hares will set out at 11 a.m.

A little more than an hour later, all 800 should finally begin filing their way into the finish area.

When asked where the hares intend to lead the runners, most hash organizers let out a mischievous chuckle.

“Most of them will go through open country, but the one I’m leading will go through some wealthy housing tracts,” said designated hare Rick Tjader, grandmaster of the Long Beach Hash House Harriers and a data processing manager for a savings and loan.

What does the city think of all this?

At San Juan Capistrano City Hall, Tom Baker, director of community services, said:

“I didn’t think too much of it before, but now, well, once we started hearing about it, we’re started to panic a little,” Baker said. “I mean, ‘Hash House?’ What the heck is that? We started to do a little research. . . .

“We had no idea.”

1988 Olympian PattiSue Plumer, a former resident of Corona del Mar, is having the best competitive summer of her life this year.

After three meets, Plumer, a former Stanford star and the older sister of former University High star Polly Plumer, is tied for the women’s overall lead in the Mobil Grand Prix, a series of 17 world-class track and field meets in 14 nations.

Plumer, who shares the lead with Louisiana State’s Dawn Sowell, won the 3,000 meters at Lausanne, Switzerland, in a world-leading time of 8 minutes, 42.12 seconds, beating 1988 women’s overall Grand Prix winner Paula Ivan of Romania by five-hundredths of a second.

Plumer also won 3,000-meter races last Saturday at Birmingham, England, and last Sunday at Villeneuve D’Asq, France.

The Mobil series ends Sept. 1 with the Grand Prix final at Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Doug Nichols, Orange County’s fastest high school 800-meter runner while at Edison High School last season, signed a letter of intent to attend UC Irvine in the fall.

Race Schedule

Today: Paramount Ranch Cross-Country 2- and 3-mile Gran Prix, 6:30 p.m., Paramount Ranch, Agoura. For information, call (818) 992-6219.

Saturday: State Street Mile, Santa Barbara. One-mile race, 8 a.m. For information, call (805) 967-2614.

July 4: Fourth Huntington Beach Parade 8K, Huntington Beach City Hall at Yorktown and Main. 8 a.m. Run on parade route before an estimated 250,000 spectators. For information, call 631-8700.

Eleventh La Palma 5 & 10K. Central Park, La Palma. 7:30 a.m. For information, 522-6740.

Eleventh Run in the Parks 5 & 10K runs, 3K walk. Crown Valley Community Park, Laguna Niguel. 7 a.m. For information, call 495-0453 or 831-9622.

Information on upcoming Orange County running events and county runners with noteworthy accomplishments should be addressed to Barbie Ludovise, Los Angeles Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626.