City Hash (CH3) was born out of a bust up between the CH3 founder Phil “Myrtle” Mertell and West London H3, its first trail being in January 1989. The reasons are lost in the depth of time and probably best forgotten, but it is said that no one liked him but he did not care (though he was probably not a Millwall supporter as he came from Oz).
After a rocky start CH3 has thrived, with its Tuesday night runs in Zones 1 and 2 of the TFL map being easily accessible for most people after a hard day in the office. CH3 gets a weekly pack size of around 40-50 runners, plus a lot of visitors on holiday or over in London for work trips.
CH3 has been successful in its growing its reach and recruiting by reaching out through social media and joining non-hash events like LoveTrails, Ciderthon, Beer Lovers Marathon, Bacchus, Medoc and various alcohol-related running events!
Its programme also appeals to a younger crowd, including fancy-dress runs at any opportunity (Burns Night, Halloween, Oktoberfest, Black Tie and 5th of July to name but a few); and sponsoring popular Blunder Inc. events such as Pacman and The Water Pistol Run.
The work-hard-play-hard crowd also regularly bring along friends and work colleagues. As a result, CH3 regularly attracts hash-virgins, more than any other London hash, effectively making it a feeder hash bringing new, and younger blood into the hash community. It would be rude to call CH3 a meat market but there are a lot of happy couples who met there and who have been doing their best to expand the hash community through their breeding programmes (and celebrating with Hash Wedding runs!).
Initially called the Crap Hash by some WLH3 stalwarts and shunned for being splitters, it is now one of the core London hashes and sweetness and light prevail with many CH3ers, especially old hands, hashing with all and any London hash when it suits them. On the other hand, a lot of CH3 hashers are rarely seen outside their own pack, in London or travelling the world. Having lost attendance records several times over the years, it does not tend to celebrate individual hasher’s milestones, but it celebrated 35 years last year (2024) continues to thrive.