The weather’s turning cooler, and runners everywhere know what that means: it’s time to finish breaking in shoes, finalize hydration strategies and push through the last awful burst of training before the season hits its peak. For some D.C. runners, there’s one more item on that to-do list: start shopping for a new dress.
For some reason this town’s array of transvestite track & field options keeps expanding. Sad to say, but the first of these events has already come and gone. As blogger Elvert notes, last Saturday was the latest installment in DC Hashing‘s annual Red Dress Run. For those unfamiliar, hashing is a global phenomenon involving running, drinking and rowdiness. Events happen all the time, but once a year the D.C. chapter dons red dresses and runs through town.
It’s a bit confusing (can’t you just drink on a stationary basis?), and was all the more so when I stumbled across last Friday’s pre-hash lingerie party as I attempted to grab a low-key pre-movie beer at RFD. Still, it looked like fun, and it’s hard to question an event with associated fine print that states “your registration fee does not cover bail money”. You can find more shots of the actual run here. UPDATE: Apparently there are some hashers who don’t mind running around the city in a dress, but do mind being shown wearing one on the internet — so, sadly, most of the linked photoset has been taken down. But to get a sense of what the event looked like, in this city and others and in this year and previous ones, you can search for appropriately-tagged photos here.
But even if you missed this weekend’s hashing, you still have a chance to see a vaguely similar spectacle: The Blade reminds us of the city’s more famous high-fashion footrace, the Adams Morgan Annual High Heel Race, aka the Drag Race in Dupont Circle. On Tuesday, October 25 24, contestants will toddle across three blocks as quickly as their heels will allow as throngs of observers cheer them on. We imagine you’ll be hearing more about this from us as the date nears, but given the race’s growing popularity, you may want to mark your calendars now.
Photo graciously provided by Libby Sinback
