NYC Hash House Harriers is the New York chapter of an international social organization that organizes regular running events. Having executed a charity run and gala for them in 2019, I was asked to create a week-long festival of events. The main event was to be the biggest and most iconic gathering they had ever held. Working with the club’s leadership, I organized a nautical-themed main event around a three-hour cruise through New York Harbor.
The schedule
- Wednesday – 1999th Run
- Activities – a “hash” run through the East Village and a “Party Like It’s 1999” Prince-themed costume after party
- Thursday – Red Dress Beer Mile
- Activities – a timed “beer mile” run around McCarren Park Track in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Participants ran in red dresses to raise a charitable donation for New York Cares. Runners could choose between running a relay with a team of 4 or running solo. Followed by an after party with a view at Berry Park, a lively rooftop bar.
- Friday – Choose your own Adventure – choice of three different activities. All options merged at 8pm at a local brewery near the event hotel.
- Brooklyn Brewery Crawl
- Chinatown Dumpling Crawl
- Long Island Hash Run, featuring plenty of off-road running
- Saturday – The Main Event (see below)
- Sunday – Brunch picnic in Brooklyn Bridge Park
The main event
- Guests met at a bar for check-in and a pre-party beer in their on-theme costumes (encouraged but optional). They proceeded to run or walk one of the group’s classic, winding running trails through downtown Manhattan to an outdoor New York pizza party on the East Side harbor. 6, 4 and 2.5 mile trails were offered so participants of all abilities could reach checkpoints at similar times.
- Upon boarding the 130-foot yacht, guests were treated to a snack bar, a dance party and 2 decks with full-service open bars while they cruised under the Brooklyn Bridge and took in views of the downtown skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
- After disembarking, drink tickets and free karaoke for each guest enticed guests to walk seven blocks to the after party, which lasted well into the evening.