Credit for the red-dress thing goes to the San Diego Hash House Harriers. It seems that one evening after a bout of revelry, a group of the San Diego hashers ended up in a hot tub. The hot-tubbers were joined by a woman (not a hasher) who was wearing a red dress and not much else, as revealed by the bubbling action of the hot tub.

Anyway, the female hashers weren't too keen on the attention their dates paid to the red-dress woman. They got their revenge at the next hash, when they and a few of the male members showed up in red dresses and required everyone (especially the ogling perpetrators) to run the hash in red dresses. The stunt evolved into a popular yearly event, and soon spread as a tradition to hash groups around the world.

From Adelaide, Australia to Washington D.C., from Frankfurt to Beijing, men and women don their running shoes and their finest red frocks, sheaths, gowns and skirts and take to the streets, drawing stares of bewilderment and admiration from passers-by and bystanders. As with all hashes, the goal is fun and beer, but everyone will admit that the red dresses add that extra touch of class. [1]