A motley crew of runners chose to ring in Queen Victoria's birthday the only way that made any sense – with running and beer.

Running. And beer.

A dozen Whitehorse Hash House Harriers (WHHH) capped off the long weekend with a jaunt through downtown, touring royal landmarks in honour of the Queen.

"The intent of the Hash is to work off your hangover from the weekend, to get some exercise and to make the old not feel as old as they are,” WHHH joint-master Forest Pearson said while sitting in The Rock pub, the finish line of last night's run.

"The bartender informed me ahead of time: He said the Regina Hotel has the oldest liquor license in the Yukon.”

The route's first checkpoint was the "big yellow” house or "the Queen's house” on the corner of Alexander Street and 7th Avenue. Its significance?

Queen Elizabeth II stayed there during her visit to Whitehorse in 1959.

But that's not all, Pearson said.

"I think it was during her visit to the Yukon she found out she was pregnant and had to head home early and cancel her Canadian tour. I'm not sure about that. But nonetheless it makes a good story. We tell a lot of lies on the Hash. It doesn't necessarily mean it's true; I think there's a grain of truth in there, which is good enough for this crew,” Pearson said.

The WHHH is just one of the 1,957 hash groups registered in the world directory, located in 1,274 cities in 185 countries, according to the World Hash House Harriers website.

It was started in 1938 by British colonial officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"Probably to break up the monotony of drinking,” one Whitehorse runner said.

The Hash House Harriers is a more social version of Hare and Hounds, wherein the hare marks the trails and is chased by the hounds, the website explains. Then add beer.

This is followed by a boisterous ritual, usually called a Religion or Shout Up.

Pearson said the Hash is intended to be inclusive, accommodating runners of all abilities.

"I would say a classic Hasher is a 50-year-old guy with a beer gut,” he said, noting that the Monday night run attracted an unusual number of 20-something women.

One of the girls was a Hasher in Australia, found out about the Whitehorse Hash and came out. Pearson does the same when he goes out of town.

"It's pretty much like this anywhere you go in the world,” Pearson said, adding of the Shout Up: "It's pretty belligerent and informal and chaotic, and that's the normal routine anywhere you go.”