Red Threat, No Sweat

Every Monday evening at 6:30, a pack of 60 to 70 perspiring foreigners could be seen jogging through the crowded streets of central Moscow, rubbing elbows and sometimes knees with startled rush-hour pedestrians. The runners, most of them Western diplomats, called themselves the Hash House Harriers, after a group founded by three fleet-footed Britons in Kuala Lumpur some 50 years ago. Following a run of 2 1/2 to five miles, participants of the Moscow ritual would engage in beer and banter at a Western embassy.

The Soviet Foreign Ministry, however, has sent a note to foreign embassies complaining that the run "interfered with the normal life of the city." The Soviets asked the joggers to confine their activity to parks and to official sporting facilities. Clint Halloran, 43, a trim Australian attache who serves as Hash Master, the elected head of the in formal club, chose not to regard the Soviet demand as a worsening of East-West relations. In compliance with the Soviets' request, the runs have been rescheduled for nonrush hours and moved to various parks and suburbs, like the area around the U.S. embassy dacha, ten miles from the Kremlin. "There was a real danger of someone being knocked down and injured," said Halloran, adding cheerfully, "They didn't say we couldn't run."