The Hoboken Harriers had their 15th annual winter Snowball party Friday night at the Elks Lodge. It was a nice party. La Isla restaurant served Cuban cuisine in a buffet dinner, and Hoboken based band Swingadelic rocked some classic Rolling Stones songs while partygoers rolled along the dance floor.

If you don't know who (or what) the Harriers are, they happen to be Hoboken's only Latin speaking nudist knitting society.

No, the Harriers are a local running club founded in 1988 (harrier means runner, among other definitions). Members can run with the group at regularly scheduled times throughout the week, choosing when based on how far they feel like running, anywhere from 2.5 to 10 miles. Dues are minimal, only $10 for the year.

For 15 years now the Harriers have gathered at the Elks Lodge every winter for their "Snowball" party, which also serves as a fundraiser for local charities. This year they donated ticket proceeds to United Cerebral Palsy of Hudson County and Hoboken's own Jubilee Center.

We enjoyed meeting and talking to the runners, known as HoHa(s), who seem like a friendly and energetic bunch. They even gave everyone a name tag at the door.

First we spoke with two young ladies, Laura Bennett and one whose name tag read "Meghan 5," which sounds like an obscure planet that would welcome Kirk and Spock beaming down from the Enterprise.

Turns out she's not just one of five Meghans in the Harriers - specifically with the 'H' - but one of six! Out of about fifty female core members there are six Meghans with that exact less-common spelling. That's got to be a freakish statistical anomaly, right? Like how the 500 people who live in American Samoa somehow fill 46 percent of NFL rosters.

Anyway, Meghan 5 said she runs several days per week, even during the winter. Laura Bennett said that she likes to run through the Stevens campus and along the waterfront, and often reaches into Jersey City or Weehawken.

Hoboken is small, but that's still hard to fathom, that someone could keep running until they find themselves in a completely different city. It reminds us of old rural communities where someone literally had to race to the neighboring town to fetch a doctor. Can we put the Harriers to a similar use then? Like: "Hey Laura, you're going to be near the mall anyway, could you return these jeans to the Gap for me? I just don't feel like driving right now, thanks."

Then we talked with Ian Rintel, who told us he's the Harriers runner with the fourth longest tenure at ten years. As such, he's a very passionate advocate on behalf of the group.

"I don't care if there's a typhoon, there will be people running," he said of the Harriers, adding that during nice weather more than fifty runners might gather.

He said the Harriers always have lively conversations during their runs, and usually meet afterward for drinks. He also said that the group is always receptive to adding new members, especially those who have never considered running before.

"Don't think of it as running," he explained. "Think of it as being entertained while exercising." 

If your interest is piqued enough to consider becoming a HoHa yourself, take the endorsement of Michael Ostrow, who joined a couple of years ago. He told us since he's joined he's gotten into the best shape of his life, and that he is now happily training for his first marathon.

Ostrow had been running by himself when he heard about the Harriers and decided to accompany them one night. He said he immediately found them to be an encouraging group.

"What really impressed me, not knowing anyone, were all these strangers with their hands out right away to welcome a newcomer," he said.

Ostrow himself was so friendly, that he then invited us to come out one night with the Harriers.

Now, About Town doesn't run. We may saunter, trot and occasionally sashay, but we just don't run. We are however, the fastest walker on the planet. That's how we ended up with 17 inch calf muscles, unflexed. Not that we just measured or anything.

But, maybe when the weather gets warmer About Town will indeed join the Harriers on a run. Just because we think it might make for a good article.

Alan Skontra was a big dork who never went anywhere. Then he started writing the About Town column for Patch, and now he's everywhere. Have a hot tip on an event in Hoboken? Send an invitation, questions and comments too, to alanskontra@hotmail.com.