Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Forty years ago, Dick Dowd, an elementary teacher and runner, thought St. John needed a local race. It was tied in with the town’s annual community fair and stock show, and they called it the Hog Jog. That same event has perpetuated over the years and endured.
“It’s been a real, I think, testimony to the community spirit,” said Dick Behrens, St. John/Endicott High School track coach and Hog Jog coordinator.
Behrens credited many people with keeping the event running through the decades. Lydia Smith, Donna Harrison, Gracie Miller, Ken Gering, Andrea Miller and Pete and Fran Martin are just a few of the people responsible for the event’s longevity. This year’s run will celebrate those people who never gave up on the race.
“That’s just amazing that it remained functioning for 40 years,” Behrens said.
After the first few years, the five-mile Hog Jog was drawing upwards of 400 people to St. John. Part of that had to do with the run’s timing.
“The Hog Jog is a week before Bloomsday,” Behrens noted. Running the Hog Jog is good training for the Spokane event, something Behrens had done himself.
The event now does not draw the crowd that it used to. Last year there were only 37 people in the five-mile run and about 100 in the one to two mile.
In an effort to improve participation, the Jog with the Hog event was added. Nowadays, the high school track and cross-country teams put on and coordinate the event with students setting up and managing the course and water stations.
The students recently went to St. John and Endicott elementary schools to promote the event to the youngsters. The Jog with the Hog is one mile for kindergarten to third grade and two miles for fourth and fifth graders. High school students in pig costumes and snouts will run along with the elementary students. This will make it easier to keep the younger children on track, Behrens noted.
The hope is to build the five-mile race back up, but even those not as spry as they once were are welcome with a shorter walking course for adults.
To help celebrate the event’s 40th year, Behrens is encouraging all past participants to come back and at least do the walking course.
“Some of us are getting pretty old now,” he said.
Race day is April 28 with start time at 8:30 a.m. As he has for every race since the beginning, Lloyd Dechenne will be the starter.
Entry forms can be found on the event’s webpage, stjohn-hogjog.blogspot. com. Cost if registered by April 18 is $15; afterward cost is $20 until race day. A commemorative t-shirt is included in the cost of registration.
“This year’s t-shirt will be pretty cool,” Behrens said. Cost to register and not get a shirt is $10.
Kids’ registration is $10 with shirt. The club does not make anything on the youth runners, they would still like to see the elementary numbers increase and more children get excited about running.
For families running, post-race supervision of youths will be offered for parents in the adult race.
The race starts at the town park near the school. From there, the course goes east, then north to Main Street, then west to Lancaster past the fairground and golf course, up the hill toward Lancaster and back.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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