The St. John Hog Jog was started in 1978 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in April 2018. It is the longest consecutive community run in the area. Dick Dowd, an elementary teacher in St. John at the time, started the race. He wanted to add a new event to the annual St. John Stock Show, hence the name "Hog Jog", as well as providing a chance for local runners to "Tune for Bloom" (Bloomsday). The race is always on the weekend before Spokane's Bloomsday race. At its high point, there were over 400 runners competing in the run and filling the streets of St. John with fun and excitement. This, despite a history of not so great spring weather that has faced the intrepid runners.
The numbers have dropped over time, reflecting the nations decrease interest in running. The Hog Jog has survived because of a group of dedicated community members. Lloyd DeChenne has been head timer. When the race has faced extinction because leadership moved on or could not organize the event. People such as Lydia Smith, Donna Harrison, Gracie Miller, Ken Gering, Andrea Miller, Dick Behrens and others stepped up to keep the event alive. The local pride and commitment to the Hog Jog is evident throughout the community and we cannot be more proud of all the volunteers that have given of their time and money over the past 41 years.
In hopes of reviving interest in the Hog Jog, we added additional kids race, Jog with the Hog. The race is targeting elementary students in hopes of getting them excited about running and developing healthy life habits. Students in grades kindergarten through third grade will run a one mile course and grades fourth and fifth will navigate a two mile course. The kid's race will start shortly after the adult race and will have a separate finish line.
To encourage families to join this celebration of running, We will provide post race supervision of the young runners whose parents are competing in the adult race. After the races are over, join us for snacks and random drawings for prizes donated by our generous and supportive local businesses.
We invite everyone to come out and be part of the Hog Jog, as a runner, a volunteer, or a cheering spectator. Let's keep this tradition alive for years to come.