SO, where to now for the Bathurst Edgell Jog?
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For more than four decades the Jog has been a local institution and a fixture on our community calendar.
It signalled the unofficial changing of the seasons from winter to spring, giving families a reason to emerge from their hibernation to start again enjoying our region's attractions.
It was a chance, for some, to put on a silly costume to entertain the throng as they did their best to complete the circuit, while others put the kids in the pram and enjoyed a Sunday stroll.
Many more spent the last weeks of winter getting in some pre-summer training in a bid to beat their personal best in the Jog while it has also been held in high regard by some of the state’s and nation’s finest runners, attracting more than its share of elite athletes over the years.
But now, it seems, the Jog is rapidly losing its appeal and the community has voted with its feet.
Despite a genuine plea from organisers last week for the community to get behind the Jog, and despite some perfect spring weather on Sunday, a disappointing turnout of 787 runners means the Jog committee will again struggle to break even, even after Bathurst Regional Council this year increased its support from $6000 to $13,000 annually.
Those 787 runners were a far cry from the heyday of the Jog when double that number – and more – would tackle the course, raising thousands of dollars along the way to be distributed to local charities.
There could be any number of reasons for the dwindling support – more people now work on Sunday; the Jog fell on the same weekend as local football finals and the inaugural NAB Western Premiers Challenge at Carrington Park; maybe the longer working week for most people mans they are less inclined to leave their home on a Sunday morning; or perhaps it has just run its race.
Whatever the case, no-one could blame the committee from walking away from the event altogether in 2019.
The small band of volunteers puts in hundreds of hours to prepare for the Edgell Jog and if the community is not willing to support them, then its days are surely numbered.
That would be sad, but the community has had two years to decide if it wants the Jog to survive and has stayed away in droves. The committee’s toughest decision may have already been made for them.