The organization of the Erflandenrun in Hoogeveen is concerned. The number of registrations for the eighth edition on May 11 is so low that there are doubts about the survival of the running competition.
“There are just over a hundred of them,” says board member Harm-Jan Martens. “In between are registrations from 2020 that have been transferred to this year. There are simply far too few. In the last editions before the corona crisis, we were strictly around 350 participants. If we cannot reverse the downward trend, this could just happen. may be the last time.”
Martens finds it difficult to estimate why the number of registrations is falling. According to him, it is in any case not due to the commitment of the organization. “Because of corona, we have spent more time promoting the competition. But that seems to have no effect at all. It is very frustrating, because we were really looking forward to organizing another beautiful and busy edition.”
Martens, who is also a runner, suspects that something has changed in the behavior of participants due to the pandemic. “I get the feeling that people have started to appreciate their free time more. So keep Saturdays free and choose a moment to go running. But no longer in competition form.”
The Erflandenrun mainly relies on many volunteers, but they are also difficult to find, Martens concludes. “We used to have a huge list of people. We wrote to them all again, but many people no longer want to help or have no time anymore. That is a death knell for us, because they keep the event going.”
During the last board meeting, a number of members hesitated to stop. “Part of the hard core is old. If there is no more enthusiasm for the competition, they can spend their time differently, they say. I understand that somewhere. I myself have been a member for a year, but I want this will continue to organize for a number of years,” said the board member.
This is mainly because he believes that sports and exercise have become more important due to the pandemic. “Especially for the youth. They have of course been indoors for a while, we have to encourage sports.”
Despite the low number of registrations, the eighth edition of the competition will continue this year. “We owe that to our sponsors. They supported us during the pandemic,” says Martens. “After that we have to make a decision. In any case, it doesn’t look very good.”