Jingle Jam road race for domestic violence holding final Columbia County race Dec. 2

A local fundraising road race that has become a cultural touchstone for fighting domestic violence is ending. 

The 2023 Jingle Jam 10K Road Race that will be held Dec. 2 will be the very last, according to Jingle Jam founder and race director Goldei Limbaugh. 

“It’s ending because everyone on the board feels like it’s time to move on,” she said. “The local landscape has changed so much that the tradition of hosting Jingle Jam 10k at Evans Towne Center Park, or anywhere in Columbia County, just has become impractical and unreasonable because of the immense growth that Columbia County has experienced over the past decade.

"We can’t shut down Washington Road for two hours on a Saturday in December anymore.” 

The Jingle Jam race began in 2011, when the county’s population was smaller and before the surge of new residents to Fort Gordon.  

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Participants who run or walk the race’s route are encouraged to dress in festive or outlandish holiday-themed costumes. One perennial favorite is a runner who dresses and acts like Buddy, the title character in the holiday movie "Elf." 

Jingle Jam is a nonprofit corporation formed to raise funds for Safe Homes Inc., an Augusta agency that provides services, programs, assistance and advocacy for victims of domestic violence for 10 counties in east central Georgia. 

Limbaugh credits Jingle Jam’s board of directors for the enduring success of the race since the first one was run in 2011. The 2022 race had the smallest number of runners – more than 300 – owing largely to a last-minute change to the race route to avoid snarling traffic generated by a lacrosse tournament at Lakeside High School. 

The biggest turnout for the race was more than 800 runners.

Limbaugh said she hopes area residents fondly remember Jingle Jam’s big crowds and the impact they had in helping abused families in need. She estimated the charity event has raised at least $160,000, mostly coming from the participant’s registration fees. 

“We voted to end it on a celebration. We have had so much to celebrate over the past decade,” Limbaugh said. “We brought domestic violence from out of the shadows in this local area and made JJ10K corollary and part of the vernacular. You can’t think of one without thinking about the other in the Augusta running community.”