Essential Spokane Bloomsday Information
The Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K (7.46 Mi) is one of the largest timed races in the country and is open to all runners, walkers, wheelchairs and even people that want to push strollers.
I
read that in 2009 they had 51,528 signed up to run and over 45,476 runners cross
the finish line.
For a little history, Bloomday was the brainchild of 1976 Olympic Marathon runner Don Kardong. The inaugural Bloomsday took place in 1977 and has grown into a Spokane tradition ever since.
The cool thing about it is that the whole thing is run by volunteers. From the race registration to handing out T-shirts at the end, the volunteers do a great job making it all happen. You have to see it to believe it.
It's always held on the first Sunday in May and is really a Rite of Spring for people in Spokane especially after a long winter.
The
race course starts and ends right in the middle of the downtown core so it is
huge a boon for the downtown businesses such as hotels and restaurants. From a
study done in 2004 they found that the average runner brings in about $241 to
the city.
With a race this big you may be wondering how they start that many people without having a stampede. Well here's how they do it. The start times are staggered according to the level of the runners.
When you register you estimate your finish time so that you can be assigned to a color coded group that fits your fitness level. Each runner gets an ankle bracelet that contains a timing chip that is read when you cross the start and finish lines.
Naturally the elite runners and competitive wheel chair racers start in the first groups. The first group of wheel chair racers starts at 8:40. At 8:45 the elite women take off. The largest of the Elite racers start at 9:00am. This group is made up of Elite men, 2nd seed and corporate cup runners. The rest of the runners in various colors groups are then started in waves after that.
Every finisher gets a T-shirt to commemorate the achievement of making it across the finish line. It is here that the design of the shirt is unveiled. Wow, that's a lot of T-shirts.
The T-shirt design is always a secret until the finish of the race. I don't know how they do it because even the color of the shirt is kept under wraps.
Here is the inaugural shirt that was designed by my former neighbor Bob Runkle back in 1977.
If
you want to run Bloomsday it costs $15 to enter and you want to make sure you
get your registration in before the deadline because the late entry fee costs
$30. Click here
for the official Bloomsday web site for all the info.
You pick up your number and race instructions the Friday and Saturday before the race at the convention center in downtown Spokane. There is also a free health and fitness trade show going on at the same time that you can check out
As you can imagine parking can be an issue. Most of the downtown lots are open and there is ample parking at the Spokane Arena which involves a short walk through River Front Park.
If you want to avoid the hassle of parking downtown the STA provides shuttle service to/from the start/finish areas and it only costs $1.00. Click here for all the info.
More info coming...
