Lilac Bloomsday Run

Lilac Bloomsday Run
2010 finish line at Monroe Street Bridge
DateFirst Sunday in May
LocationSpokane, Washington, U.S.
Event typeRoad
Distance7.456 miles (12 km)
Established1977, 47 years ago
Course recordsMen: 33:51 (2008); Micah Kogo
Women: 38:03 (2016)
Cynthia Limo
Official sitebloomsdayrun.org
Spokane is located in the United States
Spokane
Spokane
class=notpageimage|
Location in the United States
Descending Fort George Wright Drive in 2008

The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in Spokane, Washington.[1][2][3][4] The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi).

The run had over 38,000 participants every year since 1986 until 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Registration peaked in 1996 at 61,298 with 56,156 finishers.[6] Lineth Chepkurui set an unofficial 12 km world record in the 2010 women's race.[7][nb 1]

The course record of 33:51 was set 16 years ago in 2008 by Micah Kogo, a pace of 4:32.4 per mile and an average speed of 13.217 mph (21.3 km/h). The women's record of 38:03 was set in 2016 by Cynthia Limo, a 5:06.2 per mile pace and an average speed of 11.758 mph (18.9 km/h).

Don Kardong, who founded the race, explained the name as "a starting event for the Lilac Festival … you know, lilacs blooming. And of course, I like it because it rhymes with doomsday."[1] The shortened name Bloomsday is usually associated instead with James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses and celebrations of June 16, the day in the life of Leopold Bloom that the novel chronicles.

Kardong had hoped for five hundred participants for the inaugural edition in 1977,[1] and got nearly triple that.[3] The second edition had over five thousand,[11] and the third in 1979 was over ten thousand, with fifty thousand spectators lining the streets.[12] The sixth edition in 1982 had over 22,000,[13] and despite rain and some snow, there were over 30,000 in 1984.[14]

The early editions were around eight miles (12.9 km) in length.[3][11][12][15] A new course was introduced in 1980.[16]

  1. ^ a b c Payne, Bob (March 15, 1977). "Lilac Bloomsday Run - Kardong creation". Spokesman-Review. p. 17.
  2. ^ Payne, Bob (May 1, 1977). "It's 'Bloomsday' – and Spokane's ready to run". Spokesman-Review. p. D1.
  3. ^ a b c Payne, Bob (May 2, 1977). "Horde of runners captures Spokane". Spokesman-Review. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Lilac Bloomsday 12 km Race Winners (41 runnings)". ARRS. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. ^ Morgan, Kelsie (7 May 2019). "35,233 people cross Bloomsday finish line, lowest turnout in 35 years". KXLY. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Lilac Bloomsday Run". www.bloomsdayrun.org. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  7. ^ Richardson, Jared (2 May 2010). "Chepkurui sets world record on Bloomsday course - News Story - KXLY Spokane". kxly.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ "100 Metres - men - senior - outdoor - 2014". iaaf.org. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  9. ^ "ARRS ROAD RECORDS". ARRS. 26 March 2000. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Association of Road Racing Statisticians". ARRS. Retrieved 2014-08-07.
  11. ^ a b Payne, Bob (May 8, 1978). "Spokane streets jammed with mass of humanity". Spokesman-Review. p. 1.
  12. ^ a b Gerheim, Earl (May 7, 1979). "10,000 runners cram the streets of Spokane". Spokesman-Review. p. 1.
  13. ^ Mills, Judy (May 3, 1982). "'Twas bloomin' beauty of a run for over 22,000". Spokesman-Review. p. 1.
  14. ^ Morlin, Bill (May 7, 1984). "Bloomsday's 30,465 sets record". Spokesman-Review. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Rodgers wins Spokane run". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. May 8, 1978. p. 6C.
  16. ^ "New course for Bloomsday Run". Spokesman-Review. February 26, 1980. p. 20.


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