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The Communicator 05.17.2018
Sports
Editor: Carlie Houn sfcc.carlie.houn@gmail.com
Bloomsday turns 42
Participant numbers decline again this year, yet the spirit of Bloomsday is still alive for the city of Spokane Carlie Houn The Communicator Bloomsday has been a road run for over 42 years in the city of Spokane, yet this year’s run held substantially fewer participants than the past years. The Bloomsday yearly stats state the numbers reached over 5,000 fewer participants than last year. Some runners blame it on the heat and egos of couch potatoes while others blame it on the course of the run. “It’s one of the most fun runs I’ve ever done,” said Shelly Smith, a 56 year old runner who has participated in Bloomsday for 38 years, “I
have made quite the collection of T-shirts and memories throughout the years because of the running clubs and other programs that are connected to it all.” What started the popular road run was the cultural running “boom” that swept the nation in the 1970’s. Bloomsdays’ 2018 website home page shares a history of how the run started; a local runner, Don Kodong proposed to the Spokane city council that the city should have its own road race; thus the Lilac Bloomsday run was born. The first year proved to be successful by gaining over 1,000 participants. By the second year, the run continued to grow, totaling to over 5,000 participants. Continuing
Madison Pearson | The Communicator Runner statues in Riverfront Park wearing past Bloomsday shirts
Madison Pearson | The Communicator W Fort George Wright Bridge where participants cross during mile 4 of the race.
through the years the numbers though is that of the population. Since 1996 when the race grew and grew maxing out at hit an ultimate high of partic56,156 people in 1996. ipants, the years have slowly “The run is fun but, man, led to a downfall in the amount it’s hard,” said Joey Nichols, a state qualified runner, “The hill of participants. The past twenty years the decline has dipped all is a beast and there is so many the way down to the high thirty people crowded around you most of the time that it’s hard to thousands, surprising some of keep a consistent pace which is the most committed Bloomsday runners. what serious runners want.” “I guess Throughpeople are out the years Jemal Yimer from probably participants have come from getting busier Ethiopia is the 2018 with proms countries all first place finisher. being the Satover the world source: www.bloomsdayrun.org urday before to be apart of and the weaththe race, the winners are er, it was one of the hottest ones I have ever mostly from South African done,” said Smith. countries. Bloomsday’s 2018 Still according to over 20 results page declares Jemel citizens who showed up at Yimer from Etheopia the first place finisher for 2018, winBloomsday this year, it is believed that the road race will ning $7,000 in award money. The road run has also seen never cease to bring people to the starting line every year on its challenges through weather the first Sunday of May. and road construction on the very famous course. The most noticeable of all the problems
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