Bloomsday 2006 -- The racers

Photos from mostly elite runners.

Section:Gallery

Sun., May 7, 2006

Alfonso Zaragoza (cq), Kaleb Kallappa (cq) and Austin Snyder (cq), left to right, get ready for the Bloomsday 2006 race at the starting line Sunday morning, May 7, 2006. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Fifteen-year-old competitor Kaleb Kallappa (cq) of Vancouver, Wash., stretches with his dad and coach Matt Kallappa (cq) before the start of Bloomsday Sunday, May 7, 2006. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Saul Mendoza (cq), left, of Wimberley, Texas, and Alfonso Zaragoza (cq) of Mexico City, Mexico, wait for the starting gun at Bloomsday May 7, 2006. Mendoza went on to win the wheelchair division race. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Austin Snyder (cq), right, helps Jennifer Goeckel (cq) change a tire minutes before the start of the Bloomsday wheelchair race Sunday, May 7, 2006. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Wheelchair racers speed by after the starting gun during Bloomsday May 7, 2006. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Wheelchair racers take off down Riverside at the begining of Bloomsday May 7, 2006. AMANDA SMITH The Spokesman-Review
Kenyans Isabella Ochichi (cq), left, and Gladys Asiba (cq) start running in the women's elite race at Bloomsday Sunday, May 7, 2006. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
John Itati (cq) of Kenya rubs his hands together to warm them before the start of Bloomsday in downtown Spokane Sunday, May 7, 2006. The weather was cool and overcast for the 30th Bloomsday run. Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
The men's race compeditors ready their watches before the starting gun during Bloomsday 2006. Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review
The Winning Time machines were a new addition to this years Bloomsday race on May 7, 2006. The machines allowed each racer to start their time when the chips on their legs crossed over the Winning Time machine's pads under the starting line. AMANDA SMITH The Spokesman-Review
Passing a C-17 Globemaster III on the flightline, 1st Lt. Jeremiah Camp, a pilot deployed here from the 92nd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, keeps a small lead in front of Capt. Jill Metzger, a two-time Air Force Marathon champion. Lt. Camp hit the finish line four seconds ahead of her to take first at Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan on May 7, 2006. Photo courtesy of Air Force Staff Sgt. Lara Gale of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Air Gale The Spokesman-Review
Members of the women's elite group of runners start off the May 7, 2006 Bloomsday race in downtown Spokane. INGRID LINDEMANN The Spokesman-Review

Ingrid Lindemann The Spokesman-Review
Eventual wheelchair winner Saul Mendoza pumps his way up Doomsday Hill during Bloomsday 2006. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/the Spokesman-Review

Jesse Spokesman-Revi The Spokesman-Review
Isabella Ochichi 26, (right) of Kenya and Australia's Benita Johnson 27, battle for first place on Government Way on Sunday May 7, 2006. INGRID LINDEMANN / Spokesman-Review

Ingrid Lindemann The Spokesman-Review
This year was the first year that all of the runners were able to cross the official Bloomsday starting line with the introduction of tiny chips that each runner wore on their ankles during the race May 7, 2006. AMANDA SMITH The Spokesman-Review
Isabella Ochichi runs up Doomsday Hill during Bloomsday 2006. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/the Spokesman-Review

Jesse Spokesman-Revi The Spokesman-Review
Susannah Scaroni (cq), 14, of Tekoa, Wash., races down Riverside Avenue out of Browne's Addition, Sunday morning. Scaroni participated in the Women's Junior Division competition. Kathryn Stevens The Spokesman-Review.
A trailing wheelchair competitor inches painfully up Doomsday Hill while runners pass him during Bloomsday 2006. Photo by Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review

Jesse Spokesman-Revi The Spokesman-Review
Elite runner Mike Bresson, center, is congratulated by Danny Gonzalez after finishing the Bloomsday race on the Monroe Street bridge. Christopher Onstott/Spokesman-Review

Christopher Onstott The Spokesman-Review
Fans line Monroe street and cheer on wheelchair racers on the final stretch of the Bloomsday race on their way to the finish line. Christopher Onstott/Spokesman-Review

Christopher Onstott The Spokesman-Review
Carol Wanamaker, dressed in a Ziggy's costume, snuggles up with Joseph Koech for a photo while a few runners suit up after the men's race. Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review