Bloomsday 2009

Photos from the 2009 running of Bloomsday.

Section:Gallery

Sun., May 3, 2009

A runner jumps a water puddle on Riverside Avenue shortly after the start of the 2009 Bloomsday Run.

Larry Reisnouer The Spokesman-Review
This runner had to make a slight detour on the Bloomsday route to return for her fallen cell phone.

Larry Reisnouer The Spokesman-Review
The race number of Kenya's Lineth Chepkurui matched her #1 finish as she headed down Broadway after running the Bloomsday 2009 in 38.34.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Sheri Spurgeon (left) of Petaluma, CA, hugs her mom Shirley Whitaker, Spokane, as a group of friends and family gathered to start Bloomsday '09. Spurgeon, who's fighting breast cancer, was determined to finish the race.

Pia Hallenberg-Christensen The Spokesman-Review
Wearing classic Bloomsday attire, complete with garbage bag, Dave Wilson, Spokane, was one of the first to lineup at the yellow group starting line.

Pia Hallenberg Christensen The Spokesman-Review
Tim Moore is walking with his son Daniel Moore, 11, and friend Zach Utzinger, 10, toward their starting spot in the orange group. Daniel Moore is Mayor Mary Verner's son, and they all live in Spokane.

Pia Hallenberg Christensen The Spokesman-Review
Airman 1st class Johanna Brooks sang along with the Air National Guard band Wingspan during the start of Bloomsday 2009 on Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Runners file past discarded clothes in Browne's Addition during Bloomsday 2009 on Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Folks gather to watch Bloomsday runners on Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Max Mendez, choir director for Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, kept the music going as the wheelchair division sped past during Bloomsday 2009 on Sunday, May 3.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
John Yuda of Tanzania finishes first in the Elite Men's Race at Bloomsday in Spokane, Wash. Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Susanna Mendez, 9, of Hayden, Idaho, prepares to run Bloomsday on May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Three-year-old Lucy Low of Seattle held a flower while Bloomsday runners filed past in Browne's Addition on May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Father Steve Dublinski cheered Bloomsday runners in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane on May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
The race between these youngsters was fast and furious even though they started at 10 a.m. and the winners had already finished Bloomsday 2009.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Jodean Moore of Moscow, Idaho, was sitting in her lawn chair at the Orange Start well before 7:00 a.m. This was her 19th Bloomsday.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
The elite women started Bloomsday 09 at 8:45 a.m. under overcast skies and cool temperatures.

J. Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
"Butch" and "Otto" run up the Domesday Hill with the elite women during Bloomsday on Sunday.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Hunter Stokes, 8, of Spokane, came to the Bloomsday 2009 finish line because he likes "watching the elite runners."

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
The elite women ran down Riverside Avenue in a tight-knit pack for less than a mile before spreading out. No. 1 Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya smoked the field with No. 4 Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia finishing a distant second.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Bloomsday marshall Dwayne Smith of Fairchild AFB kept garbage bag-clad runners behind the yellow start.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Amanda McGrory of Champagne, Ill., picks up speed as she crests Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Krige Schabort, a 45-year-old South African who now lives in Georgia, tops Doomsday Hill alone.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Erma McKay of Spokane has volunteered at Bloomsday for 20 years. "I love interacting with the people," she said.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
The ever burgeoning crowd begins its trek up Doomsday Hill in a sun break during Bloomsday 2009 Sunday, May 3, 2009. The group at lower left is the Gonzaga University ROTC program.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Chris Thornton, left, and cousin Paul Thornton lounge in orange and powder blue tuxedos, which they wore "to give people something to smile at at the top of Doomsday Hill," said Chris.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Allyson Gwiazda, 8, is squirted by friends and family while she was out on the sidewalk on Summit, targeting Bloomsday runners.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Mason Azure, 8, right, gets a splash from his grandmother Debbie Bassen at the Premera water station at the top of Doomsday Hill during Bloomsday 2009 Sunday, May 3, 2009. Although chilly weather and showers were expected, the day turned out near perfect for running, with little or no precipitation.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
From left: Nikki Mahan, 14, Cheyenne Cleveland, 14, and Addi Travis, 13, walk through the West Central neighborhood. The most common question was "Where did you get your costumes?" Answer: "eBay".

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Tessa Van Wert, 6, rides on her father's shoulder in mile six.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Josh Crites' uses a wireless connection to play his guitar alongside the running crowd at the corner of Pettet Drive and T.J. Meenach Drive. Crites' band, Small Town Nation, greeted runners with a wall of punk rock as runners rounded the turn up Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A thirsty runner in costume grabs a drink at the top of Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Stefani Gwynn, left, and friend Hillary Luce sit with Luce' grandmother, Nancy Wheldon, on Wheldon's porch on Summit Avenue. Although it was cool and showers were expected, the weather was near perfect for the entire race.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
"It's a joke, but we are a little paranoid," says Alex Franks, right, who with her friend Sarah Willadsen sported snout-decorated masks to "protect" themselves from exposure to swine flu along the Bloomsday route.

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review
"It's a joke, but we are a little paranoid," says Alex Franks, right, who with her friend Sarah Willadsen sported snout-decorated masks to "protect" themselves from exposure to swine flu along the Bloomsday route.

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review
Jennifer Richart gets a hug from Otto, the Spokane Indians mascot, at the top of Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Thousands of Bloomies flow onto T.J. Meenach Bridge and on around to Pettet Drive.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Maggie McLaughlin, 5, left, and sister Josie, 2, watch from the sidelines as their mother, elite runner Jayne McLaughlin, disappears in the distance on Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Jayne McLaughlin, a women's elite runner from the Spokane area, works her way up Doomsday HIll.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Thousands of jogging and walking bloomies trudge up Doomsday Hill during a brief sunbreak.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Bloomies head up Pettet Drive, aka Doomsday Hill, while slower crowds cross the T. J. Meenach bridge over the Spokane River in the distance.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Jordan Stewart made sure his brother Jared was able to run Bloomsday in Spokane with him this year even though he is deployed in Iraq with the National Guard. "It was good to have him with me," said Jordan Stewart.
Bloomies head up Pettet Drive, a.k.a. Doomsday Hill, while slower crowds cross the T. J. Meenach Bridge.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Cody Mace, right, of Spokane, adjusts Kaleb Kallappa's speedometer before the race. Both men competed in the men's open division.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
One of a trio of gorillas turns the corner onto Lindeke from Summit.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Mike Auayan, right, and Angie Kuzmenko cheer on runners from the hillside above Doomsday Hill with their daughter Anaiah, 5. The two are avid paintball players and were there to cheer on their paintball team.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Tyler Alsin, left, drums on an old wheel rim in front of the West Central Community Center. He and classmates from Whitworth University formed an impromptu band, scrounged for percussion instruments and took their act to Bloomsday. Along with Alsin are Dusty Caseria (behind Alsin's head), Stephanie Melrose and Shane Polley, right.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Bloomies bunch up in the lines through the water station at the top of Doomsday Hill.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Thousands of Bloomies turn onto Pettet Drive and begin the trek up Doomsday Hill in the sunshine.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A steady stream of walkers ascend Doomsday Hill while thousands cross T.J. Meenach Bridge in the background.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Brothers Greg and Scott Zinkgraf of Spokane wore similar sunglasses and matching garbage bags while waiting for the start.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
The lead runners in the men's elite division cross the Spokane River at the T.J. Meenach Bridge.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
A wheelchair racer watches as the pack of elite men's racers pass.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
The Bloomsday 2009 t-shirt.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
"I miss him so much," says Gunhild Swanson as she hugs her friend Luana Schmall fter they both finished Bloomsday. Swanson's husband Jack Swanson died in September after a fight with Leukemia. Both accomplished marathoners, last year Gunhild Swanson pushed her husband the entire race in a wheelchair. Jack had run every Bloomsday but the first, so their friends made Gunhild a shirt making him an honorary Bloomsday Perennial. Their story was published in The Spokesman-Review.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
"I miss him so much," says Gunhild Swanson as she hugs her friend Luana Schmall fter they both finished Bloomsday. Swanson's husband Jack Swanson died in September after a fight with Leukemia. Both accomplished marathoners, last year Gunhild Swanson pushed her husband the entire race in a wheelchair. Jack had run every Bloomsday but the first, so their friends made Gunhild a shirt making him an honorary Bloomsday Perennial. Their story was published in The Spokesman-Review.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
A racer takes a look at the men's winner, John Yuda, as he passes her.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
The start of the women's elite 2009 Bloomsday Race.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Jordan Stewart made sure his brother Jared was able to run with him this year even though he is currently deployed in Iraq with the National Guard. It was good to have him with me," said Jordan.

Rajah Bose The Spokesman-Review
Jake Buck, 17, ran the entire race in a gorilla suit during Bloomsday on May 3, 2009.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Jake Buck, 17, ran the entire race in a gorilla suit.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Brian Reed of Mead crosses the finish line.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Suzanna Schofield, 11, congratulates Bloomsday participants as they pick up their shirts at the end of the race.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
John Yuda of Tanzania takes Robert Letting, Karim ElMabchour, Philemon Terer and Gilbert Akari.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Beach balls filled the air as nearly 50,000 Bloomies passed the time waiting for Bloomsday 2009 to start.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Jack Hellstrom, 11, climbs up on a statue and looks for his parents after he finished before them during his first Bloomsday race.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
After an early stumble, Joey Nyberg, finished the race with two banged up knees.

Rajah Bose Special To The Spokesman-Review
Rebekah Glass of Spokane reads "Change of Heart" while waiting for the corporate cup start.

J. Rayniak The Spokesman-Review