Bloomsday 2012

Photos from start to finish of Bloomsday 2012 on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

Section:Gallery

Sun., May 6, 2012

A bloomie stretches before the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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The wheelchair racers take off down Riverside Avenue at the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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The wheelchair racers take off down Riverside Avenue at the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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The elite, corporate cup and brown divisions take off at the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash..

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The elite, corporate cup and brown divisions run down Riverside Avenue at the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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Bloomies wait for the start of Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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The main field takes off on Bloomsday 2012, Sunday, May 6, 2012, in Spokane, Wash.

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Michelle Wilson, left, and Andrea Stobbe, center, stand facing the crowd of runners coming up Riverside to Governement Way. The two medical personnel were stationed to prevent runners from tripping over the median strip.

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Dan Hess, left, runs a homebuilt spray contraption and adds the spray of a handheld hose along Fort Wright Drive near Spokane Falls Community College. Hess manages an apartment building along the race route.

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Allan Kiprono, of Kenya, hits the finish line to win Bloomsday 2012..

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Mamitu Daska dashes down Broadway Avenue, past previous race shirts, to win the Bloomsday 2012 Women's Elite division.

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Mamitu Daska broke away and won the women's elite division. She gets some competition from neighborhood children.

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Mamitu Daska dashes down Monroe Street to win the women's elite division.

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"I'm thankful that I'm done" says Cyndi Kelly, 54, as she celebrates her finishing time of 52:34.

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Mamitu Daska dashes all alone down Broadway Avenue to win the women's elite division.

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Grant Bunney passes out finisher shirts on Spokane Falls Blvd. Grant was born on May 4, nine years ago on Bloomsday.

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The women's elite division start breaks from the starting line on Riverside Avenue.

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Issac Hilton, 15, readies himself for start. Issac was running with the Perennials in place of his grandfather, Arthur Hilton, of Kellogg, Idaho, who was in the hospital.

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The first wave of wheelchair racers edge up to the starting line for Bloomsday 2012.

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Discarded clothing, tossed by Bloomsday 2012 participants, blow in the morning breeze as the last of the strollers head for the starting line.

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Mamitu Daska takes water on the top of Doomsday Hill after she broke away from the pack and on her way to winning the 2012 Women's Elite division.

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Bloomsday founder and race director, Don Kardong, displays his Bloomsday 2012 finisher T-shirt.

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Bloomsday 2012 participants bounce beach balls along Riverside Avenue before the start of the race.

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Spokane Mayor David Condon drops a Bloomsday flag for the wheel chair start.

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Margaret Swanson, 90, walks Bloomsday for the 30th time, accompanied by her son John Swanson and niece and nephew Jody and Rick Malsam. About 20 of "Grandma Swanson's" family participates in Bloomsday.

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Marian Meredith plays accordion with the group Good Ole Stuff on Riverside Avenue.

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Barbara Barmore, left, and her sister Marilyn Beck, right, walk the race in honor of Barmore's husband, Hank Barmore, who died in February. Hank was a 30-year Bloomie.

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Kate Burns and her daughter Annika, 17 months old, watch the elite men's field pass them on Riverside Avenue near Government Way. Burns watches the race from the same spot each year looking for children of friends who run the race.

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Linda Knoll, Stephanie McQueen, Morgan McQueen and MaKenzie Knoll walk up Fort Wright Drive in their handmade costumes. Linda Knoll, left, is an aunt to the other three girls, who are cousins. "They talked me into this."

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Artist Sean Ravencraft, dressed in a costume of his own creation.

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Al Vernon uses a shovel to clean up used water cups along Government Way after Bloomsday. Vernon was volunteering with radio station KMBI, which sponsored the water stop.

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James and Elizabeth Forsyth, right and center, and friend Collin Fossell pass the 3-mile marker. Fossell is blind and hangs on to Elizabeth's wheelchair for the race. Elizabeth carries an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. "We need her today," she said.

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The pack of runners moves up Government Way hill.

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The crowd flows up Government Way hill as the density of runners peaks.

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Crowds of walkers and runners head south, away from Riverfront Park, across Riverside Avenue.

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The Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral choir warms up on the steps of the church before the start.

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The crowd builds to a crescendo on Riverside Avenue approaching Government Way.

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A group of ROTC members from Gonzaga University run up Riverside to Government Way.

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LeAnn Swanson, a nurse with Horizon Hospice, sprays sunscreen on a young runner at the top of Government Way hill. Medical personnel offered bandages, tissues, sunscreen and petroleum jelly as runners passed.

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Spectators young and old gather at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Government Way to watch the action.

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Eventual wheelchair winner Scott Parson speeds down Riverside Avenue.

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The crush of the crowd fills the width of Government Way.

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Eventual wheelchair winner Scott Parson speeds down Riverside Avenue in the first mile. Parson won with a time of 29:58.

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Paul Davis, right, completes a pre-race crossword puzzle as his coach Kevin Paulson, left, looks on at the starting line. The pair started the race together.
Kenya's Allan K. Kiprono leads the elite men's race.
Runners and walkers cross the finish line.
Hoardes of runners and walkers cross the finish line.
Thien Nguyen, 18, of Spokane pulls puts his shirt and singlet over his head after finishing.
The Elite Men's race moves across T.J. Meenach Bridge.
Robert K Letting (106) right, and Macdonard Ondara (103) battle it out for second place.
Duncan Vance of Edmonton, Alberta, center, wears a garbage sack to keep warm before the start.
Members of the Elite Men's race battle it out before hitting Doomsday Hill.
Kenya's Allan K. Kiprono makes his move on the way up Doomsday Hill to take the lead.
Kenya's Allan K. Kiprono leads.
Kenya's Allan K. Kiprono (101) leads Robert K. Letting.
Robert K. Letting (106) and Macdonard Ondara (103) battle it out for second place.
Spokane Valley's Evan A. Sims was the top finisher in the Washington division.
Runners sprint for the finish line.
Amber Slye, 31of Liberty Lake hugs her son, Carter, 8, after he completed his first Bloomsday race.

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Adelaide Bruce of Liberty Lake grabs a cup of water after finishing.
Kenya's Allan K. Kiprono leads the elite men's race.