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Inflation Hits Bloomsday Officials Increase Entry Fee By A Dollar, Hope To Be Part Of Road-Running Championships

By Kim Barker kimb@spokesman.com

FOR THE RECORD: (March 7, 1995): This year’s Bloomsday poster was designed by artists Ken Spiering and John Mraz. A photo cutline in the paper Friday incompletely listed the artists.

Bloomsday May 7. Spokane

People will have to cough up an extra dollar this year to run in Bloomsday.

But the $8 entry fee shouldn’t choke anybody’s pocketbook, say organizers of the May 7 race.

The cost is increasing to keep up with expenses, organizers announced Thursday. The fee last went up in 1990, to $7 from $6.

Participants in the race’s first year in 1977 paid $3 each.

“We think the $8 is a pretty good bargain,” said Larry Vandenburg, president of the Lilac-Bloomsday Association.

Especially when compared with other races: The Bolder Boulder in Colorado costs $20, the Coeur d’Alene marathon is $25 and the New York marathon is $68.

One reason organizers chose to increase the cost is in case Bloomsday is chosen for the world roadrunning championship, which is starting next year.

The extra cash would make sure Bloomsday could afford the prize money that goes along with the world championship. Winners would receive more than $100,000, compared with the more than $50,000 to be awarded at Bloomsday this year.

Bloomsday normally has surplus budgets some years, deficits in others. Before the fee increase, race organizers projected a deficit of $20,000 this year.

Without the increase, next year’s deficit would be at least $80,000 if Bloomsday hosts the world championship, Vandenburg said.

The site of the championship race will be announced in mid-April.

“We think we have a very good shot at being the first world road racing championship,” said Don Kardong, president of the Association of Road Racing Athletes and Bloomsday founder.

The event is open to athletes with enough points in the newly created Professional Road Running Organization, a million-dollar championship circuit. The championship will rotate among 14 participating races, including Bloomsday.

This year’s Bloomsday, expected to draw 60,000 people from around the world, will start at 9 a.m.

In another change this year, the elite women runners will start 15 minutes earlier, at 8:45 a.m.

Race organizers said this would give the women’s race more visibility. The elite women will have a less congested start and less traffic than in the past. The women also will receive more accurate times at each mile mark.

“It seems like the women were buried,” Vandenburg said.

Registration deadline for the 7.46-mile race is April 19. After that, late registration costs $20.

About 380 applications for the Lilac Bloomsday Corporate Cup Competition will be sent out this weekend.

The Corporate Cup is open to the first 250 teams that return their applications, plus one team per major sponsor of the race.

For more information, call the Bloomsday office at 838-1579.

ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This is a sidebar that appeared with the story: OFF AND RUNNING If you’re planning to run Bloomsday, it’s a good idea to get off the couch before May 7. The following training clinics can help whip you into shape: Holy Family Hospital and Group Health Northwest will hold free clinics at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays from March 11 to April 29 at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt. Call 482-2356 for more information. The YWCA, 829 W. Broadway, will hold clinics at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays between March 6 and May 10. Former Bloomsday race director Sylvia Quinn, who’s won 15 firstplace medals in her age category, will teach the clinics. The cost is $25 for members and $40 for nonmembers. Call 326-1190, extension 19, for more information. The YMCA, 507 N. Howard, started its clinics Tuesday, but you still can jump in. The classes will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays until May 4. The cost is $17 for members and $37 for nonmembers, including the late fee. Call 838-3577 for more information.

This is a sidebar that appeared with the story: OFF AND RUNNING If you’re planning to run Bloomsday, it’s a good idea to get off the couch before May 7. The following training clinics can help whip you into shape: Holy Family Hospital and Group Health Northwest will hold free clinics at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays from March 11 to April 29 at the West Central Community Center, 1603 N. Belt. Call 482-2356 for more information. The YWCA, 829 W. Broadway, will hold clinics at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays between March 6 and May 10. Former Bloomsday race director Sylvia Quinn, who’s won 15 firstplace medals in her age category, will teach the clinics. The cost is $25 for members and $40 for nonmembers. Call 326-1190, extension 19, for more information. The YMCA, 507 N. Howard, started its clinics Tuesday, but you still can jump in. The classes will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays until May 4. The cost is $17 for members and $37 for nonmembers, including the late fee. Call 838-3577 for more information.