Bloomsday Registration Down Slightly
(From For the Record, Saturday, May 6, 1995): Jerzees American Activewear is supplying the T-shirts for Bloomsday, but is not donating them. A story in Thursday’s paper was incorrect.
Registration numbers for Bloomsday are down slightly from last year, but late registration might run up the total.
Organizers said 55,029 people registered to run Bloomsday as of the April 19 deadline. Last year, 56,162 people registered by the deadline.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 people probably will register late for the race, said Irene Johnson, a past Bloomsday board member who’s in charge of registration at Medical Service Corp.
Last year, 3,459 people registered late, Johnson said.
“If it isn’t raining, if it hasn’t been raining for a week, I think it’s going to be pretty close to last year,” she said.
People can register late for $20 from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Spokane Convention Center and Ag Trade Center.
This year’s registration breakdown includes 18,308 women and 14,242 men from the Spokane area; 6,372 women and 4,941 men from other Washington areas; 3,593 women and 2,342 men from Idaho; 1,524 women and 964 men from Montana; 478 women and 416 men from Oregon; 554 women and 512 men from Canada; and 365 women and 409 men from other spots.
Johnson offered her own theories as to why so many women run.
“In the last 10 years, women have found out they can run,” she said. “When I first started running, women weren’t supposed to run. It was supposed to be really awful for you. Women are just generally becoming more active physically.”
T-shirt close to vest
As usual, Bloomsday organizers are covering up the color and design of this year’s T-shirt.
Nobody knows. It could be polyester, cotton or velour for all anyone’s letting on.
“I really don’t know,” said Penne Perlman, of Julie Davis Associates in Atlanta, the firm handling public relations for Jerzees American Activewear. “I don’t have the scoop. I really don’t know anything about the color or design.”
One step up the food chain at Jerzees, in Alexander City, Ala., the answers were no more informative.
“For Bloomsday?” questioned a Jerzees employee. “Is that one of our customers? I have no idea. Is that a store?”
Actually, the shirts are donated to Bloomsday by Jerzees and its parent company, Russell Corp. The screening is done by Buffalo Inc. of Spokane. Employees can’t talk.
“They cannot divulge the shirt color or the design, or they lose their jobs,” said Bloomsday coordinator Karen Heaps.
Pebbles and potholes removed
While many people sleep the night before Bloomsday, some work.
City street maintenance crews will clear any beer bottles, glass or meteorites littering the streets.
“There’s nothing major, but we always make sure it’s a clear course,” said Don Burger, street maintenance supervisor.
Crews are sweeping Riverside Avenue in sections this week. They’ve also patched potholes and other problems on the course in the last couple of weeks.
The attention to detail is to avoid sprained ankles and tipped wheelchairs.
“Those wheelchairs get so fast that it doesn’t take much to knock them off,” Burger said.
Bus to Bloomsday
Spokane Transit Authority and Bloomsday will provide race express service from 10 free park-andride spots in the county.
The service starts at 6:30 a.m. Sunday and features a $1 round-trip advanced purchase pass. Buses start returning at 10:30 a.m., and the last express bus leaves leave at 1 p.m.
Without the advanced purchase pass, the express ride will cost $1 each way. Monthly passes won’t be accepted.
Advanced purchase passes are available at the Bus Shop, 510 Parkade Plaza; the Bus Shop Too, 1229 W. Boone; Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center, Fourth and University; or at the Bloomsday Trade Show in the Convention Center.