Bloom Masters Bloomsday Loyalist Puts A Smile On His Race Annual Race Invigorates Dedicated Runner, Artist, Musician

He’s got multiple personalities when it comes to running.

One year, he called himself “Newty,” - short for Newt Gingrich. Another year, he claimed to be Henry Rono, the long-distance running legend who set four world records in 1978. He’s also been Mikhail Gorbachev, Olympian Dan O’Brien and Bill Clinton.

But most people know him as Jim McArthur, a father of two, self-employed architect and Bloomsday loyalist.

McArthur runs the road race under a different alias each year, causing headaches for Bloomsday staff members trying to keep tabs on runners.

“Now there’s no record that I’ve run anything,” he says.

Make no mistake, the 52-year-old Spokane man raced in all 19 Bloomsdays - a distinction held by only about 150 people. Now he’s gearing up for his 20th race.

“It’s kind of a rite of passage from the freezing winter to the sinewy summer,” McArthur says.

Superstitious, he started using different names to “get some of the good luck other people were having.” He assumes the names of people who are having good years. McArthur says he can’t tell if it’s worked or not.

He’s the only member of his family who likes running. His wife, Darla, and their two children aren’t interested.

For McArthur, it’s become something of a lifestyle. “Running is like eating,” he says. “You make time for it.”

He raced on his high school track team in Butte, Mont., then stopped his favorite sport after starting a rigorous class schedule at Montana State University in Bozeman. He turned to handball, but his competitive spirit grew too intense. An ulcer forced him to quit.

After a 15-year hiatus from running, McArthur bought a new pair of running shoes at age 33 - months before the first Bloomsday.

Now he competes in several road races and a couple of marathons each year. His training regimen has been pared from 100 miles a week to about 20.

But there’s a lot more to McArthur than running.

He sings professionally in operas, writes humorous limericks, makes pencil sketches of newspaper photographs. The Butte Central High graduate, along with a few buddies, started a band called “Z-Ons” that specialized in ‘50s tunes. He was the lead singer. The group still returns to Montana to play at its high school reunions.

McArthur says running makes him sing better. “You have to have pretty good lung power to sing classical music.”

“He’s a very accomplished tenor,” says Jim Lynch, McArthur’s longtime running partner and president of past Bloomsdays. “Sometimes, he would just burst out in song.”

In a file at his home marked “Voice/Running,” McArthur has collected a melange of memorabilia, including articles on aerobic training and a worksheet titled, “Relax Your Stress Away.”

For McArthur, the joy of Bloomsday isn’t the crowds. Or the carnival-like atmosphere.

“It’s the training,” he says. “You find all kinds of goofy things.”

Like getting spit on by llamas, and racing with emus.

Once, while exploring a new running spot, he discovered an emu and ostrich farm in east Spokane. He stopped to check them out, but the encounter turned into a game.

“They’re the ones that started it,” McArthur says. “They started looking at me, and I took off running.”

The six emus playfully gave chase.

McArthur’s most memorable Bloomsday was the year he thought he was an instant star.

As he approached the finish chute in the 1986 Bloomsday, the crowd screamed “Go Jim! Go Jim!” as television crews jostled their way to get a good view of him. But after sliding through the chute, the TV crews screamed at him to move out of the way.

“I looked up and realized Jim Ryun was right behind me the whole time, I felt left out when all the media turned to him.”

McArthur’s commitment to Bloomsday parallels a personal commitment he made years ago, magnified by his father’s recent bad health.

“Bloomsday to me is an annual vow to myself that I’ll live a healthy lifestyle,” McArthur says. “I’ve got to take care of myself.”

McArthur swears running helps builds his immune system. He hasn’t had a cold for years and rarely gets sick.

Bloomsday is also an annual challenge. He sets a goal each year on the time he wants to beat. He averages 44 minutes.

But lately, he says he won’t push himself as much.

“I’m trying to beat my age,” McCarthur says. “It gets easier each year.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BLOOMSDAY MEMORIES Bloomsday advice: “Never wear a new pair of shoes to the race. You can pull your Achilles tendon. It happened to me.” How to beat your buddies: “Tell jokes. You’ve gotta get the other guy to slow down.” Where I train: “At home, Gold’s Gym, Spokane Falls Community College, Spokane Community College - everywhere.” Why I dread Doomsday Hill: “It’s a very cruel thing to do to your body.”