20th Bloomsday Comes With Changes

Bloomsday ‘96 is more than two months away, but some people are already racing.

The Bloomsday staff is off and running to get registration forms out and posters up for one of Spokane’s biggest events of the year.

Organizers held their annual Lilac Bloomsday kickoff Wednesday with staff members unveiling the official race poster and plans for celebrating the event’s 20th anniversary.

The May 5 race promises the same droves of people over 7-1/2 miles of city streets. But runners will notice a couple of changes this year:

Bloomsday has been designated the championship race that will cap off a string of 14 qualifying races for the inaugural 1996 PRRO World Road Running Championships.

Becoming a championship race in the Professional Road Running Organization circuit means the Bloomsday award money doubles from $50,000 to $100,000.

“We expect this to produce the cream of the crop for the road racers,” said Don Kardong, Bloomsday founder.

Only those racers who had a time of 1 hour and 10 minutes or faster will qualify for “yellow” seeding.

Yellow seeding is a starting category intended for serious runners. Those runners complain that people are greatly exaggerating their estimated finish times to get a good starting spot, only to cause traffic jams when the starting gun sounds.

Participants in the wrong starting group risk getting trampled by the faster runners, said race coordinator Karen Heaps.

In commemoration of the race’s 20th anniversary, Bloomsday staff will set up historical exhibitions throughout the city. The displays include photos, T-shirts, posters and other memorabilia.

Organizers also are looking for people who have raced in each of the past 19 Bloomsdays. They want to hold a special party for those runners before the race.

Registration is $8, but increases to $25 for late entries starting May 3. For information, call 838-1579.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: REGISTRATION Registration forms for Bloomsday ‘96, scheduled for May 5, will be available next week at McDonald’s restaurants, Safeway stores and U.S. Bank branches, or by contacting the Bloomsday office, at 1610 W. Riverside.