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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Over 42,000 participants complete 39th Bloomsday

By Adriana Janovich and Rachel Alexander The Spokesman-Review

Sunny skies drew a crowd of more than 42,000 for the 39th annual Bloomsday run in Spokane. Organizers said 42,214 finished the race – the fewest since 2007.

Bart Haggin, 78, was there again, as he has been each year since the second race in 1978. Last year he finished fourth in his age group. This year he finished second.

“I have been first. Not since I turned 70, though,” Haggin said while waiting for his starting group.

He also has run the Portland Marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2008.

“It’s a tough course,” he said of Bloomsday. “It’s kind of your benchmark.”

Zombie inspiration

As groups of runners got underway, Chari Snider cheered them on with a homemade sign reading, “Run like a zombie is chasing you.” She was there with her grandmother, Alberta Moore, to cheer on her mother, who was running for the first time.

“It’s a big joke in our family that you don’t run unless something scary is chasing you,” Moore said.

She said her daughter was planning to get up the notorious Doomsday Hill by pretending she was being chased by the walking dead.

A drink at the top

For the second year in a row, Laurie Melvin, 44, served as the site captain of water station No. 12 at the top of Doomsday Hill. It’s the largest water station on the course, she said.

“You have to kind of put your head down and just go,” she said of tackling the hill.

She expected to go through 48,000 cups of water at her station alone. There are 2,000 cups in a box and 24 tables. Each table goes through about one entire box. “We worry about heat exhaustion and dehydration,” she said.

“I think what I love most about Bloomsday is the sense of community,” Melvin said. “Some people train all year. This is a real significant thing for them. There’s a sense of accomplishment. I love to hand people water and cheer them on. It’s fun.”

‘A tough corner’

Just past the top of the hill, at the corner of Mission Avenue and Pettet Drive, 25-year-old Jordan Roskelley and a crew of co-workers from an athletic-wear store wore homemade tutus, held handmade signs and pumped up the crowd with the help of DJ Freaky Fred.

“We just wanted to get people moving. This is a tough corner,” Roskelley said. “They get excited when they hear the music, and we’re just as excited as they are.”

Banana on the run

A few blocks down the course, 8-year-old Hannah Dotson, a third-grader, was handing out high-fives to passers-by with her dad, Nick, 35. They were hanging out in the front yard of a neighbor’s house, watching the runners.

“I like watching them run and seeing their costumes,” Hannah said. Her favorite: “There was a guy in a banana costume. He was funny.”

A family tradition

Michael Lynch, 37, of Seattle, performed with the classic rock band Strykewater at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Lindeke Street. He grew up in Spokane, and his father, Jim Lynch, was president of the Lilac Bloomsday Association in 1978 and 1979.

“It’s always been a family event,” he said.

Lynch brought his 3-month-old daughter Grace to the race this year. “We’re going to make it a family tradition for her,” he said. “I remember doing my first Bloomsday when I was 6.”

Longtime cheerleader

About a block east down Broadway, Debbie Gilchrist, 62, lives at the 10-kilometer mark. She’s been cheering on Bloomies for about 30 years.

“It’s fun looking for family and friends,” she said. She was on the lookout for her son Josh Gilchrist, 37, who has run the race five times as a kid and five more as an adult. His wife, 38-year-old Pam Gilchrist, said he was hoping to finish in about an hour and 15 minutes.

Not up for Doomsday

Sam Conner, 27, has never run Bloomsday. “I play Hoopfest,” he said. “I wish I was in shape enough to do this. My truck doesn’t even go up Doomsday Hill. I don’t think I could ride my bike up it. I admire these people.”

Conner was giving high-fives and encouragement – “You can do it, dude! Water up that way! You guys are almost done!” – at the corner of Broadway and Cochran Street, not far from where he accidentally drove his truck onto the race course just before 9 a.m.

“I knew it was Bloomsday,” he said. “But I didn’t know how many streets were blocked off. I felt really bad.”

Not much need for medics

The finish line at the north end of the Monroe Street Bridge was lined with spectators and volunteers. National Honor Society students from Lewis and Clark High School volunteered as medics, though an hour into the race, they said their services hadn’t been needed much.

Dylan Riggs said he was volunteering with his classmates, in part, so he wouldn’t have to run the race. He’d walked the course in previous years, then got talked into running it by his parents.

“I did it willingly last year thinking it wouldn’t be that bad,” he said. But he and his friends said they were planning to run it next year in spite of the length.

“It’s fun,” he said.

Luau on the move

There was no shortage of colorful costumes among non-elite runners. David Burkett ran the course with a few friends wearing coconut bras and grass skirts. It started as a joke about four years ago, he said, and the group has been running in luau attire ever since.

“It’s very encouraging. You get lots of comments and it keeps you going,” he said just after finishing.

Nick Freese ran with his son Caughnery for the first time this year. They both dressed as superheroes.

“He rocked it,” Freese said of his son.

Under 50 at 50

Some finishers were emotional. Herman Schreven hugged and kissed his wife at the finish line, then cheered after learning his time: 49:33.

“I turned 50 this year, and I’ve been trying to break the 50-minute mark,” he said. He was nearly killed in a serious motorcycle accident in June.

“I was honestly not even sure I was going to live, so this is very, very significant,” he said.

This story was corrected to change a quote about running in costume that was attributed incorrectly.