Bloomsday Perennials

Sally Rennebohm-Lutz has loved running since elementary school, but she preferred shorter distances. That didn’t stop her from signing up for Bloomsday when she was 17 years old, however.

Bernie Barnes was a senior at Central Valley High School during the first Bloomsday in 1977 and was on the school’s track team. He signed up for the race because he saw it as training for track.

Being pregnant didn’t stop Bloomsday Perennial Shelley Carlson from completing Bloomsday, but car trouble almost did.

Jim Grier was a sophomore at North Central High School when the first Bloomsday race happened in 1977. Running, running both cross country and track. It was only natural that he signed up.

Bloomsday Perennial Von Klohe, 78, has goals. His mother ran several Bloomsdays decades ago, and the year she turned 80, she placed fifth in her age group. When she was 81, she finished even faster.

Greg Wright ran the first Bloomsday in 1977 at the urging of his brother, who had been a runner in high school.

Bloomsday Perennial Paul Chapman blames his friends for getting him involved in Bloomsday and, years later, convincing him to run marathons.

There were some years when Larry Gorton signed up for Bloomsday as “Larry” and other years that he signed up with his formal name, “Lawrence.” As the number of Bloomsdays climbed, Gorton had to convince organizers that Larry Gorton and Lawrence Gorton were the same person so he could claim his Perennial status as someone who has completed every race.

Floyd McComas has memorabilia from his 49 years running Bloomsday all over his house, mostly posters and pictures. At age 85, he is no longer setting speed records, but he remembers fondly the days when he could log a good finish time.