There are 70 people who have run every Bloomsday. In the months leading up to the 50th running of the race, The Spokesman-Review will publish stories about these athletes, known as Perennials.
James Edwards liked running, but that’s not the only reason he returned to do Bloomsday year after year following the first race in 1977. He also treated it as an excuse for a reunion with friends from college .
Perennial Steve Rusch has such a love for Bloomsday, a race he’s done all 49 times, that he made it clear to his family decades ago that he wouldn’t attend any special events on the first Sunday in May.
Bloomsday founder Don Kardong inspired many of the people who laced up their shoes and did the first race in 1977. But in the case of Chris Boucher, the inspiration was more direct.
Laurie Rhodes was 14 when she ran the first Bloomsday in 1977 with her father, John Black. She was his shadow as he went on daily runs, and Bloomsday became something they did together for decades.
Bloomsday Perennials greeted each other like long lost friends Saturday night at a private opening night reception for the “14 Million Miles: 50 Years of Bloomsday” exhibit at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.
Brian Kenna, 63, was in junior high when the first Bloomsday run was held in 1977. He remembered race founder Don Kardong doing well in the Olympics and was inspired to sign up. He never stopped.
When a friend persuaded Dean Duncan to sign up for the first Bloomsday in 1977, he had never run 8 miles before. He managed to do it even though his friend left him in his dust and was nowhere to be found after the starting line.
Bloomsday Perennial Dennis McMullen had every intention of lining up in downtown Spokane for the 50th Bloomsday in May, just as he had for every other one since it started in 1977.
When Jack Williams saw a sign in a window advertising the first Bloomsday in 1977, he thought back to the days when he used to challenge his West Valley High School wrestling teammates to races.
