Dash Into Spring Drawn By Good Weather, A Record 4,100 Get Out Of The House For Cda’s Biggest Road Race, Spring Dash

The first runners swept by like gazelles, breathing easy, feet padding softly against the pavement.

Then came the weekend runners, huffing, sneakers thumping, faces red.

Finally, toward the back of a half-mile sea of humanity, tiny Taylor Runions snoozed his way toward the finish line.

“We just wanted the exercise,” said 19-year-old Vicki Runions, pushing the sleeping baby’s stroller.

A record 4,100 runners, joggers and walkers laced up their sneakers Sunday for the 14th annual “Spring Dash.”

Organizers attributed the high turnout - nearly 1,000 more than last year - to Sunday morning’s cool, sunny weather.

“It’s sort of the beginning of spring for a lot of people,” said former race director Donna Telebar.

The Spring Dash is Coeur d’Alene’s largest road race of the year. Runner’s World magazine five years ago ranked it as one of the top local races in the nation.

“For me, it’s a social event. We talk all the way through, unless your legs start screaming at you to shut up,” said salesman Ron Richardson of Spokane.

The race is also a qualifier for second-seed position at Spokane’s Bloomsday race, two weeks away. The 5-mile Coeur d’Alene race gives runners a taste of the 7.5-mile Spokane run.

“We call this a ‘tune for Bloom,”’ said Cindy Funke, spokeswoman for Tidyman’s supermarkets, which co-sponsored the race with Bank of America. “If they come in with a good time, they can run with the elite runners at Bloomsday.”

“A lot of people have so much fun the day of the race they say, ‘Oh, let’s do Bloomsday. We can do 2-1/2 miles more,”’ said Telebar. “You see so many people who’ve never done 5 miles before. Their face just lights up.”

Among the newcomers was Kathy Cameron, 44, of Kellogg.

“This is something new, so we don’t want to overdo it,” she chuckled, sauntering along toward the back of the pack. “If we finish, that’ll be the big thing.”

Racers revived themselves with bananas, muffins and oranges at the finish line at North Idaho College.

“It was definitely painful,” said Gabe Barton, a 24-year-old Post Falls millworker. “The finish was the best part.”

“You feel better when you get out and do something, rather than sit on the couch,” said his friend, Bruce Nordstrom, 25, of Post Falls.

He had only a few hours of sleep between late-night partying and the start of the morning race.

“Now,” he said, “I’m going to lie on the couch.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo