Jr. Bloomsday Prize A Trip To Disneyland

The biggest winner at Junior Bloomsday will utter the same words as a sports superstar: “I’m going to Disneyland.”

One day after the race, a lucky young runner will win a round trip for four to the amusement park.

The 11th running of Junior Bloomsday, the largest children’s race in the country, will be April 13.

It’s expected to draw up to 10,000 children between 5 and 12 years old, running loops of between a half mile and 2 miles on the Albi Stadium course.

Volunteer coordinator Dan Petek showed off the race’s black T-shirts Wednesday morning. The sporty 1996 logo appears on the front.

Not everyone will be wearing black on race day. The 12-year-olds will have a T-shirt all their own: a red shirt with the logo on the back.

“This is really kind of their sendoff,” Petek said. “This is kind of a ‘That’s all folks’ for them.”

Next year, it’s regular Bloomsday or nothing.

Junior Bloomsday will start at 8:45 a.m. with the wheelchair entrants. Twelve-year-olds will start at 9 a.m., with other age groups starting after that in half-hour intervals.

Kids will get another kick in the pants to sign up from Nike. The race sponsor will send a professional athlete to the Junior Bloomsday trade show, April 11 and 12, and probably to training schools. The athlete hasn’t yet been announced, but will probably be a football or track star.

Entry forms are available at Spokane-area Albertson’s, Snyders Bakery outlets and most elementary schools.

The registration deadline is April 1. The fee is $3.

, DataTimes