Kings Of Running Elvises Sighted, Wearing Blue Suede Running Shoes

Elvis sightings are up.

He’s been seen on Doomsday Hill and at Riverfront Park.

On the day of the Lilac Bloomsday race, expect at least 10 of him.

Meet the members of the Inland Empire Running Elvises Foundation.

Wearing bell-bottom jumpsuits and blue suede running shoes, 11 of them will run the course while singing “Don’t Be Cruel” and other Elvis songs.

They’ll be accompanied by four Priscillas and one Elvisina, the female counterpart of the King.

“I thought it was a real cool thing to let people know that Elvis lives in the hearts of many people,” said Rob Elvis Lewis, a member of the new group.

A professional Elvis impersonator, Lewis, 34, had no plans to run Bloomsday. But when he heard about the group, he immediately signed up.

Other members don’t look as authentic as Lewis with his mutton-chop sideburns and wavy black hair, but nearly all are big Elvis fans. Those who aren’t simply like to dress like him.

“This is a way of doing something good in the King’s name,” said Richard, a 53-year-old salesman who didn’t want his last name used.

After all, he said, Elvis got a bad rap for getting fat.

The Running Elvises idea started a few months ago when five Bloomsday runners got together for coffee at a Spokane Valley restaurant.

One of them had hurt his ankle and couldn’t race with the others.

Since they couldn’t compete with each other, the runners decided to do something out of the ordinary, Richard said.

“Instead of going out and being cutthroat, we figured we’d have fun this year,” said Doug, the club’s unofficial leader who also didn’t want to be identified. “You see clowns at Bloomsday, or people with things on their heads. But we had never seen an Elvis.”

Last year, only one Elvis registered for Bloomsday. “Elvis A. Presley,” ended up being a 32-year-old woman from Bellevue who finished the race in two hours and 43 minutes.

Rather than spend $70 on a pair of running shoes, the five decided this year to pool their money together to pay the entry fee for anyone who agreed to run dressed as Elvis.

Of the 40 callers who responded to their ad in local newspapers, 16 gave it a go. They range in age from 12 to 58. For some, this will be their first Bloomsday.

“I wanted to marry Elvis when I was little,” said Leah Estes, 13, a Priscilla wannabe. “I cried when I found out he was dead.”

The Elvises and their Priscilla entourage train as a group at times, often singing “Blue Suede Shoes” while running the course.

Lewis, who legally changed his middle name to Elvis, lives right above Doomsday Hill, which he calls his own “Little Graceland.”

He works out with his wife, Elvisina, also known as Caryl Briscoe-Lewis.

“Elvisina is smart-mouthed,” said Briscoe-Lewis, whose costume consists of black-and-silver Spandex bell-bottoms and a long, Elvira-like wig.”She likes hanging with the guys, especially her own Elvis.”

The Elvis costumes vary. Most members wear wigs and jumpsuits with fringes. Others prefer the early Elvis look - a buzz cut and Army khakis.

The jumpsuits get hot, they said. And the costumes certainly aren’t comfortable.

But some will do anything for attention.

“I just thought it was fun,” said Jennifer Carter, 22, who spent five hours gluing sequins on her 25-cent thrift shop jumpsuit. “I love people making spectacles of themselves.”

For others, it’s like bonding. The Hoehnes, who moved to Spokane from Arizona a year ago, wanted to run Bloomsday as a family. The Elvis and Priscilla outfits, they said, brought them even closer.

“It’s a family thing,” said Erich Hoehne, 35. “We want to stick together … We need to have fun. If you concentrate on running, you’ll wear your butt out.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo