Bloomsday Fee Increasing For First Time In 5 Years Organizers Hope Hike Will Offset Extra Costs Of 25Th Anniversary

Doomsday Hill won’t be the only climb associated with Bloomsday 2000. This year, the entry fee also is taking a hike.

The cost of participating in the 24th-annual run is going from $8 to $10.

“Raising the entry fee is not something we do without giving it a lot of thought,” said Steven Jones, president of the Lilac Bloomsday Association. “But we want to make sure we don’t compromise what we do to put on the race.”

Bloomsday representatives officially kicked off Spokane’s race season at a news conference Tuesday. The millennium’s first Bloomsday will start at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 7.

Jones said the entry fee hasn’t changed for five years but that inflation is forcing the increase. Entry fees help pay for a long list of race essentials - everything from set-up and security to cups at water stations and the alwaysanticipated Bloomsday T-shirts.

Race organizers also are hoping the increased fees will offset some of the extra costs they foresee next year, Bloomsday’s silver anniversary.

“We want to get ready for the 25th running,” said race coordinator Karen Heaps. “We’d like to do special medals or something for the occasion.”

Even at $10, she added, Bloomsday is one of the least expensive races in the country.

“We hope people recognize even the value of the T-shirt alone,” Jones said. “And the experience, of course, is priceless.”

If the Bloomsday organization ends up with extra cash, Jones said it will be donated to community programs that improve the quality of running trails in Spokane.

“Bloomsday is a nonprofit. We’re not in it to make money, but to put on the best event we can,” he said. “We try to make things easy and comfortable for people. That means signing up and getting to and from the race as well.”

To that end, it looks like the Spokane Transit Authority will provide shuttle service to and from the race again this year. Eliminating Bloomsday transportation was one of the transit system’s proposed cutbacks after the passing of Initiative 695.

“There’s a strong indication,” that busses will be available, Jones said. “We’re pleased they see how important it is they provide that service.”

Spokane’s annual 12-kilometer race will follow the same course as last year. It begins downtown, heads west and winds north, trudges up Pettet Drive and ends in front of the Spokane County courthouse. It draws nearly 60,000 people from around the world.

Top state athletes will compete for a $5,000 prize. Organizers expect some elite athletes will use Bloomsday as part of their training for the Olympic Games in September.

Bloomsday entry forms are available at Safeway stores locally and in Seattle and Montana. The also can be found at area Big 5 stores, Snyder Bakery outlets, U.S. Bank branches, MSC Premera Blue Cross and Holy Family Hospital. They also will be printed in The Spokesman-Review.

Online registration and race information is available at www.bloomsdayrun.org. Mail entries must be postmarked by April 14 to avoid the late entry fee of $25.

This sidebar appeared with the story: RUNNING Stamp of approval

Philatelists also have a reason to start Bloomsday 2000 training. On May 5, stamp collectors likely will want to run down to their local post offices to buy the new “Summer Sports” stamps.

May 5 will be the first day of issue for the stamp, which will be available that day only in Spokane.

The 33-cent stamp shows a blurry image of three pairs of runners’ legs.