Skip The Excuses, Come Celebrate

Sat., May 6, 2000

Jackie Vanallen

Bloomsday is here again.

Yawn. Been there, done that.

It might be tempting to let Bloomsday apathy creep in, but don’t let this happen.

The enormous crowd, getting to the race, waiting for the start and the weather conditions are all elements of the race that can dampen the most enthusiastic participant. But half the fun of any experience is the ability to transcend the elements, to enjoy the process. The Bloomsday experience does not begin when the gun goes off but at the beginning of your journey.

Finding a parking space or taking a STA bus to the start.

Staking out a starting spot, making it comfortable for your stay.

The joy of locating a portable toilet nearby.

Sitting next to someone you don’t know and hearing them tell their Bloomsday journey.

As the crowd begins to thicken, anticipation and nervousness permeate the air.

The starting gun and the helicopters circling overhead cause your heart to skip a beat and a shiver to travel up your spine. A mass of humanity moves together in the same direction.

The flood of nervousness dissipates as you take the first few steps on the course.

Bloomsday offers a rich, sensory experience: the powerful beat of the music by the cemeteries, the water stop at Spokane Falls Community College, the waving nuns, all the volunteers, the vulture, running down community streets full of spectators, the beauty of the Spokane County Courthouse and the finish line.

Bloomsday is an adventure.

Bloomsday is a celebration of the community.

Bloomsday is a festival of fitness.

It is an extraordinary race of ordinary people. A handful of elite runners may top out the field but the majority are recreational runners and walkers.

Some are fast and some are less fast but everyone is accomplishing a personal goal. It could be to cross the finish line, to run the whole race, to run up “Doomsday” hill, to get a T-shirt, or to be faster than your next-door neighbor.

Sure, it might be easy to stay home, sleep in, start working on your Christmas card list. There are million things you could do.

But Bloomsday comes but once a year.

Come live the adventure; it is not too late.

Bloomsday registration is open until 8 p.m. tonight at the Convention Center.

Come participate in the celebration of life, health and Spokane.

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