Bloomsday race organizers add charity, subtract tobacco

The Lilac Bloomsday Association formally kicked off the 29th running of Spokane’s big race Tuesday, announcing some changes but mostly sticking with what’s tried and true.

The 7.46-mile Lilac Bloomsday Run, which drew 39,695 runners and walkers last year, will be held May 1.

New this year is Bloomsday’s charity. The association has deignated the Eastern Washington affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as the official 2005 charity. Pink bracelets, similar to the “Livestrong” bracelets bicyclist Lance Armstrong has made popular, will be for sale for $1 through the Bloomsday offices and at the Bloomsday Trade Show to raise money for the cause.

“We want Bloomsday runners to show their pink this year,” said race founder Don Kardong.

Bernard Lagat, the silver medalist in last year’s Olympic 1,500 meter run, will be this year’s guest speaker. Lagat, who attended Washington State University, will show footage of his Olympic race and discuss his strategies and emotions at various points throughout it.

Also new this year is Bloomsday’s designation as an official tobacco-free event, the addition of two new sponsors – Washington Trust Bank and the Pacific Northwest Inlander – and a partnership with Riverfront Park, which will give out all-day passes to children who complete the Fit for Bloomsday training program in local schools.

But some things about Bloomsday haven’t changed. The course will be the same as last year. The entry fee is still $10 (until April 12; it’s $25 after that date). And, as always, the T-shirt’s design and color won’t be unveiled to participants until they reach the finish line.

And one change for the race is actually somewhat of a throwback. Longtime race director Karen Heaps retired after last year’s Bloomsday and Kardong, who founded the race in 1977 and has volunteered with the association since then, has taken her place.

“This is the first time in 29 years that Don has been paid for working on Bloomsday,” Board President Al Odenthal said.

The association presented Midway Elementary School fifth-grader Julia Fontana with a plaque and other prizes Tuesday for her winning design of this year’s Fit for Bloomsday poster. About 5,000 Spokane-area children take part in that 10-week training program, said volunteer and Fit for Bloomsday co-director Tom Jones.

The association’s Web site, www.bloomsdayrun.org, has more information about the big run, including online registration forms and information about the free Saturday training clinics sponsored by Group Health Cooperative, Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital, which begin March 12.

Paper registration forms can be found at Washington Trust Bank branches, Safeway stores, Snyder’s Bakery outlets, Premera Blue Cross’ Spokane location, Holy Family Hospital and Gart Sports.