Bloomsday runners to wear time chips

For its 30th year, there’s a fresh start and a stunning finish for Bloomsday.

Three major changes in the annual event, which will be held May 7, were announced Monday.

Organizers think the modifications will increase attendance, better showcase downtown Spokane and make the 7.46-mile footrace easier to navigate.

“Bloomsday has almost reinvented itself,” said Al Odenthal, president of the Lilac Bloomsday Association.

The new start: All Bloomies will line up along Riverside Avenue rather than on Main, Sprague and Riverside avenues. That will eliminate the point of confluence, where major backups have occurred.

The race will begin midway between Lincoln and Post streets, and participants will line up to Browne, said Tom Jones, a Lilac Bloomsday Association emeritus board member.

The finish line: The north end of the Monroe Street Bridge will mark the route’s end. Participants will cross the bridge to pick up their T-shirts and continue past City Hall for reunions in Riverfront Park.

For years, the race ended on Post Street near City Hall or in Riverfront Park. That ended in 1997 when construction began on River Park Square, the downtown mall.

“I think it’s going to be a spectacular finish,” said Don Kardong, Bloomsday’s executive director, referring to the setting of the refurbished bridge, Spokane Falls and the downtown buildings.

The microchip: Each Bloomie will wear an anklet with a chip in it. At the starting line, participants will cross a pad with a magnet trigger, starting the clock ticking, then cross another at the finish line to record their time.

The Winning Time Chip is imbedded in a weatherproof plastic capsule and then attached to each participant with a Velcro ankle bracelet, officials said.

“The chip thing is fantastic,” said Spokane resident Steven Swartley, 66, who will be participating in Bloomsday with his wife, Linda, 65. “You’ll get an actual time.”

Also new for Bloomsday: Marmot March, a 1.2-mile meander through Riverfront Park for first-graders and younger kids at 10 a.m. on May 6.

Official charity: Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, which works to prevent child abuse and neglect in the Spokane area.

“Bloomsday is a great thing for Spokane, participants as well as spectators,” Swartley said. “Anything to do with Bloomsday we like to be a part of it.”

The annual race’s attendance peaked in 1996 with 61,298 registered participants, but it has dropped to about 43,000 in recent years.

“I think the excitement of the changes will increase the numbers,” Kardong said.