Bloomsday Perennial: Martin Kittredge won’t let his knees keep him from the finish

Barely two decades into his status as a Bloomsday Perennial, Martin Kittredge had surgery to repair a torn meniscus three weeks from the big event.

“I just wanted to finish and keep my streak going,” he said. “The week before I took a lot of ibuprofen. I thought, ‘I can probably limp my way in four hours.’ ”

For that Bloomsday in 1997 Kittredge strapped a cane to his back just in case and set off. Obviously running was off the table, so he walked. He didn’t have to use his cane and managed to finish in just under two hours. “I did better than I expected to,” he said.

His knees have caused other issues as well. In the late 1980s he had to have surgery to treat plica, a condition that causes tissues in the knee to thicken. He had his left knee replaced in 2012 and the right knee four years ago. Through it all, Kittredge has jogged or walked his way to the Bloomsday finish line, depending on how his knees were doing.

“There’s life after knee replacement,” he said.

Kittredge, a Spokane Valley native, first took up running after taking a health class in college, looking for a way to maintain fitness. When he saw an ad for the first Bloomsday, he’d never run 8 miles before. “I did about 6 miles and that about did me in,” he said.

Still, he worked on increasing his distance and managed to work his way up to eight miles about two weeks before the race. He was so proud of finishing that he still has the 1977 newspaper that included all the finisher names and times. “After the first one I was hooked,” he said. “I tried to get faster each year, which I did for a while, then I started to slow down.”

His fastest time was just over 44 minutes in 1984. He also had the goal of being in the top 500 finishers, which he accomplished.

A lifelong bachelor, Kittredge has occasionally done the race with nieces and nephews. Some years he did it with colleagues from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, where he worked for 30 years. He’s done it in person each year except when a virtual race was the only option and in one of those two years he ended up in downtown Spokane anyway.

“Bloomsday Sunday was such a gorgeous day and I went out and did the course in the afternoon,” he said. “It was different without the crowds and traffic control.”

Kittredge likes the crowds, as well as the bands that line the course. “I appreciate that stuff,” he said.

Kittredge is as surprised as anyone to find himself preparing for the 50th Bloomsday. “I didn’t think it would ever last that long,” he said.

He’s not sure how he’ll mark the day, other than putting on his shoes and his race number and lining up downtown. “I’m kind of a quiet guy, but I’ll probably celebrate somehow,” he said.

Kittredge said he’s grateful to Don Kardong for starting Bloomsday and for the volunteers that make it work every year. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” he said of the volunteers. “Bloomsday is a great organization. They’ve always worked to improve it.”

Now 75, Kittredge has set a new race goal. He’d like to keep doing Bloomsday until he’s 90, but he wants to be able to do it on his own two feet, not in a wheelchair.

“I’m going to continue it as long as I can,” he said. “I’ll retire from Bloomsday when I can’t walk it anymore. I don’t want to be pushed.”