Bloomsday Perennial: Maurice Ray made it 10 years before considering his races a streak, but he’s still committed decades later

When Maury Ray laced up his sneakers for the inaugural Bloomsday road race in 1977, he never considered that he and Bloomsday would celebrate 50 years together.

Ray jokes about living up to the expectation from his family and friends – and himself – to keep his streak alive. Now 85, Ray is determined to keep going as long as he can.

“I didn’t know I was going to go 50 years,” he said. “Sometimes I wish I had missed the second one so there wouldn’t be so much pressure to keep going.”

Ray was not a runner until he was recruited to join a group of coaches at Spokane Community College, where he worked, to run at noon every day.

“They got me going,” said Ray, who would go on to retire from Spokane Falls Community College in 2008 after decades as the athletic director.

The group of coaches started entering road races, and when runner Don Kardong launched Bloomsday in 1977, they were among the roughly 1,200 who entered.

“At that time, it was just another road race,” he said.

But Ray soon realized it was something special.

“It was a real challenge,” he said. “It was longer than most of the road races. On top of that, it had Doomsday Hill.”

Soon his wife, Loretta, and their four children joined him on the course. His wife and a daughter each have at least 25 races under their belt.

“It became a family fun run,” he said.

Ray had a slow and steady race plan, but he rarely stuck to it. In the early years of the race, the route started downtown and dipped into Peaceful Valley. Ray said he often found himself pulled along as the crowd surged down the hill.

“I’d get swept up in the crowd and I’d go out faster than I should,” he said. “Then it becomes a lot of work the last 2 or 3 miles. I’d tell myself I’m not going out fast, then I’d run a six-minute mile instead of a seven.”

Ray said it was the community feel that kept him coming back, even during the early years when everything from the starting time to the route was adjusted to make things smoother. Everyone else kept coming back, too, and the number of participants surged.

“Because it became such a huge citywide celebration with huge numbers, it became an event,” he said.

At the 10th running, Bloomsday began recognizing the group of runners who entered every year, calling them “Bloomsday Old Timers.” Later the name changed to Bloomsday Perennials. Eventually, race organizers began offering special Perennial T-shirts that said “I’ve run them all” on the back. A few years ago, in a nod to the advancing age of the Perennials, the word “run” was crossed out so the phrase now reads “I’ve done them all.”

Though Bloomsday began recognizing returning runners after 10 years, Ray said he did not really consider Bloomsday an annual tradition that he must complete until after 20 years. That is when he became dedicated to continuing his streak. He once flew back from a wedding the day before Bloomsday. Then there were the injuries.

“I ran twice with a sling after rotator cuff surgery,” Ray said. “The doctor said I could walk it, but I decided to jog it.”

Once he got a serious hand infection a week before Bloomsday. He spent several days in the hospital, and doctors thought at one point his finger might have to be amputated, Ray said. He was released with an IV bag of antibiotics that had to be replaced by the hospital every 24 hours. That year, he ran Bloomsday with his IV bag attached.

“Again, I don’t think I had full doctor approval,” he laughed.

Back when Ray was running the race instead of jogging or walking, he would usually finish in under an hour. In 1984, his time was 49:01.

“I think that’s the only time I broke 50,” he said. “That was my best time.”

Almost every Bloomsday finisher T-shirt he has earned is in his closet. Almost.

“I’ve got the T-shirt for every year except the first year,” he said. “I wore it out. It went by the wayside before I knew it was a keeper.”

In recent years, Ray’s health has suffered. He developed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the walls of the heart. Five years ago, he began having issues with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat. Though he still plays tennis three times a week to stay active, his run has mostly slowed to a walk.

When Bloomsday went virtual in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ray measured and marked his own Bloomsday course on roads near Deer Park. He has done it that way ever since. He ran it with friends the first couple of years, but has done it alone the last few years. However, he is not truly alone on his homemade course. His wife follows along in a car, there to support him if he needs it. Given his recent heart issues, Ray said he feels safer doing Bloomsday this way instead of on the racecourse on the first Sunday in May.

The problem, however, is that he misses the festivity of the run. So he sometimes heads downtown on Bloomsday Sunday anyway so he can soak in the experience.

“Sometimes I go down there, just to be a part of the group,” he said.

Ray said he will be happy just to finish his 50th race and that he is not sure how many more he will be able to do.

“I’m playing it by ear,” he said. “A lot of it depends on my heart issues. I think as long as I’m able to, I’ll keep going.”