Bloomsday Perennial: His grade school teacher, the founder, inspired him and his brothers to run

Bloomsday founder Don Kardong inspired many of the people who laced up their shoes and did the first race in 1977. But in the case of Chris Boucher, the inspiration was more direct.

Boucher’s family moved from Montana to Spokane when he was a toddler. He attended the now closed Loma Vista Elementary, where Kardong was his teacher. He said he remembers Kardong participating in the Olympics before he created Bloomsday.

“He was running all the time,” Boucher said. “I was a young kid. I was rooting him on.”

He said he’d heard that Kardong wanted to start a local road race, so Boucher decided he should prepare.

“I decided, well, hell, I’m going to start running,” he said.

Boucher was 13 when he ran the first Bloomsday.

Boucher remembers that when he was Kardong’s student, he had to trot to keep up with Kardong’s long walking stride. He recalls running into Kardong during the third or fourth Bloomsday and telling him “Now I can keep up with your steps.”

In the early years, when Boucher took his running seriously, he could finish the race in about an hour. But that didn’t last.

“As I got older, it became something fun to do,” he said. “I’ve never been a really competitive runner.”

Once Boucher married and had a family, all four of his sons started doing Bloomsdays as soon as they were born. His oldest has stuck with it. The other three have missed a few over the years. His older brother, Joe, has done Bloomsday every year except for one and another brother, Dave, has done all but five, Boucher said.

Despite his assertions that he’s not competitive, a competitive spirit definitely peeks through.

“I’m not competitive,” he said. “I just want to have a good time.”

He paused: “I guess I am competitive, because I take off without my wife and kids.”

Boucher even stuck with Bloomsday during the years he didn’t live in Spokane. He lived in Texas for a year and Minnesota for three years, but he always made sure he was back in Spokane on the first Sunday in May.

The only time Boucher was in danger of missing Bloomsday was the first race after his father died. His father died in December 2018, but his extended family in Montana elected to hold a delayed memorial reception on the first weekend in May where much of the family lived. Boucher and his Bloomsday running brothers went, but told the family they couldn’t miss Bloomsday.

The brothers arrived in Spokane at 3 a.m. on race day and caught a brief nap before hitting the race course.

“I felt bad,” he said. “I was so tired.”

Boucher was struggling by the time he got to the hill by Greenwood Memorial Terrace on Government Way, where both his parents are buried. He paused and collected himself, then vowed to keep moving. “I said, ‘I’m going to finish it, mom and dad,’ ” Boucher said.

Boucher said he’s been lucky to avoid injuries over the years. He had a stroke about 15 years ago, but has been able to avoid any major lingering effects. He did stop working in construction after his stroke.

His finisher T-shirt collection is incomplete. Boucher said he thinks a former roommate made off with a couple shirts years ago and some are nearly worn out.

“The first one, I wore it until it nearly fell off me,” he said.

Throughout the years, there has been one constant during Bloomsday for Boucher. He was never, ever able to pass Don Kardong. That is, until last year.

“I’ve never passed this guy in a race,” he said. “In 2025, I passed him by the cemetery. In my lifetime, I never dreamed I’d pass him in that race.”

Boucher said he loves the experience of doing Bloomsday and he’s not shy about telling people that.

“It’s like we’re promoting it when we talk about it,” he said. “I’ve gotten so many people to do it. It’s a fun race. If I can’t do it for fun, then why am I doing it?”

He keeps in shape by walking as much as he can. Now 62, Boucher is one of the younger Bloomsday Perennials and said he plans to keep signing up every year.

“I’m going to do it until I can’t do it anymore,” he said. “I keep on telling people I’m not ever going to stop. If I get in my wheelchair, my kids will push me.”