Bloomsday Perennials: Mary Fagan found a little fame from the annual Spokane race, but the endorphins are what kept her coming back

Bloomsday Perennial Mary Fagan calls the race her “one claim to fame.” But it also led to fame in the form of her picture appearing in the December 1980 edition of Runner’s World magazine.

The picture, which was used to illustrate a story on running gear, was taken by Spokesman-Review outdoors editor Rich Landers, himself a Perennial – those who have competed in Spokane’s signature race every year since it began. The two met in a YMCA running group.

Fagan said she was surprised to see herself in the magazine.

“I don’t think I knew how he was going to use the picture or if it was going to be used,” she said.

Fagan took a roundabout route to Spokane. Her family moved often when she was a child, and they spent time in Peru and British Columbia. They came to Spokane Valley when she started high school, and she graduated from Central Valley High School.

She was taking exercise classes at the downtown YMCA in 1977 and her instructor mentioned the new upcoming road race called Bloomsday. Fagan was intrigued enough to sign up for it even though she didn’t consider herself a runner.

“It was fun,” she said. “It was a party. It was a great big party.”

Though she wasn’t a runner to start with, she quickly became one. “I did get the bug between that first year and the second year,” she said. “There are endorphins involved.”

She used running as a way to stay in shape. She did other local races for years and even started doing marathons. She would end up doing five, including marathons in Coeur d’Alene, Portland and Seattle, before she stopped. Her last was the New York Marathon in 1998.

“New York was very fun,” she said.

Fagan said she always tried to run Bloomsday as fast as she could, though she did better in cooler years. Her fastest time was 54 minutes.

“I like cold-weather running,” she said.

She became more committed to running Bloomsday around the 20th anniversary, Fagan said, and always made sure she was available on the first Sunday in May.

“I felt like I had a streak going,” she said.

Her husband, Mike Schnell, accompanied her to most Bloomsdays, but the two run at different paces and would end up separated. He’s done all but five Bloomsdays, Fagan said.

“He’s been a great support, even if we don’t often run together,” she said.

More than a decade ago, Fagan was diagnosed with Morton neuroma, which is a damaged nerve that causes pain on the bottom of the foot.

“That hurts after about 5 miles,” she said. “I discovered that if you wiggle your toes, it helps. I think it gets the blood circulating.”

She’s also had two hip replacements, which she scheduled carefully. She timed them so she had plenty of time to recover before the next Bloomsday, Fagan said.

She said she loves that Bloomsday has become such a community event.

“I was just charmed by the concept, that Don (Kardong) was able to get 50,000 people in our community to show up,” she said.

Fagan, now 73, said she never expected to still be doing Bloomsday 50 years later, but she believes it has helped her stay fit.

“At least I can still get around the block,” she said.

These days, her Bloomsday finishing times hover more around two hours than one hour. She walks and hikes as often as she can, but usually doesn’t go far.

“I don’t do much distance in my hiking and walks,” she said. “Bloomsday itself has become my training for Bloomsday.”

Fagan said she intends to keep doing Bloomsday as long as she can.

“I’m not ready to retire yet,” she said.