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For those of us here in the Northwest it's hard to image Spring without Bloomsday! With that said we are now less then 30 days away from this years Bloomsday race. Scheduled for Sunday May 4, 2008, Spokanites and everyone who has participated, viewed or heard about this wonderful Spokane tradition are eagerly getting in shape and preparing for this annual 12 kilometer race. Are you up for the challenge and beauty of this wonderful Spokane tradition? Bloomsday originally known as the Lilac Bloomsday Run was born during the running boom that swept the nation in the late 1970s. Local Spokane area runner Don Kardong, had competed in several national class road races before and after his participation in the 1976 Olympic Marathon, and in the fall of 1976 he suggested to a local reporter that Spokane should have a downtown run of its own. The suggestion made its way into the newspaper's headlines.

The inaugural Bloomsday Run, which was billed as "Run With the Stars" commenced at 1:30 p.m., on May 1, 1977, with over a thousand runners including such stars as Olympic gold and silver medalist Frank Shorter who crossed the line first followed by Herm Atkins of Seattle and founder Kardong.

Over the last 30 years Bloomsday has taken on an identity of its own. Covering a 7.46 mile course that begins and ends downtown, the race takes participates up and down the neighborhoods of Spokane. The event welcomes wheel chair racers, offers prize money for elite road racers, and generations of families, neighbors and friends walk/run Bloomsday together. Bloomsday has woven itself into the fabric of life in Spokane and has become a sign of Spring here in the Lilac City. If you haven't had the chance to participate you owe it to yourself to check it out. Registration online is quick and easy. Don't wait come out and enjoy what Spokane has to offer!