The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi). The run has had over 38,000 participants every year since 1986, and peaked in 1996 with 61,298 The number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206.

Lineth Chepkurui Lineth Chepkurui (born 23 February 1988 in Bomet) is a Kenyan long distance runner. At the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 2008 World Cross Country Championships Chepkurui finished eleventh in the individual race, however this was not ...

set an unofficial 12 km world record in the 2010 women's race. The course record of 33:51 was set in 2008 by

Micah Kogo Micah Kemboi Kogo (born 3 June 1986 in Burnt Forest, Uasin Gishu District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres. He is the former world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race event with a time of ...

, a pace of 4:32.4 per mile and an average speed of . The women's record of 38:03 was set in 2016 by

Cynthia Limo Cynthia Jerotich Limo (born 18 December 1989) is a Kenyan female long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competition. She has the silver medallist at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2016. Her half marathon personal ...

, a 5:06.2 per mile pace and an average speed of .

Don Kardong Donald Franklin Kardong (born December 22, 1948) is a noted runner and author from the United States. He finished fourth in the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal. Biography Kardong graduated from prestigious college-prep school, Seattle Prep i ...

, who founded the race, explained the name as "a starting event for the

Lilac Festival Lilac Festival is the name of various festivals which celebrate the Lilac ''(Syringa).'' Canada * Lilac Festival (Calgary) - since 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Lilac Festival (Franktown) - since 1995 in the Lilac Capital of Ontario, Frank ...

… you know, lilacs blooming. And of course, I like it because it rhymes with doomsday." The shortened name

Bloomsday Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' takes place in 1904, the date of his first sexual encounter with his ...

is usually associated instead with

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

's 1922 novel ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' and celebrations of June 16, the day in the life of

Leopold Bloom Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's 1922 novel ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/Odysseus in Homer's epic poe ...

that the novel chronicles. Kardong had hoped for five hundred participants for the inaugural edition in 1977, and got nearly triple that. The second edition had over five thousand, and the third in 1979 was over ten thousand, with fifty thousand spectators lining the streets. The sixth edition in 1982 had over 22,000, and despite rain and some snow, there were over 30,000 in 1984. The early editions were around in length. A new course was introduced

Course

The course starts in

Downtown Spokane Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The t ...

and heads northwest along the far west end of town, passes by Mukogowa Ft. Wright Institute and

Spokane Falls Community College Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) is a Public college, public community college in Spokane, Washington. It was established in 1967 and is part of the Community Colleges of Spokane. History The land upon which SFCC is located was given to ...

before heading up "Doomsday Hill" and back downtown past the

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...

Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

and ending at the Monroe Street Bridge. Every finisher of the race receives a Bloomsday T-shirt.

Results

Bloomsday 2008 - Fort George Wright Drive 20080504

:Key: *Early editions were around in length.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Ulysses Culture of Spokane, Washington Long-distance running competitions Sports in Spokane, Washington Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Tourist attractions in Spokane County, Washington Road running competitions in the United States