Full Bloom

April 2014

A Beginners Guide
to Bloomsday
For most Spokane residents, its impossible
to imagine a spring in the Inland Northwest without the Lilac Bloomsday Run.
Each May, this 12-kilometer race begins in
downtown Spokane and draws over 50,000
participants from across the United States
as well as internationally.
Young and old alike of all abilities are encouraged to join in the race and festivities
that promote community and health, and
create life-long memories for its participants.
I ran my first Bloomsday in 1990 when
I was 12 years old. I remember being so
excited to cross the finish line and receive
my T-shirt, says Brenda Williams, a
Spokane resident. Since then, she has run
every Bloomsday, and doesnt plan to stop
anytime soon. The feeling of community
at Bloomsday is tremendousits what
keeps me running year after year. Everyone
puts their best foot forward and a smile on
their face, Williams said.
This year, Spokanes beloved Bloomsday is
turning 38 on May 4, 2014.
If you havent participated in the Bloomsday tradition before, now is the time to
join the fun. There are a number of ways
to get involved for all ages and abilities,
with countless activities taking place on
Bloomsday Weekend, such as childrens
competitions, a trade show, and a popular
post-race celebration to name a few.
The Bloomsday race itself will take place
on Sunday, May 4, and is a fun event for
serious runners and families. The course
starts on Riverside Avenue between Lincoln and Post Streets in downtown Spokane, and finishes near Riverfront Park.
In addition, Bloomsday offers several
training programs that will get you ready

for race day whether youre new to running or just looking to get back into shape.
Proper training reduces injury rates,
improves the cardiovascular system, and
most of all increases confidence, says Spokane Running Club coach Kelly Smith.
Ready to lace up your running shoes?
Providence Health will be sponsoring
a free training clinic March 15 through
April 26 on Saturday mornings at Spokane
Falls Community College. Each clinic will
feature expert information, a warm-up
routine and a training course specifically
designed to maximize participants preparation.
Ive run twenty consecutive Bloomsday
races, but this was the first year I attended the training clinic. Each Saturday I
increased my distance and on Bloomsday
weekend I dropped over 12 minutes, says
Jack Dower.
If running isnt quite your speed, the
Bloomsday Trade Show at the Spokane
Convention Center is sure to delight. Youll
be able to browse the latest health and fitness products and apparel from a variety of

retailers. This year brands such as Nordstrom Rack, Running World and Muscle
Milk will be featured.
Bloomsday has something for everyone.
Register for the race, join a training program, get your kids involved or take advantage of one of the many exciting events
on Bloomsday weekend, and become a
member of Spokanes 38-year Bloomsday
tradition.

2013 Top Times

1. Belete Assefa Ethiopia 34:21
2. Emmanual Bett 34:33
3. Allan Kiprono 34:51
4. Julius Keter 34:56
5. Lani Rutto Kenya 34:57
6. MacDonard Ondara 35:12
7. Josphat Boit 35:24
8. Brent Vaughn 35:28
9. Solomon Deksisa 35:34
10. Abdi Abdirahman 35:46

Training Tip of the Month: Find Your Perfect Stride

The right running technique can really help you go the distanceand may be the difference between finishing your goal
and coming up short. When it comes to finding your perfect stride, think like Goldilocks: not too short, not too long, but
just right.
Short, choppy strides waste energy and cover less distance, an over-reaching stride will fatigue your muscles more quickly,
says Samantha Clayton, a certified trainer and former Olympic sprinter.
Clayton recommends finding your perfect stride length by focusing on your arm drive. Heres how: Run at 70 percent of
your maximum speed with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle, driving them back and forth to a full range of motion.
Play around and over-reach your arms and watch your stride length increase, limit your driving rage and your stride
shortens, [use this to] find your own comfortable stride.

Corporate Cup Team Name Race

For Bloomsday Corporate Cup teams, winning the footrace
includes more than just crossing the finish line first. For the 350
teams competing for this years Corporate Cup title, Bloomsday is
as much a road race as it is a race of wits.
From a pool of over 350 teams, 23 finalists have been selected for
their creativity and witty wordplay. From puns that reflect a companys business to references to popular culture, the list extends
from Fairchild 141st Air Refueling Wings Pass N Gas to Zag
Dining Marketings pithy Ketchup.
This year our teams came up with a slew of amusing names,
said Corporate Cup Director Carol Hunter. We always get some
great ones, but this year our panel of judges had an especially
challenging time whittling down the pool to 23 finalists.
The battle for the top team name is almost as competitive as the
actual race itself, and the prizes are just as coveted. The first,
second, and third place winners will be announced after Bloomsday in the Souvenir Results Booklet distributed by The Inlander,
and the first place team will receive a plaque and will be honored
guests at the annual awards luncheon. Last years winner was First
Hair Etc.s Cut to the Chase, which beat out Newport Sullivan
Lake Ranger Districts A Forest to be Reckoned With (second
place) and Law Firm Eymann Allison Hunter Joness The Sequestrians (third place).

2014 Best Team Name Finalists

141st Air Refueling Wing - Pass N Gas
Bonner General Hospital - Dude Runs With the Ladies
CDA Metals - Iron Hearts
Drywall Specialties Inc. - Smooth Finishers
Franz - Run Your Buns Off
Gonzaga U. English Department - Pair O Thighs Lost
Hair Etc. - Bob-N-Weave
Hart Capital Management - Running With the Bulls
Inland Empire Paper Company - Pulp Fiction
James Hoppe DDS - Dont Follow Us Were Flossed
Life Center Northwest - You Gotta Be Kidney Me
Machinists Union - IAM Fast
Mischke Drywall - Three Sheets to the Win
Premera Blue Cross - Running Til Were Blue
Spokane Public Schools - No Teacher Left Behind
Spokane Symphony - What Does the Fox Say?
Spokane Transit Authority - Catch That Bus
Sterling Bank - I Thought This Was a 5K
The Native Project - HashtagHopeWeFinish
The Spokesman-Review - News Travels Fast
Van Gogh and Merlot - Dude, Where Did My Van Gogh?
Winston & Cashatt, Lawyers - Ambulance Catchers
Zag Dining Marketing - Ketchup

Poll: What brand of running shoe

do you prefer?
Adidas: 23%
Asics: 17%
Brooks: 17%

Nike: 25%
Other: 3%
Saucony: 15%

Exculsive:
Q & A with Lopez Lomong
Lopez Lomong competed for the United States in the 1,500
meters at the 2008 Beijing Games. He has since switched
events and qualified for the team bound for London in the
5,000 meters. But Lomong is perhaps best known for his
life before track as a Lost Boy refugee from Sudan who
immigrated to the United States, as chaos, war and poverty
tore apart his home country. We recently spoke with him
about training, politics and his mission off the track.
Q. Your race at the Olympic trials was pretty incredible,
with Galen Rupp finishing in first place and shattering
Steve Prefontaines record and Bernard Lagat coming in
right behind him. How did you feel about the race?
A. It felt good and the work I put in showed and I just
wanted to make the team and now I want to go out and
execute really well in London.
Q. Earlier this year you set the world leading time in one of
tracks more memorable races. You forgot you had an additional lap, then completed the race after the fans screamed
at you. And you still hit a fantastic time. What was the
deal?
A. I was very surprised! That was my first 5K ever and I
just wanted to go out there and get the A standard. I felt
great and when they said I had one more lap to go, I still
felt really good. This is what weve been training for, to go
out there and have an extra kick. I was very happy to have
that time on the race, but my legs were totally destroyed.
Q. What prompted the switch from the 1,500 meters in
Beijing to the 5K in London?
A. I like the 1,500. Its one of my best races, but we decided to try to see what I could do in the 5K. I have a lot of
strength. We thought the 5K might be better for me. I was
really, really surprised when I ran it. It felt easy. It felt like I
was running together, easy. I wasnt in fatigue mode.

Q. Whats different about heading into your second Games

as opposed to your first?
A. I think Im really ready to go out there and compete
this time. Four years ago I went there to compete well, but
now I think I can really shine. Mentally I think Im better
prepared to run against anyone in the world. My focus is
ready, ready to run that final.
Q. What are your plans after the Olympics? Are you planning another trip to Sudan?
A. I have a few more races after London, but Im tentatively
scheduled to head to South Sudan after the Games to see
what my foundation and World Vision, a group Im working with there, have been doing. Weve been raising money
to get clean water in South Sudan. We want to let people
see where their money goes, how many people are going to
benefit. In addition to clean water, were also working on
education, health care and nutrition.
Q. What is your connection to Sudan like today?
A. That country still does not have a lot of resources and
we want to help as much as we can. Young girls and women have to walk for miles before they can have clean water
for the day. Why dont we have water in the villages so that
these girls can go to school? These are the things that keep
me going. I want the little kid out there to know that theres
someone out there who cares and that they should dream
big. The American people have given me hope and now I
feel like its time to give back.

Bloomsday posters on display at Downtown Library

From the very first Bloomsday poster that
promised a Run with the Stars, to the more
recent Hidden Runner posters, all 30 years of
Bloomsday are on display at the Downtown
Library.
The exhibit, on the third floor, highlights the
entire span of Bloomsday, and features a variety of art and photography styles and artists.
The posters have come a long way from the
first poster, which advertised the race in all
purple with a runner carrying a lilac bloom
to the series that captured Bloomsday landmarks in the style of vintage travel posters.
In 2011, Steve Merryman of Sigma, the company that produces most of the Bloomsday
ads and print materials, began designing the
Hidden Runner posters. All of the posters
show the streets filled with Bloomies, but if
you look closely all the racers make up the
image of a single runner.

The Bloomsday posters have gone on display

every year at the Downtown Library since
2007. However, it took a few years to complete the collection. A visitor to the library
happened to have one of the missing posters
from Bloomsdays early years and donated it
to the librarys collection.
The Bloomsday posters will be on display
throughout April and May.

Upcoming Events
Bloomsday Volunteer Meeting
April 20, 2014 5:30 p.m.
1414 N. Belt Street
Spokane, WA
Registation Deadline
April 20, 2014

Directors Corner
Dear Bloomsday Friends,
Registration is now open for the 38th Lilac Bloomsday Run. I cant believe it has been over three decades since I started the race. The first race
had only 100 runners and now the race averages 50,000 participants! This
is a great sign of the times, more of us are out there running and racing
each and every day.
The race of today has the same heart and soul as it did 38 years ago: the
same beautiful venue and the same superb group of core volunteers. Spokane is beautiful every day of the year, no matter what the weather brings.
Bloomsdays core group of volunteers is still putting in countless hours
and they are ones that make the race possible.
This year we welcome three new sponsors: Safeway, Avista, and Group
Health. The new sponsors will continue to make Bloomsdy a success. I
hope to see you running at Bloomsday this May, and thank you for your
continued support.
Sincerely,
Don Kardong
Bloomsday Race Director

Junior Bloomsday
May 3, 2014 9 a.m.
Riverfront Park
Marmot March
May 3, 2014 10 a.m.
Riverfront Park
Lilac Bloomsday Run
May 4, 2014 8 a.m.
Downtown Spokane
Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
May 20, 2014 6 p.m.
Specials Restuarent

Contact
(509) 555-555
info@bloomsdayrun.org