Bloomsday facts, year-by-year

Compiled by Susan Mulvihill
Staff writer

This is the 26th running of Bloomsday. Here are some fun facts from the history of the race:

May 1,1977

Registered: 1,400

Finished: 1,198

Don Kardong, a local schoolteacher who placed 4th in the marathon at the Montreal Olympic Games, is the creator of the race. Sponsors are the Spokane Jaycees, Medical Service Corp. and the YMCA. The course for the first Bloomsday is 8 miles long and begins at 1:30 p.m. The temperature is 81 degrees and seven people are treated for heatstroke. The runners cross the Maple Street Bridge and head down Doomsday Hill, which is dubbed “Heartbreak Hill.” Cars are allowed on the course with the runners. Olympic medalist Frank Shorter wins the men’s division and Joan Ullyot the women’s race.

May 7, 1978

Registered: 5,460

Finished: 5,024

Olympians Frank Shorter, Don Kardong, Garry Bjorklund and Duncan McDonald are competing. Race officials are unhappy with the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU) refusal to sanction Bloomsday as a competitive event. The Inland Empire chapter of the AAU offers to sanction the race if the Bloomsday Association will agree to creating a competitive division. Runners again share the road with cars. Men’s and women’s winners are Bill Rodgers and Marty Cooksey, respectively.

May 6, 1979

Registered: 10,082

Finished: 10,070

The race begins at noon. Later finishers discover the only T-shirts left for them are extra-larges. The growing number of spectators get in the way of runners. The pounding of the pavement by the runners causes the light poles on the Maple Street Bridge to sway. Department of Transportation officials fear the lights could fall on runners and propose a new route for future Bloomsdays. Two starting areas, on Spokane Falls Boulevard and Riverside Ave., help ease the crunch. Ric Rojas and Cathy Twomey win the men’s and women’s divisions, and Bob Hall wins the men’s wheelchair race.

May 4, 1980

Registered: 13,576

Finished: 11,962

Bloomsday is billed as the third-largest running event in the United States. 60,000 people watch the race, which follows a route similar to today’s. Race again begins at noon. 38 runners are afflicted with heatstroke and one man, Steven L. Anderson, dies of a heart attack four days after completing the race, but it is later determined the death is unrelated to Bloomsday. Mark Anderson wins the men’s division, with Gail Volk capturing the women’s division and Bob Hall winning the wheelchair division.

May 3, 1981

Registered: 17,000

Finished: 15,546

The start time is moved to 9 a.m., which reduces instances of heatstroke. Close to 100,000 spectators watch the event. Men’s and women’s winners are Duncan MacDonald and Anne Audain, with Jim Martinson and Heidi Alden winning the wheelchair races.

May 2, 1982

Registered: 22,210

Finished: 20,540

This is a year of firsts: the first Corporate Cup -- won by Washington Water Power Co. -- and first prize money, $30,000 total to the top finishers in each category. Henry Rono and Anne Audain win the men’s and women’s elite and George Murray and Jennifer Skidmore capture the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions.

May 1, 1983

Registered: 28,173

Finished: 25,932

Runners take a more casual approach to the race, with many in costume. Race organizers speed up the T-shirt distribution lines with 20 tables. A student from Central Valley High School, Laurie DeLong, is ruled ineligible to claim the fifth place prize of $1,000 after allegations she didn’t run the entire race. Al Hughes becomes the first centenarian to finish. Elite runners Jon Sinclair and Anne Audain come in first with Jim Knaub and Candace Cable winning the wheelchair categories. Eastern Washington University wins the Corporate Cup.

May 6, 1984

Registered: 33,312

Finished: 30,463

The route is shortened to 7.46 miles, or 12 kilometers. This is the first year the race is divided into six starting categories based on a runner’s estimated finishing time. There is a dusting of snow when the race begins. Ibrahim Hussein and Regina Joyce win the men’s and women’s divisions, Jim Martinson and Sharon Hedrick capture their wheelchair divisions. The Eastern Washington University faculty red team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 5, 1985

Registered: 39,662

Finished: 37,736

Sculptor David Govedare creates the Bloomsday statue, “The Joy of Running Together,” in Riverfront Park. Twenty-six Olympians run. A helicopter hired by KREM-TV to cover the race crashes and kills pilot Clifford D. Richey and photojournalist Gary Brown. Men’s and women’s elite runners Paul Davies-Hale and Anne Audain win their divisions and Gary Kerr and Candace Cable-Brooks win the men’s and women’s wheelchair races.

May 4, 1986

Registered: 48,406

Finished: 45,541

For the first year, the number of women runners surpasses the men. Jon Sinclair and Anne Audain repeat their 1983 victories by coming in first in the men’s and women’s divisions, and Andre Viger and Candace Cable-Brooks capture the wheelchair divisions. City officials learn Bloomsday infuses more than $1 million into the area’s economy.

May 3, 1987

Registered: 54,261

Finished: 50,946

Runner Gary Novotney becomes the first fatality in the history of the race when he collapses and dies of a heart attack at the finish line. Steve Binns wins the men’s elite, Lesley Welch the women’s elite and Craig Blanchette and Candace Cable-Brooks take the wheelchair races. The Sunset Sports Center team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 1, 1988

Registered: 57,298

Finished: 53,155

Snow falls in the early morning on race day. Peter Koech wins the men’s elite and Anne Audain wins for a sixth time. Wheelchair racers Craig Blanchette and Candace Cable-Brooks again win their divisions. The City of Spokane team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 7, 1989

Registered: 56,280

Finished: 52,457

For the first time, the number of registrants and finishers drops. John Halvorsen and Lynn Williams win the men’s and women’s elite races, and Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll win the wheelchair division. The City of Spokane #1 team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 6, 1990

Registered: 54,869

Finished: 51,122

Race organizers impose a five-year ban on any racers caught entering the course after the starting line. The Bloomsday finish line is dedicated at Spokane Falls Boulevard and Post Street. Elite racers German Silva and Anne Audain win their categories and Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll again win the wheelchair divisions. The City of Spokane #1 team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 5, 1991

Registered: 60,104

Finished: 55,794

Wheelchair racers Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll win their divisions, setting course races in the process. Elite racers Steve Moneghetti and Lisa Weidenbach win the men’s and women’s elite races. Because of the Gulf War, “Desert Bloom” races are organized at various military outposts for service men and women to participate in. The second fatality in the history of Bloomsday occurs when Donald A. Kamp dies of heart failure on the course. Washington State University’s team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 3, 1992

Registered: 57,651

Finished: 53,305

Bloomsday is declared the largest timed road race in the world by The Athletic Congress magazine. Elite runners Yobes Ondieki and Lisa Ondieki win the men’s and women’s divisions. Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll again repeat by winning their wheelchair divisions.

May 2, 1993

Registered: 57,680

Finished: 53,206

Arturo Barrios and Anne Marie Letko win the men’s and women’s elite and wheelchair racers Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll are victorious again. Eastern Washington University’s red team wins the Corporate Cup.

May 1, 1994

Registered: 60,037

Finished: 55,195

This is the first year runners cross the new T.J. Meenach Bridge. Wheelchair racers Craig Blanchette and Jean Driscoll again set course records. Josphat Machuka and Olga Appell win the men’s and women’s elite races.

May 7, 1995

Registered: 59,100

Finished: 54,154

Wheelchair racer Paul Wiggins beats eight-time winner Craig Blanchette, but Jean Driscoll wins her seventh title. Josphat Machuka repeats by winning the men’s division and Delillah Asiago takes the women’s category. This is the 10th year of the Junior Bloomsday race.

May 8, 1996

Registered: 61,298

Finished: 56,156

This year, the number of finishers sets a record. Because Bloomsday has been designated a championship race for the Professional Road Running Organization, prize money for the top finishers gets doubled to a total of $100,000. A week before the race, a bomb goes off at City Hall. Organizers worry about race safety but the race goes off without a hitch. Cheney resident Cecelia Kelly becomes the oldest finisher in the race’s history at 105. 11-year-old Jackie Edwards finishes the race without one shoe after another runner steps on her shoe shortly after the start. 170 Bloomsday finishers run the race on their birthday. Runners from Calgary, Alberta, log the fastest finish times with an average of one hour and 28 minutes. A study shows each runner spends an average of $125 in Spokane. Lazarus Nyakeraka and Colleen De Reuck capture the men’s and women’s divisions, with Paul Wiggins and Jean Driscoll winning the wheelchair divisions. For the first time since the Spokane Daily Chronicle started publishing a list of all Bloomsday finishers in 1980, the special newspaper section was not in newsstands the day after the race due to a computer problem.

May 4, 1997

Registered: 55,270

Finished: 49,467

181 Bloomsday finishers run the race on their birthday, the largest group ever. 92-year-old Grace Reynolds completes the race in three hours and 26 minutes. Runners from St. Albert, Alberta, clock the fastest times with an average of one hour, 20 minutes. Blackfeet Indian youths from Browning, Mont., members of the Running Start for Blackfeet Youth program, run their 10th Bloomsday race. The five Harvala sisters, ranging in age from 71 to 88, walk Bloomsday together. Spokane runner Kim Jones wins the women’s division for the first time in eight attempts. Lazarus Nyakeraka repeats from 1996 to win the men’s division. Paul Wiggins and Jean Driscoll again place first in the wheelchair divisions.

May 3, 1998

Registered: 53,389

Finished: 48-453

The finish line moves to in front of the Spokane County Courthouse while construction of River Park Square is going on and the course route through Peaceful Valley is eliminated. There are now eight staggered starts. Residents of historic Browne's Addition residents are horrified to learn their new green and gold banner meant to welcome runners to the neighborhood is misspelled. The sign reads ``Welcome to Historic Brown's Addition.'' 136 Bloomsday finishers run the race on their birthday and 93-year-old Corrine Myers finishes the race in three hours and 13 minutes. Four runners -- Tom Toway, Gene Treadwell, Luke Dunn and Tyler Wasson – continue their tradition of running the Bloomsday course twice. The six-member Jim Faulkner family runs Bloomsday together, an annual tradition since 1995. Hezron Otwori and Jane Omoro win the men’s and women’s divisions with Saul Mendosa and Jean Driscoll taking the wheelchair divisions.

May 2, 1999

Registered: 53,747

Finished: 47,215

Bloomsday racers run in the rain for the first time. 137 Bloomsday finishers run the race on their birthday. The oldest finisher is James Ferderer, 96, who completes the race in three hours 14 minutes. 94-year-old Golda Floyd does her first Bloomsday and clocks in with a finish time of three hours and nine minutes. Racers from St. Albert, Alberta, have the fastest times with an average of one hour and 22 minutes. Race organizers estimate a record of almost 32,000 participants walk the course. Joshua Chelanga and Jane Omoro capture the men’s and women’s elite races and Saul Mendosa and Jean Driscoll take first in their wheelchair races.

May 7, 2000

Registered: 50,401

Finished: 45,523

David McKay, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, completes his fourth Bloomsday with the aid of two canes in 10 hours and 58 minutes. Fellow heart transplant recipients John Bottjer and Randy Twiggs complete the course in three hours and 45 minutes. Women’s wheelchair racer Jean Driscoll wins her division for the 12th straight time. Reuben Cheruiyot and Jane Omoro win the men’s and women’s elite divisions and Saul Mendosa and Jean Driscoll repeat their 1999 victory in the wheelchair divisions.

May 6, 2001

Registered: 49,532

Finished: 45,346

This is the 25th running of Bloomsday and 132 “Silver Stars” -- runners who haven’t missed a race since its launch – are treated to a luncheon and special starting area. 139 Bloomsday finishers run the race on their birthday. The oldest male finisher is Carl Fiedler, 94, who crosses the finish line in three hours and 13 minutes. The oldest female is Mary Stephens, 88, who finishes just two minutes later. Edmonton, Alberta, has the fastest finishers with an average time of 1:24:33. Four generations of race founder Don Kardong’s family participate in the race. Elite runners Dominic Kirui and Elana Meyer win the men’s and women’s divisions, with Saul Mendosa and Ariadne Hernandez capturing the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions.

May 5, 2002

After a five-year decline in registrants, race organizers make efforts to boost the number. They also will look for the one millionth finisher this year. Marathoner Bill Rodgers, who won the men’s division in 1978, has announced he will run.

Back to Top