Bloomsday 2024: Rain doesn’t stop Spokane’s annual ‘great big party’ in race’s 48th year

Racers of all skill levels, ages and attire poured into downtown Spokane and spilled into the surrounding neighborhoods Sunday morning for what shaped up to be a damp running of the 48th annual Bloomsday.

The light rain was also a welcome refreshment for third -grade twins Nora and Natalie Buzby, who raced their first year with their dad Sam, his fifth time.

“It’s kinda nice that our first one was raining, because then you know that you’ll be prepared for any other one,” Natalie said.

The twins trained extensively for their first race, running a mile after school each day for weeks leading up to the race in their school’s Fit for Bloomsday program.

“Even though Doomsday Hill is really scary and, like, really long, once you start walking it with big steps, you get really close to the top,” Nora said.

Radar indicated that light ran fell on the course throughout the race, but that’s also based on observation, said National Weather Service meteorologist Steven Van Horn, who completed the race in about 1 hour , 10 minutes.

“It made me run a little faster because I wanted to get out of it,” Van Horn said.

Temperatures throughout the race were in the mid- to upper 40s, he said.

Out of the 34,915 people signed up to race, 27,885 finished the 12-kilometer trek, said Bethany Lueck, Bloomsday communications coordinator.

The Spokane Fire Department transported nine racers to the hospital, said chief Julie O’Berg, and eight of them were minor traumas or medical emergencies.

One racer went into critical cardiac arrest, but was alive in the hospital as of later Sunday morning. Bystanders performed CPR before fire department crews used a defibrillator on the racer.

Barb Wehreh, 59, adjusted her headphones as she got ready to run her fifth Bloomsday.

She loves the race but wanted to spice it up this year, so she and her friend got rainbow tutus for the run.

“I kind of just do these things for myself,” Wehreh said. “And if it brings a smile to someone else, then that’s great.”

As the rain began to fall Sunday, David Lund, 52, pulled out a hat.

“It’s just convenient,” Lund said. “It’s an umbrella hat.”

The perks of the hat aren’t simply staying dry. Lund likes to play PokemonGo during the race.

He walks for the most part, getting rewarded both for his mileage and the Pokemon he collects along the way.

Lund might not win the race, but he’s definitely winning at Pokemon, he joked.

First-time Bloomsday participant John Mark Porter was easy to spot among the crowd of thousands. The 23-year-old Cheney resident ran the race dressed as a Corinthian warrior.

“As a kid, I always looked up to the warriors charging into battle, in movies or whatever,” Porter said from underneath his brass helmet affixed with a towering red plume. “It just helps me tap into that warrior spirit; that bravery and tenacity.”

Porter said he’d always wanted to try wearing the get-up for a marathon, to pay homage to the distance’s fabled origins in ancient Greece. He hopes to participate in the Coeur d’Alene marathon later this month, and the roughly 7.5-mile Bloomsday was a good test run to see if he was prepared.

“I just love it when people dress up too,” Porter said. “Just bringing some extra smiles is fun.”

As racers wrapped up their first mile, they were greeted by the melodies of Kenyon Fields, who brought his bagpipes and a revolutionary war-style drum to motivate the racers.

After the pandemic stifled his public performances, Fields had the idea to play at Bloomsday in 2021.

“I thought ‘Gosh, I oughta go down and play Bloomsday route’ and so it’s like, gosh, I just gotta keep doing this,” Fields said. “I keep running into people, like my old pipe major from 40-some years ago, she just popped by here.”

The congenial piper crossed paths with other musicians with whom he’s played, familiar faces from the many community events where he plays and former coworkers from his past job at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Though he propped a lawn-umbrella over his post, the instruments suffered under the rain. The condensation shut off a couple of his bagpipe’s drones, the pipes that extend from the bag, and water gathered on the head of his drum as he played marching tunes, met by cheers and jigs from runners passing by.

The drizzle was a welcome presence for some, including longtime friends Karen Edwards and Don Anderson. With 33 and 20-plus Bloomsdays under their belts, respectively, they’ve marched through scorching temperatures, so they can handle a little rain.

Edwards carried her past Bloomsdays on her shoulders, with 30 of her past race bibs safety-pinned together and attached to a fishing pole she waved like a huge patchwork quilt of her finishes.

“I want attention,” she laughed.

Hailing from Richland, Edwards does something special every year, she said, often braiding flowers into her gray hair or bringing bubbles and balloon animals for kids on the course.

“It’s just a big party, a big parade and it’s fun to just talk to people,” Edwards said.

A large group of kids from her church, Richland Alliance Church, come out to run each year. In the past, Anderson hosted them all in his Spokane home, “then the mob got too big,” he said. The long-distance friends use the 12-kilometer trek to catch up on each others’ lives, while also swapping stories with the hordes of racers they share the day with.

“One of the great things about Bloomsday, it’s one of the few times that people kind of let down their guard and hang out and talk to strangers,” Anderson said.

Racers who tackled Doomsday Hill and wound their way down Mission Avenue were greeted by a sign that read, “Run if you’re sexy,” at the corner of Lindeke Street and Summit Boulevard.

John Thayer held the sign as his friend Natalie Benz made sure they were both covered by her umbrella. Passing Bloomies shouted, “I love the sign,” “Heck yeah,” and “Well, I guess I’m not sexy.”

“No, don’t worry,” Thayer said to the man who shouted the latter. “You can walk and still be sexy.”

Benz said the two were there to support the “stroller dads,” which is what they decided to call her husband and their other friend who were participating in the stroller division.

Thayer said the idea for the sign was borrowed from one he saw on social media at the Boston Marathon with the same message.

“So far, everyone’s loving it,” Thayer said with a chuckle.

Observers from the top of Doomsday Hill could likely spot 21-year-old Jonah Amirkhas as he climbed with work friend José Lopez, 35.

Contrasting the dreary day, Amirkhas wore head-to-toe neon pink. Even his umbrella was pink. A participant each year since 2010, excluding COVID, Amirkhas always dresses like a highlighter, last year was neon yellow.

“I try to have as much fun as I can,” Amirkhas said.

“You got to,” Lopez laughed.

First -timer Lopez was feeling good hiking the hill, tossing in some lunges to add to the fun.

It was also the first Bloomsday for mother-son duo Danielle and Owen Sherwood.

The fifth-grader was motivated for one simple reason, “the T-shirt,” he said, his cheeks cherry red as the pair marched up Doomsday. He had fun walking the course and reveling in the scenery under the “excellent” rain.

Carolyn Becker and about a dozen of her neighbors gathered under a group of canopies to cheer on the racers with a couple slow-cooker dishes, snacks and a few coolers loaded with beverages.

Their little slice of the West Central neighborhood has had the Bloomsday tailgate every year since the first race in 1976, she said. Bloomsday provides them with an excuse to get together after long winters, enjoy live music from the several bands on their section of the course and spend some time connecting with the rest of the city.

“It just gives us a chance to support the community and the visitors and everyone here to participate,” Becker said, before going back to cheering on the hordes passing by.

Findley and Boden Dezzani smiled at each other as they slipped their finisher shirts over their wet hair Sunday morning.

The siblings ran the race by themselves ahead of their parents. Boden, 14, pulled away from his 16-year-old sister at mile 6, finishing a few minutes ahead.

His favorite part of the race, Boden said, was “the downhills.”

The siblings were thrilled to finish in under an hour for their first Bloomsday after driving from Montana for the race.

As they looked at their finisher shirts, the elder Dezzani smiled.

“They’re really cool,” she said.

Spokanite Mary Fagan, 71, finished her 48th running of Bloomsday Sunday, sporting a bright pink T-shirt along with her fellow perennial participants, individuals who’ve participated in every iteration of the 12K.

“It’s another good feeling of accomplishment,” Fagan said after reaching the finish line. “But I’m coming to recognize how age is playing its part.”

Fagan said she was proud of the Spokane community for coming out to support another year despite the weather, and for ensuring the Bloomsday tradition continues. She plans to participate as long as she is able.

“It’s a motivation to stay healthy,” Fagan said. “And it’s an opportunity to be out in our fair city in a great big party.”