Bloomsday through the years

Look back at Bloomsday moments. See a couple photos you like? Give us a call at (509) 459-5523 to order a print for your home or office.

Section:Gallery

Thu., April 29, 2010

The first Bloomsday was held in 1977. The event would grow and blossom into one of the Spokane area's signature athletic events.

Photo Archive The Spokesman-Review
Spokane resident Ron Giachetti takes a nap at the yellow starting line before the race at Bloomsday 2005. Giachetti arrived at 6 a.m. to get a good spot at the front of the line.

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Susanna Mendez, 9, of Hayden, prepares to run Bloomsday on May 3, 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Bobby Hunt waits for the start of Bloomsday 2002.

Torsten Kjellstrand The Spokesman-Review
Bob Crabb fires the starting gun for the women's elite runners at Bloomsday 1999.

Brian Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Young racers dash off the line at Bloomsday 2009.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Back of the pack Bloomies surge past blooming flowers and trees at the corner of Riverside and Lincoln at Bloomsday 2003.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review
Jamie Schorzman drinks a beer on his balcony in Browne's Addition during Bloomsday 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Dave Fish plays the drums for runners in Browne's Addition at Bloomsday 2006.

Kathryn Stevens The Spokesman Review
Three-year-old Lucy Low, of Seattle, was as excited as her uncle Kyle Smith, of Spokane, to see a clown running with the pack in Browne's Addition at Bloomsday 2009.

Kathy Plonka The Spokesman-Review
Runners fill Clarke Street, left, and Riverside Street near the merging point on the Marne Bridge during Bloomsday 1997.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Ira Amstadters pretends to answer his banana for the amusement of Bloomsday 2007 walkers.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review
Runners cross the Spokane River on the T. J. Meenach Bridge before climbing Doomsday Hill during Bloomsday 1997.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
"He just wanted to play his drum," said Jacob Bloomfeldt's mother, Thea, as her son performed for runners climbing past the Marne Bridge at Bloomsday 2007. Jacob and his sister, adopted from Liberia, had been living in Spokane for less than two months.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review
Patrick McHenry-Kroetch of Spokane takes a walk on the wet side as he pushes Logan, 6, through a sprinkler near the four-mile mark in Bloomsday 2005.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review
Lisa Denker pushes her friend Phill Graves and her son Zachary uphill about two miles into Bloomsday 2005. Denker was celebrating her 41st birthday.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review
Triton, a young boxer, waits anxiously for "grandpa", the father of his owner Janel Bartlett, along Doomsday Hill at Bloomsday 2005. While Bartlett's husband was deployed overseas, her father cared for the dog.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Perennial participant Bob Maudlin packs his grandson Grant Gollehon up Doomsday Hill at Bloomsday 2007.

Dan Pelle The Spokesman-Review
A runner tosses water on his face while cooling off at the Spokane Falls Community College water station at Bloomsday 2001.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
A runner grabs his side shortly after Doomsday Hill while the pack makes its way down Lindeke Street in the West Central neighborhood during Bloomsday 2003.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Mandy Whiting, 13, and Casey Colt, 14, do cartwheels after making it past Doomsday Hill during Bloomsday 2001.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
A Bloomsday 2007 runner snags a cup of water at the top of Doomsday Hill.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
Hydrated runners mean cups to clean up for Bloomsday 2007 volunteers at the Broadway Avenue water station.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
Volunteer Walt Mabe claps as elite men's wheelchair competitors round the turn from Maxwell onto Lindeke during Bloomsday 1998. "I play basketball with some of these guys," said Mabe.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Susan Gorsuch holds two unnamed kittens, part of a six-kitty litter she was hoping to give away during Bloomsday 2003 near her place along Broadway. "They're not really eating yet," said Gorsuch, "so I'm just taking reservations."

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
Waylon Gwiazda, 9, cools down Bloomsday 2007 runners on Mission Avenue.

Colin Mulvany The Spokesman-Review
Brian Walker, 15, kicks back and lets the world go by along Post Street just before the finish line of Bloomsday 1995. "I've ran it once," he said, which was apparently enough.

Dan Mccomb The Spokesman-Review
Brenda Gildehaus dismisses offers for rest as she pushes toward the finish line of Bloomsday 2001. Gildehaus, who had multiple sclerosis, used a wheelchair up until the last blocks of the course, where she switched to a specially made walker.

Elissa Bean The Spokesman-Review
Bloomsday 2005 participants make their way south across the Lincoln Street Bridge after picking up their T-shirts.

Liz Kishimoto The Spokesman-Review
A runner crosses the finish line during Bloomsday 2002.

Christopher Anderson The Spokesman-Review
Matt Meadows, of Spokane, takes a breath after finishing his first Bloomsday in 2007. "It was a good run," said Meadows, who also planned to run the Coeur d'Alene marathon.

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Camille Mackie zips up into full coverage as she waits for friends at the finish area of Bloomsday 2002.

Christopher Anderson The Spokesman-Review
Cleaners reach for discarded clothing from Bloomsday 2005 participants at the corner of Stevens and Main streets.

Holly Pickett The Spokesman-Review
Exhausted runners take a breather along Spokane Falls Boulevard after Bloomsday 2008.

J. Bart Rayniak The Spokesman-Review