Bloomsday: Then & Now

Jogging was as popular as polyester, running shoes turned shades of blue and Bloomsday was born on the streets of Spokane at 1:30 p.m. on May 1, 1977.

Exactly 1,141,028 finishers later, Bloomsday is turning 30, although with all that running, she doesn’t look a day over 29.

Times were simpler in ‘77, when 1,400 participants gathered at the start line in front of the Opera House to begin what has become the rite of spring in the Inland Northwest. Most racers drank tap water, not designer water; they wore baseball caps, not moisture-wicking toppers with breathability; and they kept time on their $20 Timex, not their Timex 5F001 Ironman Triathlon Heart Rate Monitor Unisex rubber watch.

Here’s a closer look at how times have changed: