The Bloomsday 12K began in 1977, the same year I actually got into competitive running (after dabbling some on the track the year before).
Background and History – www.bloomsday.org
This race’s history probably ranks among the top non-marathon event in the U.S., and in its glory days in the 70s-00s it featured a who’s who of American and world class road racing, World record holders and numerous Olympians/Olympic medalists Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Henry Rono, Arturo Barrios, both Yobes and Lisa Ondieki, Edna Kiplagat, Anne Audain, and Colleen DeReuck have all won there. While still a mainstay on the US circuit, with solid professional prize money it does not quite retain its status of the earlier road racing era. I have always wanted to do this race, going back even to its early years when I was still in college. It was on my radar in 2020, but then the pandemic hit and the race was also canceled last year.
Training and Prep – Post Boston, not much. I took a few days off and plodded a few miles for five days and then on Thursday did about an hour with a short set set of 1 minute pick ups to blow the gunk out of my legs. Travel was a bit rough on my body and I felt way off on Friday and Saturday after arriving to Washington. We drove from Seattle and stayed overnight in central Washington so we could explore the state a little, and got into Spokane on Saturday afternoon.
I (almost) got to meet race founder and 4th place (should be 3rd) Olympian Don Kardong, as he picked up his bib at the same time. Everyone at the table lightened up when he appeared! But by the time I got mine taken care of, he was gone. We stayed at a downtown hotel on Riverfront Park, within an easy walk to the start.
Race – They do a great job with the logistics, with color coded waves and each block has it’s own side street to access their place in the starting area. I got a 2nd seeding, behind the elites. Race morning weather was perfect at low 50s, just the slightest of a breeze (maybe 3 mph), and sunshine.
My original plan was to go out at MP or just a little under and progress, but by the afternoon before the race I decided that tempo/LT effort should be fine (6:15 or so) for a 12K, and hope to close fast over the flat last couple miles and then close on the fast downhill final stretch.
Per usual, the start was a bit of cluster, especially over the first mile or so, where it seemed pretty narrow.
The course follows the scenic Riverside Drive for about 3.5 miles before turning turning north and then back east to downtown through neighborhoods. There are two major hills, first one (Cemetery Hill) starts at about 1.5 miles after a substantial drop and actually climbs for more than a mile. So it’s a grinder, and I found it tougher than the more famous Doomsday Hill at 4.2 miles. The latter hill is at 5% but only for 0.3 or 0.4 of a mile. However, I can see where at the elite level it’s often the make or break part of the race.
I was right at 6:15 or so for the first 2 miles, and by then the field was fairly strung out, single file or clumps of two or three runners every 5 of 10 meters.
I slowed to 6:30 up the long Cemetery hill, and then 6:12 dropping to the bridge toward Doomsday, on which which I kept a sub 7 (apparently top 4 all time for my age group on Strava, so going back 10 years or so). I felt fine and in control on the hill but I think it took some out of my already somewhat weary legs and body. Over the next two I could only muster 6:20s, and I lost a few places. On stretch before the final turn a few more younger runners passed by, and I made the turn onto Monroe (last 0.3) and kicked it in with at 6:06 pace over the final 0.46 miles.
That was a blast and I look forward to returning with fresher legs and maybe go for an age group record next time. As it was I won the age group and for masters overall was 2nd in age grading for masters men (too bad they don’t give out a little prize money for that).
Summary and Post-script – The men’s elite race was exciting with a back and forth finish between Charles Wanjiku (Ken) and Reid Buchanan (USA) both in 35:08, while Birakurit Degefa (USA? by way of Ethiopia) a 2:22 marathoner dominated. New pro Makena Moreley (all-American at CU Boulder) was a solid 2nd.
Maybe a post-covid hangover, but the field was down to 20,000 participants compared to 40,000-50,000 in previous years/decades. Nevertheless, this was a great/super-organized event. They have it dialed in perfectly. I have seen better post-race party atmosphere and more crowd along the way (say Bolder Boulder or Boilermaker), but this is a first class event and I think they usually have good weather.
rrunnin234 