I first did this race in 2022, more than 40 years after thinking that I had to run it someday. Getting to Spokane and running the race was a huge bucket list race event for me. We liked it so much we thought about moving to Spokane, and by 2024 those thoughts became a plan.
We planned the Bloomsday weekend back in January, thinking that this would be a pre-move scouting trip, or we would already have a bid on a house by then. However, things changed, and that was discussed in last week’s post and we decided not to move to Spokane after all.
Despite that, I still wanted to make the trip and run the race in 2025. Although I have only raced to it twice now, the Bloomsday 12K is one of my favorites.
Quick Turn-Around From The 10K
I only had a week to recover from the USATF Masters 10K, which was on the East Coast. In-between the travel and these races we had to move out of our condo on Wednesday, with closing on Thursday before Bloomsday. Not to mention flying out Friday night. The week was a bit of a blur. I had couple of easy running days, but put in 21,000 steps on a 14-hour moving day. The last three days of the week were just easy runs with a few strides thrown in.
Returning to Spokane after thinking-expecting to move there this year was a bits strange. Let’s just call it bittersweet.
On Saturday morning I ran about 4 miles along the course, including the top half of Doomsday Hill, and we drove around the town some after bib pick up. Otherwise, we took a restful day which was nice after such a busy week.
Doomsday Hill
Doomsday Hill a 5% climb over a half mile in the background.
Race Day
Race day dawned rather cool, at 39 degrees. We made our way downtown early to ensure that we had good parking (that wasn’t a problem) and waited in the car for 40 minutes before making our way to the Riverfront Park area and race hub.
Took some pictures of the falls, but just doing that was chilling so we found a coffee shop and warmed up there until I was ready to start my jog.
I got in just 2K for a warm up, dropped off my bag and lined up in the second seed wave, about 30 meters behind the elite runners. It had warmed up significantly, to about 48 degrees with just a slight breeze. These were perfect race conditions.
The first half mile or so of this race is a little sketchy compared to other big races. There are several slight turns with curb jumps and the streets are narrow in spots. Plus, there are potholes. However, I managed to avoid any mishaps.
The plan was to run the first two miles a little slower than goal pace, which was about 47:00 (6:18/mile). My secondary goal was to break my time of 47:32 from 2022.
The first mile is relatively flat and the second mile has a half mile descent (dropping 140 feet) and sharp uphill. My splits were 6:18 and 6:18. Just a few seconds faster than I had planned but it seemed within reason, my breathing was good and I felt in control.
Mile 3 had another big uphill and it was a net climb of about 80 feet, so my split was a bit slower at 6:34 (but the grade adjusted pace was another 6:18). Through mile 3 my effort was fairly even and I felt good. So I pushed it some in mile 4. Maybe that was my mistake. With a drop of about 30 feet I ran about 6:08, my fastest split of the day. At this point I was ahead of my 2022 time and I was feeling good about that as we crossed the Meenach Bridge over the Spokane River. This, the low point of the course at 1740 feet, would be the highlight of my race.
Onto Pettit Drive and the start of Doomsday Hill, I eased up a little and let the pack just ahead pull away from me. I figured I could make up some time once we summited (which I knew was nearly a mile ahead). The course climbs over 100 feet in that initial half mile, at a grade of 4-5 percent. Just get through that part I thought, and I could grind out a good finish. My 5 mile split was 32:00, almost exactly what it was in 2022.
Course profile and pace, along with some stats.
Although I had run up the steep part of the hill, the run out was another half mile at about 1% incline. Small but I was just zapped at this point, and I ran a 6:30 for the 6th mile. Fortunately, I regrouped by 10K and got my rhythm back, knowing that it would be a net downhill to the finish. This stretch along Broadway is more than a mile long with no turns. However, it’s easy going and there were some crowds along the way cheering us on. That mile was a 6:20, again a little slower than 2022. We made the turn on to Monroe and I threw all I could into it for a strong finish in 47:42. Short of my goals, but I’m still happy with the effort and to take home another age group win.
I’ll reiterate that this is one of my favorite races. It’s huge, with 30,000 runners, but everything is well managed. They have an exciting elite race up front and those in the mid pack and back are out there on a Sunday morning having some fun running or walking with friends and family on the scenic yet challenging course.
We did not move to Spokane in 2025, but I will return for this race!
rrunnin234 