page_title: Lilac Bloomsday Run
hierarchical_section_title: Lilac Bloomsday Run
caption_attribution_description: English: Bloomsday Run Finish Line 2010 Race, Spokane, Washington. Picture donated to The World by Matthew Staben, Spokane, Washington
context_page_description: The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in Spokane, Washington. The course length is 12 km.
  The run has had over 38,000 participants every year since 1986, and peaked 24 years ago in 1996 with 61,298 registered. The number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206. Lineth Chepkurui set an unofficial 12 km world record in the 2010 women's race.
  The course record of 33:51 was set 12 years ago in 2008 by Micah Kogo, a pace of 4:32.4 per mile and an average speed of 13.217 mph. The women's record of 38:03 was set in 2016 by Cynthia Limo, a 5:06.2 per mile pace and an average speed of 11.758 mph.
  Don Kardong, who founded the Bloomsday race, cites James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses as the inspiration for the name Bloomsday.
  Kardong had hoped for five hundred participants for the inaugural edition in 1977, and got nearly triple that. The second edition had over five thousand, and the third in 1979 was over ten thousand, with fifty thousand spectators lining the streets. The sixth edition in 1982 had over 22,000, and despite rain and some snow, there were over 30,000 in 1984.
context_section_description: The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in Spokane, Washington. The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi).
  The run has had over 38,000 participants every year since 1986,  and peaked 24 years ago in 1996 with 61,298 registered. The number of finishers in 2015 was 43,206. Lineth Chepkurui set an unofficial 12 km world record in the 2010 women's race.
  The course record of 33:51 was set 12 years ago in 2008 by Micah Kogo, a pace of 4:32.4 per mile and an average speed of 13.217 mph (21.3 km/h). The women's record of 38:03 was set in 2016 by Cynthia Limo, a 5:06.2 per mile pace and an average speed of 11.758 mph (18.9 km/h).
  Don Kardong, who founded the Bloomsday race, cites James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses as the inspiration for the name Bloomsday.
  Kardong had hoped for five hundred participants for the inaugural edition in 1977, and got nearly triple that. The second edition had over five thousand, and the third in 1979 was over ten thousand, with fifty thousand spectators lining the streets. The sixth edition in 1982 had over 22,000,  and despite rain and some snow, there were over 30,000 in 1984.
  The early editions were around eight miles (12.9 km) in length. A new course was introduced in 1980.
caption: 2010 finish line at Monroe Street Bridge
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