Running Your First Bloomsday: A Guide

Bloomsday is Spokane's race. Thousands of people run, walk, jog and wear costumes across town on the first Sunday in May, and it has been happening since 1977. The 2027 race is Sunday, May 2.

If you're thinking about your first one, good. This guide takes you from signing up to the finish line.

What Bloomsday is

A 12K, which is about 7.5 miles. If you can run or walk-run three or four miles comfortably right now, you can be ready in two months. You don't need to be fast. A lot of people are out there for the party.

Registration, the course map and race rules are on the race's own site: register for Bloomsday and read the official race information.

Training: eight to ten weeks out

Start in mid-to-late February, which means a lot of early runs happen in the cold. Plan for that. Our guide to what to wear running in Spokane will save you some misery.

1. Run three days a week: two short runs and one long run. Walk breaks are fine. Plenty of strong runners use them.
2. Add a little distance to the long run each week.
3. Make every fourth week an easier one. Your legs get stronger while you rest.
4. Get your shoes sorted early. Road shoes should be broken in before race week.
5. Run the course at least once. Our Lilac Bloomsday 12K route is 7.6 miles with about 360 feet of climbing. If you can't do all of it, run the hilly parts.
6. About two weeks out, do your longest run at six to seven miles, then ease off.
7. Change nothing in the last two weeks: no new shoes, shirt or breakfast. Whatever you wear on race day should have been through at least two long runs.

Doomsday Hill

This is the climb everyone warns you about. It's long, but it ends.

• Shorten your stride and keep your effort steady.
• Look at the ground a few steps ahead instead of at the top.
• Don't sprint the start. People who race up the first part of it pay for it on the other side.
• Walking a steep stretch is legal and often smart.

Race morning

1. Eat what you've been eating before long runs, two or three hours before the start.
2. Plan your trip in. The crowd is big, so get there earlier than you think.
3. Use the bathroom twice, then find your starting area.
4. Dress for the finish, not the start. May mornings in Spokane can start cool and end warm, so wear something you can tie around your waist or toss. See warm-weather apparel and cold-weather apparel if you're not sure.
5. Start slower than feels natural. The first mile is crowded anyway, so let it be an easy one.
6. Take water when you need it and keep moving.

Afterward

Drink water, eat something, stay in your clothes long enough to warm back up, and walk around a bit. You'll be sore tomorrow, which is normal. Call your mom and tell her you finished Bloomsday.

Then sign up for something else. The events page lists Spokane-area races from 5Ks to marathons, and there's one almost every month.