Bloomsday 50th Anniversary Run in Spokane

Spokane’s Bloomsday hits its 50th running on Sunday, May 3, with the first wheelchair start at 8:30 a.m. and the last mass group scheduled for 10:30 a.m. (bloomsdayrun.org) The race is 12 kilometers, or 7.46 miles, and starts on West Riverside Avenue between Post and Lincoln in downtown Spokane before finishing at the Monroe Street Bridge. (bloomsdayrun.org) (krem.com) Bloomsday began in 1977, and organizers said they are pursuing 50,000 participants to match the 50th-running milestone. (bloomsdayrun.org) The in-person entry fee is $38 through April 30 and rises to $50 on May 1. Online registration for the Spokane course closes at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, and there is no race-day registration. (krem.com) (bloomsdayrun.org) Packet pickup runs at the Spokane Convention Center’s Exhibition Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 1, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. Sunday pickup from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. is limited to out-of-town runners. (bloomsdayrun.org) The course still includes Doomsday Hill, with a water station at the top around mile 5. Other aid stops are listed near Greenwood Cemetery, Spokane Falls Community College, Broadway and Nettleton, and beyond the finish. (bloomsdayrun.org) Bloomsday’s anniversary week reaches beyond the race itself. The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture opened a free Bloomsday exhibit from March 28 through May 3, and Terrain’s “50 Years of Movement” poster show runs through April 24. (outthereoutdoors.com) The 2026 charity of choice is the Riverside State Park Foundation, which supports trail building, park improvements, equipment purchases, and outdoor education programs. Bloomsday said ParaSport Spokane raised more than $12,000 as the 2025 charity partner. (bloomsdayrun.org) There is also a virtual Bloomsday from April 23 through May 3 for runners who want to complete 12 kilometers on their own route and report a finish time online by May 4. (bloomsdayrun.org) For Spokane residents not racing, the practical impact starts early. Streets near the downtown start and Monroe Street Bridge finish close at 5 a.m., other course streets begin closing at 7:30 a.m., and most reopen by about 2 p.m. (bloomsdayrun.org) Fifty years in, Bloomsday is still a road race, a civic logistics exercise, and a spring ritual built around one 12-kilometer loop through Spokane. (bloomsdayrun.org)