THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, May 6, 2016

OK, this just in, especially for you local runners, joggers and walkers who have been here slightly more than the 32 months I’ve lived here.

Or who knows, perhaps you are newer to this area than me.

Bloomsday ... is ... awesome!

OK, I’ll go with the official longer name, the 40th edition of the Lilac Bloomsday Run, a winding 7.46-mile traverse — or 12 kilometers if you prefer — starting on Riverside Avenue in downtown Spokane on the first Sunday in May, going up and down the 2-mile-long “Cemetery Hill” along Government Way, plus another 0.72-mile “Doomsday Hill”, then finishing in the middle of the Monroe Street bridge.

One of the coolest things was that people raced in wheelchairs, people of all ages could run, jog or walk and there was a seemingly endless trail of volunteers strewn along the course.

The start of my group, the lilac-colored one, began around 10:03 a.m. There were eight groups, beginning with the elite one or white-colored group. The ones who wish to take their time, or some who were pushing baby strollers, were in the last red-colored group.

A few minutes before the race began, while waiting with my friend and his wife, I helped continue the tradition of throwing my thin sweatshirt into the trees that dotted the sidewalks before the starting line. The Lilac Bloomsday Association, which runs the event, donates the discarded clothing to The Salvation Army.

NOW TO be frank, my time and final results during the run was less than awesome. I finished at a snail’s pace of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 20 seconds, 39,744th overall out of more than 46,566 registered participants. A few more quick stats before I move on, I was 973rd out of 1,034 people from Coeur d’Alene alone and my personal favorite, 263rd out of 274 38-year-old males. But the scenery — including the windy first mile down the streets of downtown Spokane — was my favorite part of the run.

I love the motto “No excuses”, but I must still explain why my results were so dreary. Let’s just say I had to wait in line for at least 5-10 minutes for various reasons, including buying some food or drinks, along with other things, plus I slowed down to grab some cups of water and listen to some talented bands play their sweet tunes. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to enjoy a ton of bands from start to finish, all 40 of them to commemorate the 40th Bloomsday, versus 30 last year. Some were smooth jazz bands, others were rock n’ roll-like Jewish folk (don’t hear that every day but it was great) and of course, my personal favorite, alternative rock at the base of Doomsday Hill. It was as if I was a tourist visiting from another country who accidentally wandered onto the course, ran the entire way, and totally enjoyed every sight, sound and yes, sweet smells of the morning.

But to be fair, did a lot of other “Bloomies” do the same things? You betcha. Heck, some even took a few seconds to hug a friend or two they saw watching the run. But did it seem like I was doing these things more often than your average guy or gal? Sure. Plus the Spokane County Superior Court building on Broadway Avenue is among the biggest I have ever seen and is pretty majestic at first glance.

FOR SOME odd reason — and I still do not remember jogging at all, much less that quickly — I was pretty decent while doing some speedwalking and light jogging up ‘Doomsday Hill”, or North Pettet Drive just past T.J. Meenach Drive. For some odd reason, the little computer chip attached to my lilac-colored bib had me finishing the daunting-looking hill in 10 minutes, 9 seconds. When I saw this a day after the run, I was pretty stunned. I could have sworn I walked at a less-than-sizzling pace, but the results that had me finishing 480th out of 1,344 people. So since my normal walking pace is around 17 or 18 minutes per mile, clearly I was jogging. By the way, the view from the hill was super cool. All those buildings, looking like pretty big ants, plus the fresh air up there was a nice thing.

I was rewarded to some degree by seeing the mascots from various Spokane-area teams, such as the Chiefs hockey team, the Indians baseball team and of course, the Eastern Washington Eagle, known as “Swoop” — who was nice enough to take a quick “selfie” with me, before running to another nearby location. Hey, even cartoonish mascots have some work to do. As a separate deal, one of the volunteers passing some tasty cold water was a nun, so I resisted the urge to jokingly say, “Hey, holy water, right?” Good thing I didn’t do that. Never tick off your religious leaders, at least don’t go out of your way to do so.

In any event, whether it was your first Bloomsday run or 40th, you surely walked, jogged or ran away with some nice memories.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com or via Twitter @bourq25