SPOKANE, Wash. – Today marks the first day of the virtual Bloomsday event this year, offering participants the flexibility to join from anywhere, not just Spokane. Remarkably, one dedicated runner of virtual Bloomsday has never even set foot in Spokane.
During the 1990s, Vita Stark, originally from Latvia, and Melanie Donaldson, a native of Spokane, met in England. Both dedicated full-time volunteers for 10 months, they practically lived as dormmates.
After they left England, they stayed in touch through letters until the early 2000s when Donaldson visited Latvia for a two-week cultural immersion. Since then, their communication evolved to texting, although they haven’t met in person for about 20 years.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the virtualization of Bloomsday, allowing runners to participate from anywhere, at their own pace. This change rekindled Donaldson’s enthusiasm for Bloomsday.
Donaldson’s husband, Nate, a police officer, typically works during Bloomsday. Despite sharing a passion for fitness and exercise since their first gym date, they’ve never been able to run Bloomsday together due to Nate’s work schedule.
Excited about the virtual option, Donaldson now runs Bloomsday alongside her husband a few days after the in-person race. She extended the invitation to Stark, who happily agreed.
Since then, Stark has run it annually, waiting for each year’s commemorative shirt.
If you’re interested in joining virtual Bloomsday, there’s still time to register. It’s $35 until May 2nd, after which it increases to $50. Register here.
If you are looking for a route, here are two suggested by Fleet Feet’s Nicole Coburn:
