LACE 'EM UP!
Finally! A non-competitive athletic event for kids. For anyone convinced that adults are conspiring to ruin kids' sports, Spokane's annual Bloomsday race offers an antidote. Kids under 13 are encouraged to participate, but they won't be seeded the front of the pack "no matter how talented they are," and Bloomsday won't publish "comparative placing in divisions below age 13," according to the website. "In our book, every kid who runs, jogs, walks or wheels 7.46 miles is a winner. And we encourage parents to make sure that message comes through loud and clear."
For kids in third grade or younger, there's also the Marmot March, a one-mile event on Saturday, May 5. Children and adults participate together (no more than 4 kids per adult), and registration is limited to the first 300 kids who sign up. Marmot March T-shirts for the kids are available at the Bloomsday trade show on Friday and can be decorated prior to the event.
Soles4Youth will be collecting gently used running shoes, clothes and accessories at the Marmot March booth. The organization provides donated equipment to grade school kids participating in Cross Country and Fit for Bloomsday.
Register at bloomsdayrun.org.
