Runners to visit Spokane elementary schools

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Spokane, WA—With the annual Bloomsday Run fast approaching, students at two Spokane elementary schools will get into the swing of things in a special way. Taking advantage of a special opportunity this year, the students of Madison Elementary and Pasadena Park Elementary will enjoy a presentation by Kenyan distance runner Caroline Rotich and American Joe Gray on Friday, May 1.

Caroline is a top Kenyan runner who attended high school in Japan, and Joe is a post-graduate student now living in Washington. Caroline placed 11th in Bloomsday 2008 with a time of 42:23. Joe won the Washington State Road Racing Championships as the top Washington finisher in Bloomsday 2008. Joe placed 25th overall in last year's run with a time of 37:19.

“Caroline and Joe are fantastic runners and we are thrilled to have them back for Bloomsday 2009,” said Jon Neill, Bloomsday’s Elite Athlete Coordinator. “Both are great ambassadors of the sport and possess the hard work ethic necessary to be a world-class runner.”

Pasadena Park Elementary (8508 E Upriver Dr, Spokane Valley, WA 99212) will host the first presentation at 10 a.m., and Madison Elementary (319 West Nebraska Ave., Spokane, WA 99205) will host the second presentation at 1:30 p.m.

The two presentations will last between an hour to an hour-and-a-half each, with the talks being mainly a question and answer format, with questions coming from the students at each elementary school. After the presentations, there will be an autograph session for the kids. The runners will have lunch with the students at Pasadena Park after the morning presentation.

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