At the 1976 Olympic Marathon in Montreal, American runner Don Kardong
used a patient and disciplined strategy to finish in fourth place,
losing out on a bronze medal by a mere 3 seconds.
However, Don’s future in running was influenced much more by a race
he ran and won just before the Olympics, the Peachtree Road Race 10k in
Atlanta.
That experience ultimately led to the founding of the Bloomsday Run
in Spokane, Washington, a 12-kilometer race that attracts nearly 50,000
finishers annually.
Don and the Bloomsday organizers have done a great job of including
all sorts of charity and fun running while maintaining the race’s roots
as a top-level competition for some of the best runners in the world.
Some of the things that Don and I discussed included:
Don’s own running career and the training that made him one of the top-ranked runners in the U.S.The race strategy that Don employed to finish 4th place in the marathon at the Olympic GamesHow the Bloomsday Run came to be and the rapid growth it experienced in its first few yearsThe extreme importance of communication between all parts of the race organization when planning and putting on a raceOne of Don’s craziest experiences as race directorInterview With Olympian Don Kardong