Brian Pilcher Sets M55 12K Record (pending) at Bloomsday!

Brian Pilcher (Ross, Calif.) set a pending U.S. men’s 55-59 age group record at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K Run in Spokane, Wash. on May 6, 2012. The 55-year-old Pacific Association/USATF athlete blitzed the hilly 12K (7.46-mile) course in 41 minutes and 9 seconds, chopping 15 seconds off the previous record set by Steve Lester at this same race in 1998.

Here is Pilcher’s recount of his race provided to Mark Winitz:

“Bloomsday is a great race that I’ve never had a chance to run before. The weather was perfect. There were lots of good runners and great crowds lining the course. The course is different than most others because there are two substantial downhill/uphill combinations when you cross rivers—one in the second mile and one in the fifth mile. I started a little too fast with all the Kenyans and I was way ahead of the record pace through four miles.

“With all the ups and downs, it was hard to find a steady pace. The grades were such that I was going 4:40 downhill and 6:40 uphill, so I ran 5:40 for mile five with Doomsday Hill in it. But, at the top of Doomsday Hill it took me a full half mile to get back to my pace, so I ran 5:45 for mile six and started to worry. I ran a good last mile and a half and finished with 15 seconds to spare.”

Along with top competition in all Bloomsday divisions, 47,882 finishers enjoyed performances from nearly 30 bands, vocalists and performing troupes along the course, eventually reaching the finish and claiming this year’s finisher T-shirt. Next year’s Lilac Bloomsday Run, the 37th, will be on Sunday, May 5th, 2013.