Hundreds of children took part in a 45-year-old tradition Friday by running races on the grass in perfect weather on the athletic field below Lake Roosevelt Schools.

The first Mini Bloomsday occurred in 1979. The idea came from a first-grade teacher at the time, Carolyn McNeil.

Mrs. McNeil and Mrs. Selle had their first-graders race to Acre's Drug Store, where the owner gave each student a free ice cream cone.

The next year, in 1980, second- and third-grade students joined in on the fun, and the elementary principal, Mr. Wright, purchased popsicles for all students. Mrs. McNeil named it Mini Bloomsday, and it has been held on the Friday before Bloomsday, the big race in Spokane, every year since its inception.

In the 31st year of the event, Mrs. McNeil handed the reins over to Mrs. Portch, Mrs. Tipps, and Mrs. Egbert. That was the first year they had elite runners in the third and fourth grades.

After the opening of the K-12 Lake Roosevelt Schools building in 2015, the fifth- and sixth-graders joined the event, and the responsibilities of planning it became those of the elementary PE teacher - then Mrs. Kontos, now Mr. Crollard.

In the 45 years since that first run to Acre's Drug store for ice cream, the event has evolved to what it is today, with each student in kindergarten through first grade running a half mile, and students in second through sixth grades running a full mile.

Friday's was actually the 44th Mini Bloomsday event, because the COVID-19 Pandemic closed schools at the end of the 2019-20 school year.

We have elite racers for the top of the grades, some earning medals, and every student earning an Otter Pop.

Mini Bloomsday has become a staple in our school that parents and community members alike look forward to each year.

Thanks to Carolyn McNeil for sharing the story from her experience so that it can be remembered in the years to come.

Jessica Tufts teaches third grade at Lake Roosevelt Elementary.