SPOKANE, Wash. – As Bloomsday 2025 quickly approaches, the best of the best athletes get any last-minute prep in to try and get the edge.
Diego Estrada finished second in the men’s elite race last year, and enters his fourth Bloomsday. He spoke with us about how welcomed he felt after race director Andy LeFriec embraced him.
“A month ago, I had really bad COVID, and I was like ‘well, I’m still going to go there’,” Estrada said. “Just because it’s such a great experience, and you just feel like you’re at home here.”
2024 fifth-place finisher Aubrey Frentheway earned her spot with a time just under 40 minutes, and mentioned Bloomsday’s extra challenge is the best part for her.
“I really like the competition here, and I really love the course, and the whole atmosphere of the race is super fun,” Frentheway said. “So yeah, I’m excited.”
On the wheelchair division side, 2024 champion Hermin Garic won by over three minutes, but he still wants to push and compete for more.
“But a competition and a prize purse, that’s, for any elite athlete, one of the two you gotta have,” Garic said. “So this race, fortunately, has both of those covered, and it keeps us coming back.”
Heather Sealover was third on the women’s side, and the Louisiana native craves the challenge, and her results show it, she finished just five minutes away from first, and almost 20 minutes ahead of fourth.
“This definitely ranks as one of the more challenging courses regardless, just with the length of the hill climbs,” Sealover said. “And so, I like a challenge, and continuing to try and defeat that challenge is just… I don’t know, it’s fun for me.”
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