The Lottery

We will use a lottery to fill the fields for the 10 Mile and for the Double Blossom (participants running both the 5K on Saturday, April 11 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 12). Want to enter either of those events? Read the instructions below, then click on the “Click Here to Enter the 2026 Lottery” button below to get to the Lottery Registration Form. Note: We are using Race Roster for our registration process again this year. If you already have a Race Roster account, you will be prompted to sign in when you reach the Lottery Registration page. If you don’t already have one, you will be prompted to create one. Don’t worry – it only takes a few seconds!

Important Note About the Lottery: Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, meaning you will have the same chance of being accepted if you enter on January 5 or on January 19. So if the server is busy, just try again later!

For those wishing to enter ONLY the 5K, registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and that registration will open on January 26. For details on registering for the 5K, click here.

Already Entered the Lottery?

Want to confirm your Lottery Application to either the 10 Mile or Double Blossom has been received? Click Here and use the search function.

Want to find the list of current Lottery Buddy Squads and their members? Click Here.

Didn’t join a Lottery Buddy Squad during your application but now want to? Send an email to info@cherryblossom.org that includes your full name, email address used in registration and the name of the Lottery Buddy Squad you want to join.

Need to change your email or mailing address, name spelling, or DOB? Please submit a request to info@cherryblossom.org. Changes to your estimated finish time, product selection, etc. cannot be made now.  You will be able to make those changes AFTER the lottery if you are selected.  

Important Note: The Lottery Application list and the Lottery Buddy Squad List are both updated between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm EST, so changes to your application or lottery buddy status may not be reflected immediately. Your application will NOT yet appear on your Race Roster dashboard since you are not yet a confirmed registrant.

Lottery results will be sent via email no later than Friday, January 23, 2026. 

The 10 Mile and Double Blossom Lottery

• The 2026 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile will be held on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The 2026 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2026.
• The lottery for the 2026 10 Mile and Double Blossom (5K on Saturday and 10 Mile on Sunday) will open on January 5 and close on January 19 at 11:59 pm.
• When registering, prospective entrants will complete and submit the entire entry form including the credit card information. However, credit cards will not be charged unless the applicant is selected.
• The entry fees for 2026 are $64 (plus a processing fee) for the 10 Mile and $111 (plus an online processing fee) for the Double Blossom. Both entry fees include a cotton 10 Mile/5K t-shirt; you will be given the option at registration to upgrade your cotton shirt to an ASICS technical t-shirt.

Note on the Double Blossom Lottery

If you wish to enter the Double Blossom – BOTH races: the 5K on Saturday, April 11 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 12 – you MUST enter the Double Blossom lottery. If you are successful in that lottery, you will then be entered into BOTH races. Note: If you are accepted into the lottery for the 10 Mile, you are allowed to register for the 5K (if 5K registration is still open) and run both races, but you will NOT be entered into the Double Blossom. So if you want to do the Double Blossom, be sure to sign up for that event when registering for the lottery – there is no way to switch into the Double Blossom later.

Before you click the link below to begin your Online Lottery Registration, please read this page IN ITS ENTIRETY.
This will help answer your questions before you begin the lottery process. 

You may register for the lottery any time between January 5 and January 19. Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, so if the server is busy, just try again later. 

Lottery Details

Lottery Buddies

Do you want to make sure that if you are accepted into the 10 Mile or Double Blossom through the lottery that your friends and/or family members will be accepted along with you? Then have everyone in your squad (up to 10 people) enter the lottery as Lottery Buddies.

1. Talk to your friends/family and decide which of you will be the first “buddy” to enter the lottery.
2. That buddy enters the lottery and gives your squad a Lottery Buddy Name during the registration process.
3. Subsequent buddies can select that Lottery Buddy Name from the dropdown list on the registration form when they go to register.

Lottery Buddies do not all have to enter just the 10 Mile Lottery or just the Double Blossom Lottery – each Lottery Buddy can enter the event that they prefer to run, and the Buddies will either all be accepted into or all rejected from whichever event (10 Mile or Double Blossom) they applied for. Each squad of Lottery Buddies has exactly the same chance of getting in as each single individual. Please note that no additional Lottery Buddies can be added after the lottery period closes.

• No more than 10 individuals are allowed into a single squad of Lottery Buddies. If you have more then 10 people, you will have to form two squads of Lottery Buddies. Note it is possible that one of those squads would get in, but the other would not, so make sure everyone in each squad would be happy to run the race without the people in the other squad (hopefully that won’t happen!).
• You are only Lottery Buddies for purposes of entering the Lottery. Of course we hope that you will all stay friends after the lottery, but for the purposes of the race itself you will be running as an individual.
• Lottery Buddies have no relationship with Teams in our 10 Mile Team Competition (there is no Team Competition in the 5K). Teams may be formed from runners who are accepted into the race after the lottery is over. For details about Team Competition, please visit Team Competition or contact Team Coordinator George Banker at teams@cherryblossom.org.

Starting Corral Assignments: Every accepted runner will be assigned a starting corral for the 10 Mile based on the estimated finish time that they enter on their registration form for the 10 Mile race. Because corral positions are allocated based on estimated finish times, even if you enter the race with your Lottery Buddies and are all accepted, you will not necessarily be placed in the same starting corral as your Buddies.

Remember there is no Lottery for the 5K. Registration for the 5K will open on January 26 and is first-come, first-served. Click Here for 5K Registration information.)

Other Lottery Details

• T-Shirts: You will be given the opportunity to upgrade your shirt to an ASICS technical t-shirt (either a 10 Mile or Double Blossom shirt depending on which event you enter). Double Blossom applicants may also opt to purchase a 10 Mile and/or 5K ASICS technical t-shirt for an additional $20 each.
• Medals: 10 Mile applicants will be given the option to purchase a 10 Mile finisher medal; Double Blossom applicants will be given the option to purchase a Double Blossom finisher medal. Medals are $15 for a standard medal or an additional $10 for an enhanced medal. The enhanced medal consists of the standard medal that you pick up after your race plus an iTab plate that we will mail to you in May with your name, finish time, overall place and age group place on it, which you can attach to the ribbon of your medal (see image). Double Blossom applicants may also purchase a 10 Mile and/or 5K finisher medal for $15 each, or an enhanced 10 Mile and/or 5K finisher medal for $25 each.
• If you order an enhanced medal and then either do not start the race or do not finish the race, you will receive a “credit” to purchase an iTab plate at another iTab race for free.
• Donations: When registering for the lottery, registrants will have an opportunity to make a donation directly to our official race charity, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
• Lottery Results: Once the lottery registration period is closed on January 19 at 11:59 p.m., all applicants will be notified via email by January 23 if they have been accepted or rejected in the lottery.
• Credit Card Processing: After the lottery registration period closes on January 19 at 11:59 p.m., Individuals (and Lottery Buddies) who are selected for the lottery will have their credit cards charged for the entry fee, ancillary items purchased such as the “Upgrade” performance shirts, medals and charity donations, a processing fee, and any applicable sales tax (your registration fee is not subject to sales tax, but many ancillary items are).
• Individuals (and Lottery Buddies) not selected will not have their credit cards charged for the entry fee or for any ancillary items purchased such as the “Upgrade” performance shirts, medals and charity donations.
• 100 Mile Club members must enter the lottery to get their guaranteed entry. For more on the 100 Mile Club, Click Here.
• Double Blossom Entrants: We have a new 5K course for 2026! As mentioned above, the 5K will be held on a dramatic new course in Arlington, VA, featuring vistas of the United States Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the National 9-11 Pentagon Memorial. The 5K will start on Army-Navy Dr. & S. Fern St. in Arlington, conveniently located just a couple blocks from our race headquarters hotel at the Crystal Gateway Marriott. The 5K start is easily accessible by Metro.
• Athletes with Disabilities: If you are an athlete with a disability, including push-rim wheelchair athletes, individuals with disabilities who are being pushed in wheelchairs (duos and trios), visually impaired athletes, hearing impaired athletes or athletes who have a prosthesis, YOU DO NOT NEED TO ENTER THE LOTTERY. We have special entry procedures for these athletes, so if you fall into this category, send an email to info@cherryblossom.org and we will give you instructions for getting your entry. 

Please consult the “FAQs” on the website for more detailed answers to questions regarding the lottery.

Please note that pre-registration is required for the 2026 Kids Run, but it will be held on a first-come, first-served basis and will open on January 26, 2026. The Kids Run is limited to 600 entrants.

Protect Your Race Entry

When you register, you will be given the opportunity to enroll in the registration refund program should you wish to. Participants that enroll in the refund program will be refunded if they are unable to attend due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances, such as:

• •  Injury & illness
  •  COVID-19
  •  Severe weather
  •  Pregnancy complications
  • Layoffs/termination
  • Mechanical breakdown

Full details are provided on the registration form.

You may register for the lottery any time between January 5 and January 19. Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, so if the server is busy, just try again later. 

The Results of the Lottery Will Be Available in Your Race Roster Account by Thursday, January 22, 2026

Other Ways to Gain Entry into the Race

Use the links below to explore other ways to gain entry into the 2026 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile & 5K:

• 100 Mile Club
• Two-Time Loser (TTL) Entries
• Charity Entrant
• Volunteer Entries
• Elite and Seeded Runners