5K
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K Presented by ASICS
Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K Presented by ASICSEntry is on a first-come, first-served basis. There is NO Lottery for the 5K.
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Freedom Plaza
Washington, DC
Time: 9:15 A.M.
For everyone’s safety, running with a dog is NOT permitted. Running with headphones is strongly discouraged.
Please Note: The 5K will be held on Saturday, April 5 (the day before the 10 Mile) and will stage on Freedom Plaza and traverse the route of Presidential Inaugurations down Pennsylvania Avenue before crossing the National Mall in the shadow of the Capitol Building and returning by the same route.
All 5K entrants receive the official 10Mile/5K cotton race t-shirt (5K-specific technical performance upgrade shirts and finisher medals may be purchased at registration), their overall times and places in the event, and post-race food and drink. All runners will be scored on net times.
Race Registration
Registration for the 5K on April 5 opens at 8 a.m. on December 20 – there is no Lottery for the 5K.
Registration for those wishing to enter the 5K opens on December 20 and will remain open until February 28, 2025, or until the registration limit of 8,000 participants is reached, whichever comes first. (Note: We anticipate that the field will be filled long before the February 28 deadline; last year the field limit was reached in late January.) The entry fee is $47 (plus processing fee).
We are using Race Roster for our registration process this year. If you already have a Race Roster account, you will be prompted to sign in when you reach the 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!
Anyone wanting to participate in the 5K should use the button below to sign up. Once you click the button and are let into the registration page, select the sub-event 5K.
Medals
In order to keep our race registration fees low, we do not give medals to all finishers. If you would like to receive a medal when you finish the race, you may purchase a standard medal when you register for $15. We also offer an iTab enhanced medal strip for an additional $10 (so a total of $25). The enhanced medal consists of the standard medal that you pick up after your race plus a strip that we will mail to you in May with your finish time and place on it, which you can attach to the back of your standard medal. NOTE: If you order a medal (whether standard or enhanced), you should pick it up at the finish line of whichever race you run. If you order the enhanced medal, your strip with your finish time and place will be mailed to you after the race. If you order a Double Blossom medal, you will pick that up in the infield near the 10 Mile finish line.
T-Shirts
Participant short-sleeved cotton 10 Mile/5K t-shirts are given to all 5K entrants. At registration, participants are given the option of purchasing an event-specific ASICS 5K technical short-sleeved t-shirt for $20 in place of the standard cotton short sleeved shirt. The upgrade shirts come in crew neck for men and V-neck for women. Click Here for photos of T-shirt options.
Switching Races
If you are accepted into the 10 Mile and decide that you would prefer to do the 5K, or if you decide that you would prefer to do the Double Blossom, you may change to the 5K race or the Double Blossom, as long as the entry limit of 8,000 registrants for the 5K has not been reached. Last year the entry limit was reached in late January.
If you have been accepted into the 10 Mile but want to switch to the 5K or to the Double Blossom, send an email with your request to info@cherryblossom.org. Do NOT simply register for the 5K through the 5K registration process.
No switches are permitted from the 5K to the 10 Mile. Anyone who runs the 5K race with a 10 Mile bib will be disqualified from both races.
For more details on switching races, visit https://www.cherryblossom.org/pre-race/entry-info/switch-races/
Course
The 5K will start and finish on Pennsylvania Ave. between 11th and 12th Streets near Freedom Plaza. The staging area will be at Freedom Plaza.
There will be one water stop on the 5K course at Independence at 4th Street.
Amenities
Post-race refreshments following the race will be available in the 5K staging area.
Awards
Awards will be given to the top 5 overall men and women, as well as 3 deep in age groups 14-and-under through 80-84; 1 deep in 85-89 and in 90+. There are also awards for the top 3 non-binary runners. Click Here and scroll to the bottom to see the full listing of all 5K awards. All 5K runners must finish and be off the course no later than 10:30 a.m.
Packet Pick-up
All 5K entrants must pick up their packets at the Health & Fitness Expo on Friday, April 4 or at the race start Freedom Plaza on Saturday, April 5 (or select to have their packets mailed to them when they register for the race). There will be 5K Packet Pick-up at Freedom Plaza on 5K race morning (April 5) from 7:00 a.m – 8:45 a.m.
Double Blossom Runners: if you pick up your packet at the National Building Museum on Friday, April 4, you will be able to pick up your Double Blossom bib (you will wear the same bib for both races) and whatever t-shirt(s) you ordered at the same time. If you wait and pick up your packet at the 5K staging area at Freedom Plaza on Saturday, April 5, you will only be able to pick up your Double Blossom bib and if you did not upgrade your shirt, your 10 Mile/5K cotton t-shirt. If you ordered an upgrade shirt for the Double Blossom (or a 10 Mile or 5K upgrade shirt), you will have to go to the Health & Fitness Expo after the 5K on Saturday to pick up any upgrade shirts you ordered – there will be no upgrade shirts for Double Blossom runners at Freedom Plaza.
Wave Start
The 5K will not use a wave start this year. Runners will be asked to self-seed themselves behind the appropriate pace signs to ensure a safe and orderly single start.
Bag Check
We will be using tents for bag check this year. A staging area map with the exact location of the bag check tents at Freedom Plaza will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.
5K Bag Check Opens at 7:15 am.
Please understand that any items left at bag check are left at your own risk. The race assumes no liability for lost bags or the contents of lost bags. Unclaimed bags will be returned to the race office, held for 10 days and then disposed of. Under no circumstances should any items of value be left in bag check bags.