2027 Race Entry Lottery Opens December 14

   

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run & 5K Walk/Run

Double Blossom

Credit Union Cherry Blossom Double Blossom

Two Races = Twice the Fun!

5K: Saturday, April 3, 2027
8 a.m.

10 Mile: Sunday, April 4, 2027
Washington Monument Grounds
Washington, DC
7:18 am – Elite Women’s Start
7:30 am – Ten Mile Start

 Race Registration

The fields for the 2027 10 Mile, 5K and Double Blossom (run the 5K on Saturday, April 3 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 4) will be determined by Lottery.

The Lottery for the 10 Mile, 5K and Double Blossom will open at 10 a.m. on December 14, 2026 and close at midnight on January 5, 2026. Click Here for details on Lottery Entry.

There are some other options for gaining entry into the Double Blossom besides the Lottery:

    • 100 Mile Club: 100 Mile Club members have completed at least 100 miles in any combination of the 10 mile or the 5K results (i.e. 10 completions of the 10 mile equals 100 miles; 9 completions of the 10 mile and four completions of the 5K equals 102 miles, etc.), either in a row or non-consecutively. You can check your status in the 100 Mile Club by going to our All-Time Results Database, which has all results from 1973-2026, and will list all the times you have run the 10 Mile and/or 5K and how many miles you have accumulated. 100 Mile Club Members should not enter the lottery; there will be a separate registration process for 100 Mile Club members. Full details on how to apply for a 100 Mile Club entry for the 5K, 10 Mile or Double Blossom will be posted here when they become available. If you feel you qualify and have not been contacted by early January, please send an email to info@cherryblossom.org. Click Here for info on the 100 Mile Club.
    • Two-Time Loser Entries: TTL entries (those who have entered the lottery in the last two consecutive years (2025 and 2026) and failed to be accepted in either year) but who wish to run in 2027 should not enter the lottery; there will be a separate registration process for TTLs. Full details on how to apply for a TTL entry for the 5K, 10 Mile or Double Blossom will be posted here when they become available. If you feel you qualify and have not been contacted by early January, please send an email to info@cherryblossom.org.
    • Charity Entries: If you miss lottery registration or do not get picked in the lottery, you can still gain entry into the 10 Mile, Double Blossom or 5K race by signing up to become a Charity Race Entry Participant. To qualify as a Charity Race Entry Participant, you just have to raise $500 dollars for our official race charity, Children’s Miracle Network. Every dollar raised will be donated to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a network of 170 non-profit children’s hospitals located across North America. Information on becoming a Charity Entrant for 2027 will be posted here after the 2027 lottery has been held.
    • Seeded Runners: Top open and age-group runners are eligible for special seeded numbers. Seeded runners may be admitted after the lottery closes and will be allowed to start the 10 Mile race in the Yellow Corral immediately behind the elite athletes. Requests for seeded runner status will be accepted starting in the late Fall of 2026. Seeded runners are encouraged to apply for seeded status in the late fall prior to the opening of the lottery in January. The cut off date for requesting Seeded Runner status is February 15, 2027. For details on how to request seeded runner status and the qualifying times in each age group, Click Here.
    • Volunteer: All volunteers receive a guaranteed entry into the race (at the prevailing entry fee) for the next year’s race. So if you volunteer for the 2027 race, you will receive a guaranteed entry (at the prevailing entry fee) for the 2028 race. This entry is transferable. Guaranteed entries for 2026 volunteers for the 2027 race will be sent out via email in late November. Click Here for information on volunteering.

If you prefer to run just one of the races, or if you want further details on the individual races, use the links below:

Click Here for full details on the 5K, scheduled for Saturday, April 3. 

Click Here for full details on the 10 Mile, scheduled for Sunday, April 4.

 

Entry Fees

The entry fees* for the 2027 races will be posted here when they become available.

*Fees listed here do not include processing fees.

 

Getting to the 5K and 10 Mile Race Starts

Runners will be able to take Metro to both the 5K and the 10 Mile Race Starts.

    • 5K: Metro opens at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 3, so you will be able to use Metro to get to the 5K start.
    • 10 Mile:  In 2026, thanks to the generosity of WMATA, Metrorail opened early on 10 Mile Race Day at 5:00 a.m., so 10 Mile runners could use Metro to get to and from the race. We don’t yet know if Metro will be similarly generous in 2027, but we certainly hope so! We will post details here when that decision is made for 2027. Even if Metrorail doesn’t open early for 2027, you will be able to use Metro for your return journey after the race. The Smithsonian stop on the Orange, Silver and Blue lines is one block from the staging area on the Washington Monument Grounds. Customers can also consider using Federal Triangle nearby, which is also on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines, or L’Enfant Plaza on the Green and Yellow lines just a short walk away.

Other Options for Getting to the Races: Click Here for a full description of all of your options for getting to the Washington Monument Grounds on race day, including free bike parking from Bike Valet DMV and car parking options.

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 enhanced medal for $25. The enhanced medal consists of the standard medal that you pick up after your race plus a plate engraved with your finish time and place that we will mail to you in May, which you can attach to the ribbon 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 a Double Blossom medal, you will pick that up in the infield near the 10 Mile finish line (not at the 5K).

T-Shirts

Participant short-sleeved T-shirts are given to all 10 Mile and 5K entrants. At registration, participants are given the option of purchasing an ASICS technical short-sleeved t-shirt for $20 in place of the standard cotton short sleeved shirt (Note that Double Blossom runners are given the option to upgrade to a technical Double Blossom t-shirt, and may also purchase a 10 Mile and/or 5K technical t-shirt for $20 each). The upgrade shirts come in crew neck for men and V-neck for women. 

Packet Pickup for the Double Blossom

All 5K and Double Blossom entrants must pick up their packets at the Health & Fitness Expo on Friday, April 2 or at the 5K race start on Saturday, April 3 (or select to have their packets mailed to them when they register for the race). There will be 5K Packet Pick-up at the 5K staging area on 5K race morning (April 3). 

Wave Start

Both the 10 Mile and the 5K will use a wave start. Runners in the 10 Mile will be assigned to one of six color-coded starting corrals. Colors on bib numbers will match starting corrals. It is the color of your bib, not the bib number, that determines your starting corral. In the 10 Mile, after our elite, seeded, and sub-seeded runner waves, there will be four additional waves of approximately 2,500 to 3,500 runners each. The waves will start at three to seven minute intervals. This should ease crowding on the course. Runners outside the top 25 males and females will be scored on net times.

Runners in the 5K will be assigned to one of four color-coded starting corrals. Colors on bib numbers will match starting corrals. It is the color of your bib, not the bib number, that determines your starting corral. The four corrals will start one right after the other – there will not be a pause between corrals.

Click Here for full details on the wave start and the different color-coded corrals.

Maps

Click Here for the 5K and 10 Mile Course Maps and Staging Area Maps. 

Seeding Times Required

In order to ensure a safe start in the 10 Mile, we will be lining up runners into six corrals based on previous race times. All entrants must provide a past 10-mile time (or a projected time based on a 10K time). If you have run the race in the last three years, we reserve the right to seed you based on the time(s) we have on file. Individuals not submitting a time will be placed in the slowest time group.

Stroller Policy and Athletes with Disabilities

No strollers are allowed in the 10 Mile or the 5K. Push-assist pairs (“duos” or “trios”) are categorized as wheelchairs and are permitted in the 10 Mile and the 5K. Passengers of duos and trios must be at least 12 years old. Athletes with disabilities do not need to enter the lottery. Click here for more information on entries for Athletes with Disabilities.

Wearing the MyLaps Bib Tag

Runners will be timed and scored using the MyLaps Bib Tag. There is a single Bib Tag adhered on the back of your bib number. Simply leave the Bib Tag where you find it — on the back of the bib. Do not remove it. The Bib Tags are single-use.

Time Limit

No runner who takes longer than 2:20:00 to finish the 10 Mile race from the time they cross the starting line will be given an official finishing time. This is true regardless of the corral in which you start the race. So if you start in the Green corral at 7:50 a.m. but it takes you another minute to actually cross the start line, then you would have until 10:11 a.m. to finish the race and be scored. If you are in the Blue corral, which starts at 7:39, but it takes you a minute to cross the starting line, then you have until 10 a.m. to finish the race. If you don’t beat the time limit in that case, you will be able to finish the race since the finish line won’t be closed, but you won’t get an official finishing time. As a result, all we can post is the time the finish line will be closed (10:20 a.m.) – it doesn’t mean everyone who finishes before that time will be scored. This means that trying to jump into a faster corral that starts earlier won’t make your finish time limit any longer.

The time limit for the 5K is 75 minutes (about 24-minutes per mile pace). All 5K runners and walkers must be off the course by 9:15 a.m.

PRRO Championship Circuit

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile is a member of the 2026-27 Professional Road Running Organization circuit.