Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run Presented by Amazon

SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026
11:00 a.m. (Pre-run activities begin at 10:40 a.m.)

Registration for the 2026 Kids Run Will Open on January 5, 2026

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run is approximately 1/2 Mile.

Pre-run activities begin at 10:40 am. The first wave of four-year-olds will go off at 11:00 am. The race is on an out-and-back course and is closely monitored by sentries. Parents are allowed to run with their children; however the first heat of each age group will be a parent-free heat. Bring the kids and watch them run, then go pick up your packet and visit all of the exhibitors at the Expo!

Limited to the first 600 to register.

Registration

Online registration will for the Kids Run will open on January 5, 2026. 

Ages: The Kids Run is for children ages 4-10.

Race Start Time: 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2026

Fee: To be announced soon. Includes t-shirt.

Packet Pick-up: Packet pick-up for registered Kids Run participants will take place on Friday, April 11 inside the National Building Museum between 2:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., and on Saturday,  April 12, between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. in the registration tent in the race starting area.

Awards: No times or places will be kept, but all finishers will receive a medal.

• The Kids Run Course Map and Staging Area will be posted here when they become available.

Kids Run T-Shirt Design Art Contest: Every year we hold a t-shirt design contest for budding artists ages 4-10. Kids will be able to submit entries starting in mid-January 2026, and the winning design will then be used on the t-shirts that are distributed to all participants in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run. Full details will be posted here when the contest opens.

Kids Run Information:

• For security reasons as required by Metropolitan DC Police, every parent or guardian of a Kids Run entrant will need to locate and remove a detachable wrist band on the top of each child’s bib number (each bib number will include two wrist bands so two parents or guardians can have them). The wrist band will be imprinted with the same number as each child’s bib number. The responsible adult(s) will detach and wear the wrist band around their wrist. After the run, kids will be released from the secure Parent-Child Reunion Area only to adults with a wrist band matching the child’s bib number.
• Every child on the race course must be registered and wear a bib number. Parents may choose to run with their child, but at least one parent must be wearing a wristband matching the bib number of their child.
• Accompanying adults may need to wear multiple wristbands as necessary for multiple child participants.
• Individual participants will run by age group, starting with 4-year olds and continuing by 1-year increments up to 10 years of age. It is likely there will be multiple heats in each age group, especially among the younger ages.
• Within each age group, heats will consist of approximately 25 participants.  Each heat will take about 8 to 10 minutes. The four-year-olds will run first, followed by the five-year-olds and on up in ascending order. The first heat of each age group will be a parent-free heat.
• Each age group will be called into the secure pre-race staging area by the announcer. From the secure pre-race staging area, children will be organized into heats and moved on to the Kids’ Run course.
• Participants will finish and be directed to a secure post-race reunion area (adjacent to, but separate from, the pre-race secure area). Children will only be released to the appropriate responsible adult wearing the wristband that matches the child’s bib number. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE. Any children not matched with an adult in the secure parent-child reunion area will be referred to on-site security personnel.