5K Registration Is Now Open

   

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

Start and Course

Running the Race: At the Start, on the Course, and at the Finish

 

Click Here for the Race Day Schedule.

Using the Porta-Johns

10 Mile: The Porta-Johns will be located throughout the staging area on the Washington Monument Grounds, with the largest number along Constitution Ave. At the end of the row on Constitution, the porta-johns will make a vertical turn north to south along the infield. The porta-johns along Constitution are back-to-back, so if you see long lines at the ones facing the street, go into the infield on the back side and you will find more (and hopefully shorter lines)!

We will have over 200 porta-johns throughout the staging area for the 10 Mile. Please do not urinate anywhere else. We are guests in a National Park. A number of years ago runners “relieved themselves” on the FDR Memorial which was an embarrassment to the race organizers and nearly caused our permit to be revoked. Please use the porta-johns only! Staff porta-johns are intended to expedite getting volunteers back to their jobs. Please do not attempt to use “Staff” toilets. We ask that spectators and volunteers try to use the porta-johns either before 7:05 A.M. or after 8:00 A.M. so we can keep the race participant lines down to a minimum as the starting time approaches.

5K: For the 5K, porta-johns will be located at either end of Freedom Plaza, behind the Fountain and Garden on one end and behind the Statue on the other end.

See below for the location of porta-johns at aid stations along the course.

Fluids and Aid Stations

The staging area and all on-course aid stations offer medical services, porta-johns, and water and Gatorade Endurance Formula. On-course aid station locations are as follows:

  • Aid Station #1 at approximately 2.25 miles
  • Aid Station #2 at approximately 4 miles
  • Aid Station #3 at approximately 6 miles
  • Aid Station #4 at approximately 7.50 miles,
  • Aid Station #5 at approximately 8.75 miles

Water is also available at the finish. Medical services are available at all these locations as well. At the aid stations, be aware that there are multiple tables at each one. The first table is always the most crowded, so you will be served faster if you skip the first couple of tables and move on to a less crowded one.

Runner Bib Number

Pin your bib number on the front of your shirt or shorts. Your bib number must be visible at all times during the race or you may be subject to disqualification. Your MyLaps Bib Tag is on the back of your number. Do not remove it. Please complete the important emergency medical information on the back of the bib.

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.

Starting Times

5K: The 5K starts at 9:15 am on Saturday, April 5.

10 Mile: There will be a special start for about 30 of our elite women 10-Milers at 7:18 am on Sunday, April 6. The wheelchair race will start at 7:28 am. The first wave of the 10-Mile race will start at 7:30 am. The final wave will start at 7:55 am. The 10-Mile starting line will close at 8:00 am sharp. No one will be allowed to start the race after this time.

Seeding Runners

Runners in the 10 Mile are pre-assigned to starting corrals based on their projected finishing times. See details on Wave Start.

Runners in the 5K should line up based on their projected finishing times (there will be pace group signs in the start area). There are no starting corrals in the 5K.

Pace Groups

Want to reach the finish line in a specific amount of time? Want to run a set pace per mile? If so, the Pace Groups are the answer. Joining a Pace Group is open to all runners in both races and is free. Click Here for full details on pace groups for both races.

Course

10-Mile: Flat and fast. USATF Certified (DC10003JS). Digital clocks at every mile. Water available at the start. Water and Gatorade Endurance Formula available on the course at aid stations located at approximately 2.25, 4, 6, 7.5 and 8.75 miles. Water is also available at the finish. Medical services are available at all these locations as well.

Click Here for all course and staging area maps.

Teams

Teams are scored by net time. Unfortunately, due to number switching, team results will not be announced on race day.

The Finish Line

There will be a large digital clock at the finish line. When you cross the finish line and the series of transponder mats that determine your net time, keep moving. This allows room for others to complete their runs. Do not re-enter the course or cross the transponder mats at the finish a second time. All reunions for the 10 Mile must take place in the Reunion Area on the Washington Monument Grounds, not on 15th Street.

Finisher 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 $23. 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.

Timing

With the wave start all runners except those finishing among the top 25 men and women will be scored and placed based on net times.The top 25 men and women will be scored using gun times.

Transponder mats will be located at the 5 mile, 10K and 9 mile marks. These splits will be sent by text messages to individuals signing up for our text messaging service.

Time Limits – Strictly Enforced!

All runners must complete the course in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes after the final wave starts. Runners not maintaining a 14-minute-per-mile pace at 5 miles will have to leave the course. If you fall behind 14-minute-per-mile pace during the second half of the race you will be required to board our sweep vehicle. Because of the strict time limits for how long the course can remain open, we will seal the intersection of 15th and Independence Ave., SW — about 100 yards from the finish line at 15th and Jefferson Dr., SW — with barricades at 10:18 am. No runners will be allowed to finish the course after this time. Timing at the finish line will cease at exactly 10:20 am. If you have any doubt about your ability to finish 10 miles in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes, you can enter the 5K, or if you have already been accepted into the lottery for the 10 Mile, complete the form on the event website to change to the 5K until the 5K 8,000-runner registration limit is reached.

Safety Rules

• No headphones allowed. Running with a dog, baby stroller, or racing stroller is prohibited. No skates allowed.
• Stay on the roadway at all times. You will be disqualified if you “cut” the course.
• Race officials reserve the right to remove any runner from the course for medical or any other valid reason.
• We discourage spectators from bringing pets. However, if a spectator accompanying you brings a dog to the race site, please be sure it is leashed at all times and kept well clear of the start/finish area and off the course. Spectators must stay off the course for their own safety and for the safety of our 15,000 runners.
• Be careful of potholes and the transponder mats on the course and at the start and finish.

Cheating

Video security personnel and scorers will monitor the course at various points to ensure that all finishers run the designated course. Marshals will note persons entering or leaving the course and our judges will review the evidence to consider disqualifying those individuals.

Cheaters will be banned from future editions of the race at the discretion of the Chief Judge.

Post-race

  • Refreshments: Gatorade Endurance Formula and Water will be available on 15th Street immediately after the finish line and on the infield. Cookies and bananas provided by Wegman’s will be provided in the infield only. These items are for the runners only; please limit yourself to one package of cookies and one banana.
  • Family Reunion Area: There will be a family reunion area on the Constitution Ave. side of the staging area with signs with letter ranges to facilitate reunions. Lost children will be turned over to law enforcement officials and taken to the “security” tent located on the infield.
  • Medals: If you pre-ordered a finisher’s medal, you will be able to pick it up at the Medal Distribution area located on the infield of the Washington Monument Grounds after the race. If you ordered an enhanced medal customized with your finishing time and place, you will pick-up your medal on race day, and will be mailed a medal strip containing personal time and place overall and in your age group by July 1. This strip can be adhered to the back of your medal. We cannot mail medals to individuals not claiming them on race day.

For more Post-Race Information, Click Here.

Treatment of Volunteers

The Race Committee will not tolerate inconsiderate behavior toward any of our 2,000 volunteers. Anyone treating a volunteer official in an abusive manner will be immediately disqualified from the race.

Drug Testing

Athletes who participate in this competition may be subject to drug testing in accordance with the IAAF Procedural Guidelines for Doping Control or the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code. Clearidium A/S will partner with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom to carry out drug testing, and the adjudication of positive findings. Athletes found to have committed a doping violation will be disciplined according to the USADA Protocol and suspended, if appropriate, according to applicable IAAF rules. Such penalties may result in a period of ineligibility as well as disqualification from the event. Any substance taken by an athlete is at his/her own risk and may result in a positive sample. (This includes cold medicines, nutritional supplements, and some over the counter medicines.) Information on banned drugs and drug testing may be obtained by calling the USADA Drug Reference Hotline at 1-800-233-0393 or at the USADA website, www.usantidoping.org.

Prize Money and Awards

For full details on prize money for the 10 Mile and 5K, Click Here.

For full details on awards for the 10 Mile and 5K, Click Here. 

No Age Group Awards Will Be Given Out on Race Day: Due to problems created by unauthorized number switching, we will not give out age-group awards at the race day awards ceremony. There is no prize money in the 5K, but there are overall and age-group awards.