First-come, first-served registration for Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K presented by Asics to follow on Friday, December 20

November 21, 2024, Washington, DC: Prospective runners of the 52nd Annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom (CUCB) 10 Mile will be able to register for the 10 Mile lottery during a 15-day period starting on December 1 and extending through 11:59 P.M. on December 15 on the event website, www.cherryblossom.org. Lottery results will be announced on the website by December 19, 2024.

Named the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) 2023 Road Race of the Year, the CUCB 10 Mile course starts and finishes at the Washington Monument Grounds and passes by all of the prime cherry blossom locations and the National Memorials. The 10 Mile will take place on Sunday, April 6, 2025.

Entry into the 5K will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and will open on December 20. The 5K is limited to 8,000 entrants. Registration will remain open until the field is full or February 28, 2025, whichever comes first. (Last year the race filled by late January.) The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K presented by Asics starts and finishes on Freedom Plaza and traverses the “Route of the Inaugurations” down Pennsylvania Avenue, across the National Mall and back. The route features dramatic vistas of the U.S. Capitol Building as participants proceed down “America’s Main Street.” The 5K begins at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, April 5.

The CUCB will once again offer the Double Blossom, which challenges runners to run the 5K on Saturday, April 5 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 6. Those who desire to run the Double Blossom must enter the 10 Mile Lottery between December 1 and December 15, where runners will be able to enter both races at the same time. If accepted, entrants will be registered for both events. Participants who do not gain entry into the 10 Mile or the Double Blossom will be notified via email and will be offered a link for an advance entry into the 5K.

Registration for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run will open on January 6, 2025. The Kids Run field has been expanded this year to 600 entrants and will take place on Saturday, April 5 at 11:00 a.m. at Freedom Plaza, allowing families to participate in both the 5K and the Kids Run.

The online registration will be handled by Race Roster, which will require registrants to set up a Race Roster account before signing up for the lottery. Registrants who have participated in other Race Roster events will be able to register through their existing account. Having an account will facilitate making any changes in your registration information or purchasing additional items.

 

For the past 23 years, Credit Union Miracle Day has been the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K, and the partnership with CUCB organizers and charitable runners has generated over $11.5 million for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The 2024 fundraising effort totaled $550,000, which included $169,000 from race participants.

About Credit Union Cherry Blossom:

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom, organized by Cherry Blossom, Inc., a 501(c)(3) chapter of the Road Runners Club of America, is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring®” in the Nation’s Capital. The staging area for the 10 Mile is on the Washington Monument Grounds and the course passes in sight of all of the major Washington, D.C. Memorials. The 5K begins at Freedom Plaza and proceeds down Pennsylvania Ave. to the U.S. Capitol building, tracing the route of Presidential Inaugurations. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a consortium of 170 premier children’s hospitals across North America. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington, D.C.’s own Children’s National (“Children’s Hospital”). The event also funds the Road Runners Club of America’s “RunPro Camp,” a program to teach top recently-graduated U.S. collegiate distance runners about life as a professional runner.

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit union suppliers, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, 5K and Kids Run. Presenting sponsors include ASICS and Wegmans; supporting sponsors include PSCU|CO-OP Solutions, TruStage, Outside, Potomac River Running, Gatorade Endurance, Suburban Solutions Moving, Select Event Group, United Lifestyle Brands and The Westin Washington DC Downtown hotel.

The 10 Mile is sanctioned by USA Track & Field and the Road Runners Club of America and is a proud member of the PRRO Circuit, a series of this country’s classic road races with circuit stops in Jacksonville, FL; Washington, DC; Spokane, WA; Utica, NY; and Davenport, IA. The 5K was voted the Best 5K in the country by a 2023 USA Today poll.

To learn more, visit https://www.cherryblossom.org/