Flat, scenic course through downtown. There are lots of turns at the beginning of the race and it is very crowded. So, it is important to get a good starting … MORE
Flat, scenic course through downtown. There are lots of turns at the beginning of the race and it is very crowded. So, it is important to get a good starting position. The first wave needed to be organized better; there seemed to be a very wide range of runners with paces ranging from sub 6:00/mile to 8:30+. I was in the first wave and it took me 3-4 miles before I had enough space to run consistently at my target pace. The bag drop-off & pick-up wait times were ridiculous – 20+ minutes before the race and 40+ minutes after (in cold, windy conditions).
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Too crowded at beginning of race
Flat, scenic course through downtown. There are lots of turns at the beginning of the race and it is very crowded. So, it is important to get a good starting … MORE
Flat, scenic course through downtown. There are lots of turns at the beginning of the race and it is very crowded. So, it is important to get a good starting position. The first wave needed to be organized better; there seemed to be a very wide range of runners with paces ranging from sub 6:00/mile to 8:30+. I was in the first wave and it took me 3-4 miles before I had enough space to run consistently at my target pace. The bag drop-off & pick-up wait times were ridiculous – 20+ minutes before the race and 40+ minutes after (in cold, windy conditions).
Flat scenic course
The course starts and ends around the Washington Monument. I found it very crowded for the first few miles even though I started in the first wave. There are several … MORE
The course starts and ends around the Washington Monument. I found it very crowded for the first few miles even though I started in the first wave. There are several hairpin turns which also slowed things down. The course is flat so I was still able to set a PR. It was a scenic course, but unfortunately, the cherry blossoms had their peak bloom a week before the race.
Great Race with Great Views
Very nice staff that were super helpful/organized. Fun course with great views of the capital/monuments. Good time of the year and this had perfect weather. MORE
Very nice staff that were super helpful/organized.
Fun course with great views of the capital/monuments.
Good time of the year and this had perfect weather.
Beautiful but crowded run by DC sights
Well organized race, lots of vendors at expo with anything you might have forgotten. Cool course starting right by Washington Monument and running MORE
Well organized race, lots of vendors at expo with anything you might have forgotten. Cool course starting right by Washington Monument and running
Scenic, flat, great logistics
Just beautiful run past monuments, along the water, and through cherry blossoms. A bit of an uphill at the very end to keep it real. Very well run. Nice tshirt … MORE
Just beautiful run past monuments, along the water, and through cherry blossoms. A bit of an uphill at the very end to keep it real. Very well run. Nice tshirt design but still a cotton T unless you spring for the upgrade. The post-race food options were limited (bananas, granola bars, water) but that’s the only complaint.
The unique September run was great
So I entered this race somewhat on a lark as my first post-pandemic race. There were extra spots available after the lottery closed so I signed up. And now it's … MORE
So I entered this race somewhat on a lark as my first post-pandemic race. There were extra spots available after the lottery closed so I signed up. And now it’s my top A-List race and the one I’m most looking forward to running again next year (if I make it in the lottery). While normally in Spring, this run was in September. So it was blossom-less, but the weather was dryer but warmer than ideal for running. However as someone who has lived in the DMV for 15 years, this is pretty close to the hometown race. The course is all in DC, except for when you cross the Memorial Bridge to Arlington. With the endless construction though, the course could always change.
As this was my first race, there were a few things I didn’t really understand yet. My times have been improving, but my corral was based on the time from my semi-virtual 10K I ran in June in the heat. I had improved substantially and had a time goal and was planning on following a pace group. The corrals though are based on your previous reported time so I ended up in the corral behind the pace group of my goal time. Anyway I went on solo and beat my goal time so next year I should move up a corral and that I think puts me closer to my current pace unless I get faster again.
The medal and technical shirt were add-ons. I was initially put off by that, but now that medals are starting to pile up on my desk, I get it. I did pay for the medal this year and didn’t get the technical shirt upgrade. Next year I’ll probably skip the medal and may get the tech shirt upgrade depending on design.
The expo was small this year (or so I’m told – its the only one for this race I’ve been to) due to pandemic recovery but in the National Building Museum. Easy enough to get the bib, look around, and get back to the hotel.
This race has the most solid production of any I’ve done so far. Long detailed emails with the info I need to know, clear website with updated news and the raceday ran like a clock. While other races have had me hunting for information or stalking Facebook comments, this race brought the info I needed to me instead of having me hunt for it. That I really enjoyed. The lottery for next year’s run in April opens in early January I believe and it is at present, my most hopeful race to get into.
Amazing backdrop, great organization
This is a world class race and I'll continue to sign up every year. The scenery is beautiful and the race well organized. I can't wait for next year. MORE
This is a world class race and I’ll continue to sign up every year. The scenery is beautiful and the race well organized. I can’t wait for next year.
The Cherry Blossoms are great
Overall I do recommend this race. It doesn't have as many runners as some I've done, but it feels more crowded because there isn't as much space. It was very … MORE
Overall I do recommend this race. It doesn’t have as many runners as some I’ve done, but it feels more crowded because there isn’t as much space. It was very similar to being a sardine. Thank goodness I wasn’t trying for any kind of PR because it would have been super difficult where I was.
There were regular water stops that had Gatorade. Medical spots where plentiful and there was plenty of course support. Downside, while the roads are paved, they haven’t been paved recently and they’re full of potholes – I saw at least 2 runners go down. While the Cherry Blossoms are pretty, they’re really on the second half of the race, other parts are much less attractive, but full props for the race organizers for getting all those roads closed.
There was tons of food at the post race party, but it was crazy crowded, so make sure you have a plan if you need to meet up with someone.
The packet pickup was crowded, but pretty fast, they knew what they were doing. The expo was, again, crowded. 2 things that kind of sucked were needing to up grade to a tech shirt, and paying additional for a medal. I get, since they want money to go to charity, but still.
almost perfect
The course changes almost every year due to various construction but it's virtually flat. The weather this year was perfection and the blossoms were at peak - I smiled the … MORE
The course changes almost every year due to various construction but it’s virtually flat. The weather this year was perfection and the blossoms were at peak – I smiled the entire 10 miles because of how glorious it was. There are a lot of runners and it never really thins out so it’s hard to keep pace while dodging so many potholes and people. The expo had great speakers – I saw three of them on Friday and Saturday. The kids run on Saturday was fun. My six year old was thrilled to get a medal and t-shirt! I paid to upgrade my t-shirt and paid to get a medal. I’m a solid back-of-the-packer so there are few if any snacks left by the time I finish and that’s frustrating when you see other finishers (and non-finishers!!!) with armloads of extra goodies that are long gone for me. It’s a bummer but I got my banana, water and granola bar. This was the first year I’ve done bag check and while drop off was a breeze, pick up was a cluster. The race director addressed the issue and I’m sure it will be better next year. And I’ll find a way to pack my car keys so I don’t need to bag check. I use ParkMobile to secure a parking spot. My family takes the metro and then we all drive home. Maybe someday metro will open up earlier.
Beautiful!
Extremely well-produced race, from the initial lottery and sign-up process to the race itself through the gorgeous cherry blossom trees. A couple glitches with the new bag check system (nine … MORE
Extremely well-produced race, from the initial lottery and sign-up process to the race itself through the gorgeous cherry blossom trees. A couple glitches with the new bag check system (nine lines is too few for this size race) and medals (unexpected number of runners who switched from 10 to 5k resulted in a shortage of 5k medals) I’m sure will be fixed next year. I signed up for this race after seeing it in one of those must-do races articles, and I’m very glad I did.
Washington DC Cherry Blossoms at peak
The CUCB organizers had a lot on their hands with over 16,000 people doing the 10-mile race. Unfortunately the Metro does not open early enough on Sundays and priced them … MORE
The CUCB organizers had a lot on their hands with over 16,000 people doing the 10-mile race. Unfortunately the Metro does not open early enough on Sundays and priced them out of an early opening. This meant folks had to make other arrangements for getting to the race. The other thing that was unusual for this race was that the finisher’s medal was an optional extra you had to pay for when registering (after being selected in the lottery).
Aside from those two things, I was extremely satisfied with the race. They brought in elite runners for talks and autographs at the expo held at the National Building Museum, communication was great through their channels and the mobile app, and the online results were more detailed than I’ve ever seen before. The cherry blossoms were at their absolute peak for the weekend of the race. It was so beautiful! I’m glad the race wasn’t called off due to early forecasts of snow.
Did well with weather conditions
My first time running this race and the weather was crazy! Staff did well keeping runners up to date on changes via email. Regardless of the weather, the route was … MORE
My first time running this race and the weather was crazy! Staff did well keeping runners up to date on changes via email. Regardless of the weather, the route was OK. Flat mostly and on tree lined streets, with some DC monument sightings.
Such a fun race!
This race does everything right - perfect distance, perfect route, lots of great support (from the race itself and spectators) along the course. The swag is pretty good and the … MORE
This race does everything right – perfect distance, perfect route, lots of great support (from the race itself and spectators) along the course. The swag is pretty good and the packet pickup was well organized. Also, it’s just so scenic! DC is a great backdrop for a race of this length.
Highly recommend, and will likely run this race again in the future.
Cherry Blossoms in DC
I registered for this race when I was a brand new runner still struggling with 5Ks. Since it is a lottery race, I left it in fate's hands whether my … MORE
I registered for this race when I was a brand new runner still struggling with 5Ks. Since it is a lottery race, I left it in fate’s hands whether my running would literally take me to new distances. Lo and behold, my name was drawn and I blurted out “Oh crap, now I must really train.”
Cherry blossoms in DC. What could be more pretty? From what I hear, the weather is sketchy in April and you don’t know what you’re going to get for this race. It could be rain, sleet, snow or cherry blossoms. I was one of the lucky ones. I got perfect weather and cherry blossoms…well, some that peaked out here and there.
Running past all the monuments and other historical points of interest in DC was simply fantastic. Running past Arlington brought tears to my eyes. Though at the time, it was the longest distance I had gone, it was still an easy race. The energy was high in air since elite runners from around the world compete here. To see the Kenyans run was breath-taking. They are machines.
This race makes a great excuse for a weekend family vacation to DC.