Dash Through the Dirt 5K, 10K and Half Marathon
Potomac, MD
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
Come enjoy the fast and flat courses at Carderock Recreation Area, perfect for PRs! Dash Through the Dirt runners receive: Finisher’s Medal, Technical (Dri-fit) Event Shirt, and A Chip Timed Event. The race is produced in partnership with EOD Warrior Foundation. The EOD Warrior Foundation (EODWF) serves the EOD community … MORE
Local Historical Weather (May 16):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 84 | 86 | 79 | 78 | 80 |
| L (°F) | 50 | 66 | 56 | 55 | 62 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Dash had it's moments...
I was visiting family and needed a race & this was just what I needed. A small, yet well organized race to benefit Veterans. Easy out & back along a … MORE
I was visiting family and needed a race & this was just what I needed. A small, yet well organized race to benefit Veterans. Easy out & back along a nearby river with great course support. Not a dirt trail but a lightly graveled course. I’d repeat again!
Beautiful course!
This is a very pretty and historic course. The entire course is along the C&O Canal towpath, and appears to be a National Park with old locks and canal quarter … MORE
This is a very pretty and historic course. The entire course is along the C&O Canal towpath, and appears to be a National Park with old locks and canal quarter lockhouses along the way. It’s a great course to run and as a professional historian I loved the whole concept of spending two hours running next to this kind of history. And the race director was great at communicating, which is always a plus.
Another plus were the aid stations. Sometimes aid stations seem to be set up by people who don’t run. No garbage cans 100 yards past the water table, full bottles of gatorade and water (instead of small cups), 75% of which get wasted… but this race had coolers, small cups, and trash cans just beyond each station. I’d probably want them to offer Gatorade at ALL water stops instead of maybe only two of them, especially in this heat. There was no gel, snacks, or fruit at the aid stations, just liquid.
There are a few things I’d change about this race in an ideal world. And I’m sure the race director has considered all of these angles already, and these aren’t enough to deter a person from doing this race. The race could have started an hour earlier. It was an 8am start and by that time the heat and humidity are already on the rise. By 10:30 when I finished it was in the low to mid-80s and humid. I’m a slow runner and normally finish half marathons anywhere from 1:56 to 2:17. This one yielded the worst time I’ve had in a few years, at 2:28.
This is an open course and the towpath trail is well-used. I passed at least as many runners on the course who were just out for a Sunday run as I passed fellow racers. Lots of bikers and walkers on the path as well. Ideally this would be a closed course, but that may not even be an option.
It would be great if the start line could begin in the parking lot, or in the field next to the parking lot, and then run to the towpath. That would make for about two or three minutes of running OFF / to / from the towpath at the beginning and end, but it would also allow for a more festive post-race setup that might attract a few more vendors, or allow for a better tent setup.
This is a small race and race production is well-organized but it is low budget. I’d be happy if they dispensed with the small medal (with no ribbon) and saved the expense and waste. And maybe have chocolate milk at the finish line, and pure Gatorade instead of watered down Gatorade (which is fine when running, but after the race you want something stronger).
Overall, I’d recommend this race. But know you are going to a low-budget race and you should go for the beautiful course and not for the swag or post-race food and festivities. And for sure, take your own fuel.