DC Half & 5K
Washington, DC
- Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
A hometown celebration of the District’s running community and culture, the DC Half will take place on the streets of DC! The DC Half is presented by your local run shop, Pacers Running at the 13.1 mile distance on a USATF certified course. A 5K DC certified course race is … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 19):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 89 | 84 | 79 | 88 | 87 |
| L (°F) | 65 | 70 | 61 | 68 | 71 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Fun, Fast and Flat
Overall, a really solid Half Marathon in DC. The pros: -The course is really flat. The first five miles there's almost no elevation gain. The back half has some slight … MORE
Overall, a really solid Half Marathon in DC.
The pros:
-The course is really flat. The first five miles there’s almost no elevation gain. The back half has some slight inclines but nothing insane.
-Aide stations were pretty often and had water/Gatorade and bathrooms
-Really cool swag/medal with a shirt and a beach towel as give aways for the half.
-Good weather (at least for this year’s race)
-Good crowd support after mile 4.5 (first few miles you don’t really see a ton of people but the early energy of the race helps a lot to push you towards the crowd supported areas)
-Production is great. Really good vibes and high energy throughout the start, finish and along the course at the aide stations.
The cons:
-Kind of hard to get to the start easily. You want to be there early especially if you want time to go to the bathroom (lines were terrible but that’s kind of true of any race). I ended up getting dropped off at the Lincoln memorial and my husband parked while I headed to the start but it took him a while to find parking. Ended up parking pretty far away so that can be tough for after the race having to walk 1-2 miles to get to your car.
Overall, definitely a race I will be coming back to. Just might spend the night before the race to have an easier time getting to the start.
DC showed a lot of love
DC really came out with tons of crowd support for this event. This might be my favorite event in the district. It used to be the Army 10Miler. Loved the … MORE
DC really came out with tons of crowd support for this event. This might be my favorite event in the district. It used to be the Army 10Miler. Loved the course and ran this like a long training run. Did this after fasting and love the results and how my body felt. All the cheer zones were different and supported by running clubs within the district. District Running Collective had the best cheer zone by far. I need to get with them for some runs.
Packet pickup, pre and post race was so smooth and setup with the runner in mind. I loved this event and will be running it every year.
Maybe next year I can get the family to run the 5K.
DC Half - First Time
DC Half is a relatively new and fun race! A good chunk of the course goes over the Marine Corps course so it is somewhat familiar if you've done that … MORE
DC Half is a relatively new and fun race! A good chunk of the course goes over the Marine Corps course so it is somewhat familiar if you’ve done that one before. Water stations are nice. Crowd support is not nearly as big as MCM but still solid turnout. Definitely worth trying this one!
Wonderfull Half
This was my first time doing the DC Half, and luckily this year they added a 5k so my sister was able to do that. I came in from out … MORE
This was my first time doing the DC Half, and luckily this year they added a 5k so my sister was able to do that. I came in from out of town to do this race.
I knew, from the website, there wouldn’t be transportation to the start so I chose a hotel close to the start/finish. Close being relative – it was still 1.5 miles away. That’s a decent warm up walk! And it was wonderful because we got to pass the Lincoln memorial before sunrise and get pictures of that and the reflecting pool. Leave yourself extra time for the walk.
Start area was large, easy to find, decent amount of port-a-potties (complaint: they were in the dark under some trees), and pretty clearly marked.
Race was very well organized, well marked, good water stops that were well staffed, course is mostly flat and you get to see amazing monuments (Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Kennedy Center, Watergate Hotel), the Rock Creek Parkway is gorgeous but be warned slightly hilly and this year was rather humid with no breeze. The bridges crossing the parkway are amazing. Plenty to look at on the course. Not a lot of “support” per se but decent clusters of people cheering. It is an out and back so you get to see the lead runners and pros when they have them (oh hey Des Linden! Go Des!) coming back on your way out.
Packet pickup was quick even though it was crazy on the Saturday before the run. Swag is great, medal is cute with all the monuments, colors are great. Shirt is good quality and we got a beach towel this year. Finish area was well organized, I didn’t stick around for the after party but I never really do.
Oh, that 1.5 mile walk back to the hotel kinda sucked but was good to stretch out my legs. Then I walked another 15 miles Sunday so maybe I’m just crazy!
If you want to cross DC off your 50 states list or just see DC a different way, this is a great run with smaller crowds and well worth the money.
Great race, will be back again next year
I really enjoyed this race. Nice relatively flat course. Shirts were great quality and got a beach towel too. I thought it was very well put on and look forward … MORE
I really enjoyed this race. Nice relatively flat course. Shirts were great quality and got a beach towel too. I thought it was very well put on and look forward to running next year too.
My only complaint is the brutal walk to parking or metro after the race. After running 13.1 miles needing to immediately walk for 30 minutes to the nearest parking/metro is the last thing we need. Someone I was with was not feeling so great after and light headed and felt like we were in Siberia verses getting to transportation after. Maybe change the Start/Stop to anywhere closer?
Great race, awesome weather, great produ
I live in Baltimore, never ran the DC half until today. Overall awesome race, very smooth production. Water stations, bib pick up were all top class. Course it flat, some … MORE
I live in Baltimore, never ran the DC half until today. Overall awesome race, very smooth production. Water stations, bib pick up were all top class. Course it flat, some minor hills on Rock Creek Parkway but that’s about it. If you are reading this and planning on running, my advice is plan on walking a bit to/from race start. There are no metro stations close by, we reserved a parking garage 1.8 miles from the start line which is a long walk especially after running a half and looking forward to brunch.
The only other complaint I have is the tiny little bag they provide for bag check! I sweat like a hog when I run, I wanted to change after the race and go to brunch but the tiny little bag they provided for bag check is barely enough to fit post race recovery sandals and some shorts. Please provide bigger bags next yer!!!
DC at its best!
Monuments and More. This race is well run (no pun intended), a great course and you get to see plenty of the monuments. The section up and back on the … MORE
Monuments and More. This race is well run (no pun intended), a great course and you get to see plenty of the monuments. The section up and back on the rock creek parkway adds a wonderful excursion with fantastic old bridges – you’ll think you are in Rome.
Great Race!
Great race and flat for the most part. Pack your patience as The Metro is not available early in the morning. Reserve your parking in the garage through one of … MORE
Great race and flat for the most part. Pack your patience as The Metro is not available early in the morning. Reserve your parking in the garage through one of the app in advance of the race. The pacers were absolutely amazing.
Scenic scenic scenic
This is a great run packed with scenery. Potomac River, Regan National Airport, Lincoln and Washington memorials, an out and back on the gorgeous rock creek parkway, and a finish … MORE
This is a great run packed with scenery. Potomac River, Regan National Airport, Lincoln and Washington memorials, an out and back on the gorgeous rock creek parkway, and a finish just past the Jefferson memorial. Some really fast runners you get to see coming back as you are still goi g out 😁
Fast and flat course
This race is the typical DC route with views of the Potomac and monuments, and it is very flat! It is a smaller race so did not offer much in … MORE
This race is the typical DC route with views of the Potomac and monuments, and it is very flat! It is a smaller race so did not offer much in terms of spectators (Mr. Impossible was there of course) or afterparty. The race is on a closed road the whole time which allowed for plenty of space for the smaller field. If you are in PR shape, this would be a good race to set a big one.