EOD Warrior Holiday Dash 5K, Half & Marathon
Washington, DC
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
Holiday Dash Marathon runners will receive a finisher’s medal, technical (Drifit) event shirt, & a chip-timed event. In partnership with EOD Warrior Foundation. The EOD Warrior Foundation (EODWF) serves the EOD community by providing financial assistance and support to active-duty and veteran wounded, injured or ill EOD warriors, families of … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Dec 06):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 44 | 39 | 45 | 50 | 70 |
| L (°F) | 32 | 30 | 38 | 38 | 44 |
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Friendly alternative to RnR DC
This is a 6K, Half Marathon or Full Marathon produced by Bishop's Events that takes place on the C&O towpath in the Georgetown area of DC. Bishop's Events is a … MORE
This is a 6K, Half Marathon or Full Marathon produced by Bishop’s Events that takes place on the C&O towpath in the Georgetown area of DC. Bishop’s Events is a nice race company that hosts hundreds of races in the DC area. I discovered them during the pandemic as their races were small enough to hold. Overall they are a very nice company though I would say their races are average. They do raise money for charity and are very responsive to questions and feedback so they are a race organization I like to support. I have done a few races on this course before. I was looking for a race this weekend where travel wouldn’t break the bank and I found reasonable flights to the DC area I just had to fly out first thing in the morning Saturday and fly back really late on Sunday. For the race I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Arlington, VA. This is close to the race and has cheap and easy parking since I needed a car for the trip. I can’t figure out how to get to parking down below the C&O towpath where the packet pick-up is but I have always been able to find easy street parking in Georgetown. I usually put Georgetown Cupcake in my GPS and it’s about a 5 minute walk. This is a pretty laid back race. Packet includes bib and shirt. The shirt is fine and is a tech shirt. There is a marathon and a half for this race. This is great as it means there is essentially no time limit for the half. Bishop’s Events now have a 3:15 time limits for their half’s but they like to accommodate everyone so you can request an early start. The marathon does have a 6 hour time limit but again you can request an early start. The half started at 8:45. It is chip timed with the same start/finish. They called runners by pace and we left in small groups to keep things spread out. The course is a simple out and back on the towpath. it is nice scenery but gets a bit boring and definitely doesn’t have the iconic sites of DC. But it’s flat and non-technical trail so easy on the joints. There were some puddles to dodge but it sounds better than last year. There was I believe 4 aid stations with water and gatorade that you pass twice. No nutrition on course. No mile markers but a clear turn around. My pace was pretty good. I had a strong pace for the first 10 miles. I was recovering from a cold so wasn’t quite 100% so I slowed down a bit the last 3 miles but still finished well under 3 hours. The medal was underwhelming. One of my worst half marathon medals. There are an assortment of snacks such as oreos, goldfish, chips, etc. Overall this is a fine race and a nice, laid back way to check off DC. It is not an exciting or scenic as RnR DC but Bishop’s is a really nice race company so this is a nice alternative especially if you want a smaller, more personal race with a more runner friendly company. There aren’t a ton of choices in DC and this is or another one of Bishop’s races in DC is a good choice to consider.
Flat course, swag and medal were meh
Course was nice and flat. Was able to PR with a 4:09:55. Cold day but nice to run in. Swag was meh, the medal was honestly very underwhelming. Volunteers weren't … MORE
Course was nice and flat. Was able to PR with a 4:09:55. Cold day but nice to run in. Swag was meh, the medal was honestly very underwhelming. Volunteers weren’t very friendly. Not many snacks afterwards and no real award ceremony.
Tough course
This could have been considered a trail marathon. Very flat but course was rocks mud and puddles. Huge puddles the whole way because it rained the whole day before. This … MORE
This could have been considered a trail marathon. Very flat but course was rocks mud and puddles. Huge puddles the whole way because it rained the whole day before. This is not a marathon to race.
Would not recommend
I would definitely not recommend this race. The path was too small for the number of people. There was another race going on that added even more people. The rocks … MORE
I would definitely not recommend this race. The path was too small for the number of people. There was another race going on that added even more people. The rocks on this path made it dangerous. I realize you can’t control the weather but the puddles were ridiculous. Trying to avoid the mud and people trying to avoid the puddles made for lots of areas where you had to walk to be safe. Absolutely awful. No gear check.
If it rains for a few days,
This race had more large puddles than I have ever seen but I am from Los Angeles where it never rains. We did this race because it gave25% to charity. … MORE
This race had more large puddles than I have ever seen but I am from Los Angeles where it never rains. We did this race because it gave25% to charity. Do that use google maps as it will take you on the bridge and you will spend 30 minutes trying to figure how to get below the bridge. We could see the marathon runners below but were clueless on how to get there. Ten minutes before the start of the race we tried waves and it worked, the race was an out and back on a dirt trail so you didn’t have to worry about getting lost. There so many large puddles that you ended up working around them at the start of the race and then in the way back you walked through them because you were up to your ankles in muddle already. Communication for race was almost nonexistent. The Tshirt was ok but the medal – it looked like it was he middle they used for the fall season and just put a sticker on the back with the date of the race . There was not even a banana when you finished. I have done other small races but…. the scenario was nice but I will not run it again.
Muddy
So much mud! I hated it! Would not recommend. I did not like it!! No I didn’t! Sam I am I would not recommend! In closing don’t! ………….::::::. MORE
So much mud! I hated it! Would not recommend. I did not like it!! No I didn’t! Sam I am I would not recommend! In closing don’t! ………….::::::.
Splashed all the way to the finish line
The course was covered in puddles. It made it difficult to run. Larger rocks on course made it treacherous to run. Twisted/‘rolled ankle several times. MORE
The course was covered in puddles. It made it difficult to run. Larger rocks on course made it treacherous to run. Twisted/‘rolled ankle several times.
Tough Course and Weather
Nice little run on the C & O Canal. We had rain the night before so the path was full of mud and puddles making the footing treacherous at times. … MORE
Nice little run on the C & O Canal. We had rain the night before so the path was full of mud and puddles making the footing treacherous at times. Overall a nice little race and knocking out DC was the goal so onward and upward.
Nice, flat trail race in the DC area
This race lined up perfectly with a work conference in DC, so I went for it based on date and location (accessible from Georgetown by bus) alone. Start for the … MORE
This race lined up perfectly with a work conference in DC, so I went for it based on date and location (accessible from Georgetown by bus) alone. Start for the half marathon is 8:45am, later than usual but understandable as the marathoners complete two repeats on the trail and this limited congestion. Still, the half was quite busy at the start, and there were a lot of mud and puddles on the course, complicating footing and increasing the difficulty of navigating an apparently flat course. There were only a few port-a-pots before the start, and they were quite well-used by the time half marathoners came up. Limited port-a-pots on the trail, so keep this in mind. Aid stations were adequate, and shirt was nice. It was also cool to see the famous stairs from the final scene of the Exorcist while going to a nearby bus stop back to my conference (Georgetown was pretty, and a nice bonus of the race location). Overall, a decent small race that fit my needs.
Nice smaller race in a major metro
Ran along the C&O Canal on an out-and back course, starting riverfront in Georgetown. There were two other races using the trail as well. Part of the proceeds from the … MORE
Ran along the C&O Canal on an out-and back course, starting riverfront in Georgetown. There were two other races using the trail as well. Part of the proceeds from the benefit the EOD Foundation.
Live race 2020
The course was an out and back twice. It was on the C and O canal towpath, with the same view for the run. I am local, and knew what … MORE
The course was an out and back twice. It was on the C and O canal towpath, with the same view for the run.
I am local, and knew what the course was like in advance. Someone I met commented it was gravelly and a little rocky, and the heavy rains that week made it muddy at points.
The weather was beautiful, and I was happy to run alive race. There were about 80 marathon runners, and there was no time limit. There were obviously very few spectators given the pandemic and small field size..
I appreciated the chance for a glorified training run . The shirt is attractive and the medal less so… but there are other things to worry about, eh? I did meet a few 50 staters, but it was a repeat PLUS DC for me.