Explore the Nation’s Capital! Experience a VIP running tour of the Nation’s Capital when you run the United Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Washington DC. Our impressive, award winning courses boast postcard worthy views of the most iconic monuments in the district. Beginning in one of the most recognizable …
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Explore the Nation’s Capital! Experience a VIP running tour of the Nation’s Capital when you run the United Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Washington DC. Our impressive, award winning courses boast postcard worthy views of the most iconic monuments in the district. Beginning in one of the most recognizable locations in the country, the United Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Washington DC Half Marathon kicks off on Constitution Ave, surrounded by world famous monuments at every angle. This course, staying entirely within the district, will take you past iconic landmarks including the Capitol Building, White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and more. Earn your (stars and) stripes when you cross the finish line at RFK Stadium. Avg. Air Temp: 48°F / 9°C Airport: DCA / IAD
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Scenic Tour of our Capital
Everything about this race went smoothly. Start was well paced and spaced out. Large running crowd but never felt crowded. The views are great but they do throw a massive … MORE
Everything about this race went smoothly. Start was well paced and spaced out. Large running crowd but never felt crowded. The views are great but they do throw a massive hill in there for ya right after the l halfway point.
I would recommend this race! The crowd is great and very well done.
Great place, fun run and cherry blossoms
One of my favorite races (x4) because there so much to do in DC. Also the weather is usually very nice. This year (2024) was perfect, sunny and temp in … MORE
One of my favorite races (x4) because there so much to do in DC. Also the weather is usually very nice. This year (2024) was perfect, sunny and temp in the low 50s F (low 10s C) at race time.
This is a large venue race with 12,000+ runners in 20 corrals. Plenty of porta-potties, but with so many runners, there is going to be a line.
Easy to get to the expo and start/finish using the Metro. The expo was a bit lackluster this year. Mostly RnR stuff with a few additional vendors.
Race is point to point, but start and finish are very close to each other and to the National Mall. The RnR website has a downloadable map.
The first 5 1/2 miles is easy-ish, with some gentle up and downs thru wide avenues and recognizable landmarks. Then you get to the Rock Creek Parkway that runs thru a nature park. This is the “peaceful” part of the race until mile 7.5 when you reach this “monumental” climb. It is only 0.2 miles, but is 100 ft straight up !! Save your energy because It takes power to get up there (don’t worry just about everybody walks this, even with the drill sergeant at the beginning of the climb encouraging everybody). This is the climax and hardest part of the race.
Now you’re running thru the nice neighborhoods of DC. Up to mile 9 is “rolling hills”. After that is mostly downhill picking up speed once you make the turn at mile 10.5 into N Street toward the Capitol. You got one last short uphill after mile 12.5, then is down and fast to the end.
Water stations are every 2 miles and long enough not to have to bottleneck at the first tables (but happens anyway). I was surprised not to see electrolytes drinks but only in a couple of the stations. There is one gel station at about mile 8.5 .
Lots of people cheering along the way, a few bands playing along the way, and very lively band at the end. There is simply water, granola bars/chips/bananas at the end. There is one beer/ (glass of) wine included, but you need ID (I know, who runs with their ID?!). Therefore, bring your ID to the expo to get the (I’m old enough to drink) wrist band, and bypass the screening right after the race, if you want your adult beverage.
As a plus, a few warmer than usual days before the race brought most of the cherry blossom trees in the area to an earlier bloom. Nature is spectacular !!
Weather was fantastic! That hill sucks!
Weather was near perfect. Great race as always. I will never get used to that hill around mile 7, wrecks me every time. I felt like I was killing it, … MORE
Weather was near perfect. Great race as always. I will never get used to that hill around mile 7, wrecks me every time. I felt like I was killing it, and that hill took all the gas out of my tank.
The expo sucked as usual, but what are you gunna do. Never enough port-o-johns, but that’s typical of every race.
The after party should be better, but option to buy beer and keep it going after the race.
Great course minus a major hikl
The first ~6 miles you’re moving and grooving, then there’s a major hill in the 8th mile and from there some smaller rolling hills. The scenery at the beginning has … MORE
The first ~6 miles you’re moving and grooving, then there’s a major hill in the 8th mile and from there some smaller rolling hills. The scenery at the beginning has some of the most classic DC views, and in 2024, you finished with a nice view of the Capitol. Lots of port a potties at beginning and along course, ample water stops, and nice t-shirt aesthetic. The shirt was the only automatic swag besides a bio freeze packet. Packet pickup was convenient and quick moving, even on Friday evening. Metro access was easy for both packet pickup (convention center) and the race start and finish! Recommend race but plan time accordingly given the hill and how much you may slow around hill.
Run the US Capitol.
Great race. Run by the Washington & Lincoln memorials and see the White House. Nasty hill around mile 7.5 Spectacular finish with the Capitol building in the background. Cool medal. … MORE
Great race.
Run by the Washington & Lincoln memorials and see the White House.
Nasty hill around mile 7.5
Spectacular finish with the Capitol building in the background.
Cool medal.
Getting to the start was a little tight due to the Metro not running until 7am on weekends. And of course, there are never enough porta potties.
Another great race
Great race, wish the expo was better, beer tent was lame. They should mix up the t-shirt and make it cooler for the amount of $ paid. Weather was good, … MORE
Great race, wish the expo was better, beer tent was lame.
They should mix up the t-shirt and make it cooler for the amount of $ paid.
Weather was good, didn’t rain!
Mostly great
I would recommend this race and consider running it again. The entertainment on course was as expected, fun and distracting. I really enjoyed the band playing at the top of … MORE
I would recommend this race and consider running it again.
The entertainment on course was as expected, fun and distracting. I really enjoyed the band playing at the top of the brutal hill at mile 7. The only complaint would be the DJ playing under the bridge, it was truly terrible running through a tunnel with 12 speakers blasting/echoing music and someone just yelling “wooo!” over the mic. To make it worse, it was at a turn around so you got blasted but this twice. I probably ran faster than intended during this section.
2023 was a new route, the event website could use more information about the course (like an elevation map) and day of logistics (road closures, etc.). Well organized start and corrals to space out the runners. It was somewhat chilly at the end, so sticking around for what would have been a pretty good afterparty wasn’t worth it.
Typical RnR Event...Good, but not Great
Stayed in a hotel just across the river and took the metro in for the expo and race. The Expo was well organized with all the usual vendors selling running … MORE
Stayed in a hotel just across the river and took the metro in for the expo and race. The Expo was well organized with all the usual vendors selling running gear. Thought the RnR clothing was over-priced but loved the shirts/hoodies with all the runners names on them. Nice touch with the encouraging message board as runners left the expo!
Race day logistics need work. Start time was 8am but Metro didn’t start running till after 7. I got to start line with about 20 minutes to spare, just enough time for gear check and porta-potty. Race corrals were a cluster, and I spent first 3-4 miles running around and thru slower runners/walkers. The scenery was great, finishing by the Capital was fantastic but that hill @mile 7 was killer. On course entertainment was good except for the DJ playing under the bridge/tunnel.
Post race treats and entertainment were good, and the Medal/Race shirt were very nice.
Cherry blossoms and monuments
Although the race didn't pass by all of the monuments, it was a cool way to see some of the city. The race expo and bib pickup were at the … MORE
Although the race didn’t pass by all of the monuments, it was a cool way to see some of the city.
The race expo and bib pickup were at the convention center. They had a few vendors and RnR had a lot of gear and other items for sale. No issues getting my bib and everything went smoothly. I stayed in a hotel that was within walking distance to everything, so I didn’t have to worry about parking on race morning.
This was a big race with over 10K finishers for the half. The race didn’t start until 8. Luckily, there were corrals organized according to your estimated finish time that you provided. There seemed to be a little confusion with the start. I believe the elites had their own start, but it wasn’t obvious that was going to happen and they held the rest of us up. The course was well marked and scenic. You ran past the Washington Monument, Kennedy center, over a bridge and through some neighborhoods before finishing close to the capitol building. The course had some rolling hills throughout, but there was a killer about 7.5 miles in. I was having a great race up until that point. There was a little wind, but otherwise, the weather was ideal for running. The course was a little long as well. My watch had 13.38.
There was a decent amount of treats at the end, but nothing that stood out. I did not attend the after party, so I don’t know how that was. I believe there was a free beer to those over 21.
The shirt and medal were nice. Even though this was not a new state, it was an enjoyable race and I would suggest it.
Awesome Course but Mixed Production
I was planning to do Shamrock in Virginia Beach on Sunday and had to drive through DC to get there so decided to make it a double. Overall this race … MORE
I was planning to do Shamrock in Virginia Beach on Sunday and had to drive through DC to get there so decided to make it a double. Overall this race was fantastic once you crossed the start line but there were some issues leading up to it. One of my biggest critiques of the race is there is only Friday pack pick-up. I completely understand that races make money from expo and want to encourage as many people to go to the expo as possible. However I think all Saturday races should have the option to either have packet mailed or race day packet pick-up even if there is a fee to make up for lost expo cost. This race has no such option. The website was also very unclear if you could even have someone pick-up your packet. I am able to work remotely on Fridays so I ended up driving to DC Thursday and working from my hotel room Friday but it was annoying to pay for 2 nights in a hotel. In general I did not think the website was the most user friendly. Also apparently they did have a PDF with all the info but I didn’t see it as the email labeled final race instructions just went to the website and it wasn’t that clear you had click somewhere else for the PDF. I was able to find the main info I needed but I thought the website could be clearer. For the race I stayed at the Holiday Inn by the National Mall. It was not cheap but the price I would expect to pay for how good the location was and was walkable to the conference center, start line and finish line and had an easy parking garage to get in and out of. The expo was at the convention center and everything was pretty efficient. It was a medium sized expo. It was smaller than the RnR expo I went to in San Diego pre-pandemic but was larger than most expos I’ve been to post-pandemic. Packet included bib and technical shirt. I loved the design of the shirt and medals this year with cherry blossoms. However that is the only swag is shirt and medal. The expo had some booths and samples along with merch and the typical vendor to buy all your race gear. I think everyone’s biggest criticism of the race was the corral system. The corrals were a hot mess. However some things at the startline were done well. There was actually a good amount of porta potties and I was impressed with how short the lines were for how many runners. Also the loud speaker system was very clear and I could easily hear the announcer. The corral system was supposed to be that faster runners had blue bibs and slower runners red bibs. The blue bibs were supposed to line up first and then the red bibs were supposed to line up separately after. This was clearly announced. However no one was listening and a bunch of red bibs went with the blue bibs. I was a red bib and I kept waiting for them to announce for us to line up but they never did and eventually I noticed there were only like 100 runners left and only red bibs in the corral and just went. This needs to get fixed. I think the best solution would be to assign different start times for blue and red bib (i.e. blue bibs start at 8am and red bibs start at 8:30 am) or just have one long corral or have the red corral at an adjacent street. Unfortunately I actually got sick with some nasty bug that was not covid (I had to take a PCR for work) a few days after I returned from Canada and I was not able to run since my last half marathon and my lungs hadn’t completely recovered so I was expecting a slow race so I didn’t really care that I ended up starting near the back but I’m sure faster runners were affected by the corral mess. As I said once we crossed the start line the race was great. This had some of the best urban scenery I have seen and was a really cool course. Starting by the Washington Monument and going past museums and parks and city streets. The scenery was varied and there was almost always something to look at and it was a great tour of the city. It was also a great race environment with tons of runners including back of packers, lots of bands and other musical acts and a good amount of spectators. Aid stations were also all well stocked even towards the end and there were plenty of porta potties on course. The streets were closed off and the course was very easy to follow. Two negatives about the course are there is a killer hill in the middle (the rest is rolling hills and isn’t too bad) and there is one part on a slant which was very painful for my glutes. However I am fine with a tough course if the scenery is worth it and this course definitely had great scenery. The finish line is very cool by the White House. My finishing time was slow but what I was expecting given my recent illness. At the finish line you get your medal. I love the medal. It is not the biggest but is beautiful cherry blossom themed. There was also pretty good post race snacks with chips, granola bars, mini cupcakes, water and gatorade along with a band and some food trucks to purchase other food. Overall I thought this was a great course and fun event. However the corral system needs to be better organized. As much as I enjoyed the race I will likely not be doing it again if there is not an option for the bib to either be mailed or have same day packet pickup as I’m not sure I will be able to work remotely on Fridays forever. I would definitely recommend this for DC especially if you like big races and urban views and it worked great as a double with Shamrock. However if you prefer, smaller, more laid back, cheaper and logistically easier races with race day packet pick-up Bishop’s Events may have better DC options for you.
Great scenery
The first half was relatively flat. But the second half was very hilly. Killer uphill between miles 7-8. But the scenery was good as were the volunteers. The race ends … MORE
The first half was relatively flat. But the second half was very hilly. Killer uphill between miles 7-8. But the scenery was good as were the volunteers. The race ends by Capitol Hill and the National Mall which is nice. Pretty medal.
Always nice to see the sites
Rock n Roll races tend to be well organized and run smoothly but I feel like for the cost there should be a few more perks. Either better food at … MORE
Rock n Roll races tend to be well organized and run smoothly but I feel like for the cost there should be a few more perks. Either better food at the finish or finisher’s swag like a hat or blanket or something. The course was nice, a few hills especially at mile 7/8. This was a new course so I don’t know what it was like before. My only complaint was the slow start. They sent off waves but I think they could have sent off more at a time. The race started on Constitution Ave which is plenty to accommodate more people. It was never crazy crowded like other DC races. Great weather, easy to get in and out to the race/finish. Worth doing if you want to run a half in DC.
Overall good race, nice swag.
First half of race was amazing, second part became a bit challenging due to hills but that was expected. Loved the cherry blossom themed shirt and medals. As usual, RnR … MORE
First half of race was amazing, second part became a bit challenging due to hills but that was expected. Loved the cherry blossom themed shirt and medals.
As usual, RnR customer service/management left something to be desired. Weird obsession at start with “Blue bibs go first, Red bibs wait!” being screamed into the speakers. This was repeated a million times, even though it was obvious that 2/3 of the race was Red bibs and nobody was heeding the rule anyway. Post-race entertainment was advertised as going until 1:30 PM but ended just after 1. Race management is very unhelpful in regards to questions/concerns, they generally don’t return emails and when they do, they’re rude and ineffectual.
Great course, some organizational flaws
This course is a scenic loop, with views of Rock Creek Park, the Capitol, and lots in between. There are some hills, the worst of which is just before mile … MORE
This course is a scenic loop, with views of Rock Creek Park, the Capitol, and lots in between. There are some hills, the worst of which is just before mile 8. Spectators were wonderful (always makes the race for me)!
The issues were with corral lineup/wave starts and water stations. The corrals were really confusing, with both red and blue groups in each numbered corral. Apparently, ALL of the blue bibs were supposed to be released first, with the red following. This makes no sense; having red corral 1 follow blue corral 9 means that the faster runners are at the back, when avoiding that is the whole point of having corrals in the first place. It also took a really long time for all the blue bibs to be released, so I (with my red) didn’t start until nearly 30 minutes after gun time.
As for the water stations, several of them did not have enough staff, so lines for water began to form. I felt bad for the people who were working there. And I was annoyed at the extra time it took.
Overall the scenery and good vibes made up for the bad organizing!
Hilly back half
New course this year-scenic and hilly! Enjoyable race with good crowd support. Run past monuments, the Kennedy Center and across the Arlington Memorial Bridge. MORE
New course this year-scenic and hilly! Enjoyable race with good crowd support. Run past monuments, the Kennedy Center and across the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
Great views, good route, ok production
The course had a lot of great views and flowed nicely although it had rolling hills and one large hill between mile 7 and 8. The race expo wasn’t much … MORE
The course had a lot of great views and flowed nicely although it had rolling hills and one large hill between mile 7 and 8. The race expo wasn’t much of an expo and left much to be desired. The line up to start was a bit chaotic as there was nobody to enforce the corrals when lining up so those in the second wave or later corrals lined up wherever making faster runners time suffer by being stuck behind slower runners ,if you create corrals enforce them. Other than the there was great cheering and support along the route as well as entertainment. The water stations were well placed and stocked. Overall I would recommend this race!
6 mile hill
The hill in the middle SUCKED but overall enjoyable. Running it again in 2023 with a new course which looks to offer even better views of the capital! MORE
The hill in the middle SUCKED but overall enjoyable. Running it again in 2023 with a new course which looks to offer even better views of the capital!
Great race!
I really enjoyed this race and thought it was well organized! The expo was small but easy to navigate and quick to get your items. I appreciated the later starting … MORE
I really enjoyed this race and thought it was well organized!
The expo was small but easy to navigate and quick to get your items. I appreciated the later starting time and how nicely gear check and the start line were laid out adjacent to the National Mall. The course was enjoyable and appreciated the different neighborhoods that we ran through. My least favorite part was probably the long stretch on the Potomac Parkway and the hill around Mile 6 getting off the parkway was definitely tough! The view of the US Capitol while you ran down Capitol Street was fantastic and obviously, uniquely DC. I thought there was pretty decent support along most of the course which made it a nice, enjoyable run. The post-race area seemed fun and the band playing made for a good atmosphere.
We stayed in a hotel near the start of the race which was super convenient in the morning. We ended up having a friend meet us at the finish and then walking a couple of blocks away from the finish to take an Uber back toward the start. Not sure how the parking situation was but it did take a second to be able to get the Uber so it may be easier for us if our friend had parked at the finish and then we drove away.
Overall, it was a great race and a fun time!
Monumental Race
Monumental...kinda. We got a great view of the Washington Monument. Partial view of the Capitol Building. We ran behind the Lincoln Memorial (which I didn't even realize until after the … MORE
Monumental…kinda. We got a great view of the Washington Monument. Partial view of the Capitol Building. We ran behind the Lincoln Memorial (which I didn’t even realize until after the race). Other than that, the race was a typical city race run on downtown streets plus some residential areas. There was a pretty big hill at the halfway point, but there was some live Colonial American music to distract us from the ache in our calves. If possible, I would highly recommend using the public transit of the city and not drive a personal vehicle.
Best race production, great location!
So many hotels within walking distance and an easy metro from the airport so so many things to do in the city. Race starts a little late in the morning, … MORE
So many hotels within walking distance and an easy metro from the airport so so many things to do in the city.
Race starts a little late in the morning, 8:30, course is flat with one medium sized hill. The police had EVERYTHING locked down and the course was super safe and easy to follow. Volunteers and water stops were perfect. Enough porta potties and the 5k race starts in a different spot, so the runners stay separate.
Decent amount of people came out to cheer the runners on and there were several bands throughout the course. Shirt and medal were nice!