About the Races

5K

The 5K will take place on Saturday, April 5, with the staging area on Freedom Plaza and utilizing the “Route of the Inaugurations” down Pennsylvania Ave., across the National Mall and back. The 5K entry fee is $47 and includes a cotton t-shirt. Registrants will have an opportunity to purchase ASICS performance upgrades and medals. The time limit for the 5K is 75 minutes (about 24-minutes per mile pace).

10 Mile

The 10 Mile will stage on the traditional site on the Washington Monument Grounds on Sunday, April 6. There will be a couple of small modifications in the course due to construction in West Potomac Park, which eliminates one of the U-turns. As usual the course will pass all of the prime cherry blossom locations and National Memorials. The 10 Mile entry fee is $58 and includes a cotton t-shirt. Registrants will have an opportunity to purchase an event-specific ASICS performance upgrade shirt and medals (the standard medal or an enhanced medal, which comes with an iTab plate bearing their time and finish place) at the time of registration. The time limit for the 10 Mile is 2 hours and 20 minutes net time (14-minutes per mile pace).

Double Blossom

The Double Blossom consists of both races—the 5K on Saturday, April 5 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 6. The Double Blossom entry fee is $105 (exactly equal to the 5K plus the 10 Mile entry fees) and includes a cotton t-shirt. Double Blossom registrants will have an opportunity to purchase an event-specific ASICS performance upgrade shirt and medals (the standard medal or an enhanced medal, which comes with an iTab plate bearing their time and finish place) at the time of registration.

How to Enter the Races

Entry into the 10 Mile and the Double Blossom will be by lottery, with the lottery opening on Sunday, December 1 and extending until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 15. To enter the Lottery, go to the Credit Union Cherry Blossom website on or after December 1 and follow the links to the online entry form. On the first page of the entry form you will find a drop-down menu where you will be able to select either “10 Mile” or "Double Blossom" as the race you wish to enter.

Important Note About the Lottery: Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, meaning you will have the same chance of being accepted if you enter on December 1 or on December 15. So if the server is busy, just try again later!

The lottery results for both events will be posted on the website, https://www.cherryblossom.org/, and sent by email to all registrants no later than Thursday, December 19.

• Individuals not accepted in the 10 Mile or Double Blossom lotteries will not have their credit cards charged for the entry fee and any ancillary purchases.
• Your notification of non-acceptance through the lottery will contain a link for an advance entry into the 5K should you wish to participate in that event only.

Entry into the 5K is on a first-come, first-served basis (there is no lottery) and will open on Friday, December 20. The 5K is limited to 8,000 entrants. Registration will remain open until February 28, 2025, or until the 8,000-runner limit is reached, whichever comes first. (Last year the race was full in late January.)

Important 10 Mile and Double Blossom Lottery Instructions (please review carefully)

Lottery Groups

Prospective 10 Mile and Double Blossom entrants may enter the lottery either as an individual or as part of a Temporary Lottery Group of up to 10 people. Lottery Groups may consist of 10 Mile entrants, Double Blossom entrants, or a combination of both. (There will be no option for 5K registrants to register as part of a lottery group because there is no 5K lottery; prospective 5K entrants should simply enter the 5K starting on December 20).The Lottery Groups are designed to allow families and other groups either to get in or not get in together. Each Lottery Group has exactly the same chance of getting in as each single individual.

The first person in a Lottery Group will set up the Lottery Group, give it a name and register himself or herself as the first member of the Lottery Group. When subsequent members register, they will be able to affiliate with that Lottery Group by using a drop-down menu on the registration form.

No additional members can be added to a Lottery Group after the lottery period closes.

Lottery Groups vs. Teams

The Lottery Groups exist only for purposes of entering the lottery. Once the lottery is held, the Lottery Groups are dissolved. Lottery Groups should not be confused with "Teams" in our 10 Mile Team Competition. Lottery Groups are temporary; teams are permanent and are scored in the 10 Mile Team Competition on race day. (There is no 5K Team Competition.) 10 Mile Team registration (for accepted runners only) opens in January. Click Here for details on the Team Competition.

Please consult the "FAQs" related to Registration for more detailed answers to questions regarding the lottery.

Other Notes Regarding Entering the Lottery

Refresh Your Browser if You Don't See the Link to the Registration Form on or After December 1! Please note that if you have visited the race website before the lottery opens, you may need to refresh your browser once the lottery or 5K registration are open in order to see the correct version of the web page with access to the entry form.

Government Emails: Some individuals using Department of Defense, Pentagon, and other Military and some Government agency email addresses may not be able to access the site or conduct electronic commerce on our site due to Government firewalls. We suggest that these individuals enter from a non-government computer or mobile device using a personal email address.

Problems? If you encounter difficulties with the online registration process, please contact our online registration provider at support@raceroster.com. General questions about registration or any of the races should be emailed to info@cherryblossom.org.

Special Ways to Gain Entry into the 10 Mile or the Double Blossom

Charity Entries

Entrants who are not accepted through the 10 Mile and Double Blossom lotteries will receive details about earning a guaranteed entry code by raising $500 for The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, our official event charity.

The 2025 race marks the 23^rd year that Credit Unions have sponsored the run in support of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Over $11.8 million for children's hospitals has been raised during this time. Join thousands of runners and over a hundred Credit Unions and Credit Union partners to help provide local kids with state-of-the-art care, cutting-edge research and treatment for every disease and injury imaginable. Remember, all funds you raise go to the Children's Miracle Network Hospital that supports your community.

100 Mile Club Entries (request entry by this method only if you are rejected in the lottery, not before entering the lottery)

If you have completed at least 100 miles in any combination of the 10 Mile or the 5K races (i.e. 10 completions of the 10 mile equals 100 miles; 9 completions of the 10 mile and four completions of the 5K equals 102 miles, etc.) either in a row or non-consecutively, and you do not get in through the lottery, you can obtain a guaranteed "One Hundred Mile Club" entry for either the 10 Mile or the Double Blossom, which will be accepted if submitted before February 15, 2025. Please note that participation in a maximum of three Virtual Runs count towards membership in the 100 Mile Club. If you are rejected in the lottery and feel you qualify, please send an email to info@cherryblossom.org.

To check your eligibility for the 100 Mile Club, consult the All-Time Searchable Database.

Two-Time Loser (TTL) Entries

TTL entries are for individuals who have been rejected in the lottery for the last two consecutive years, 2023 and 2024. Our online entry provider will identify those individuals and send them guaranteed entry codes automatically.

Volunteer Entries

All 2024 volunteers will receive their guaranteed entry codes via email prior to the opening of the lottery on December 1. If you do not receive your code by that date, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Nita Roncone at nita@cherryblossom.org. Individuals with guaranteed entry codes do not need to enter the lottery. These entry codes are transferable and must be submitted before 11:59 p.m. on February 28, 2025. If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for the 2025 race, visit https://www.cherryblossom.org/volunteer/.

Seeded Runner Entries

The "Seeded" runner qualifying standards are available at https://www.cherryblossom.org/pre-race/elites-seeded/seeded-runners/. Contact Seeded Runner Coordinator Sara Baugh at seededrunners@cherryblossom.org for details about obtaining seeded runner status.

Other News

Kids Run Registration Opens on January 6, 2025

The Half Mile Kids Run for ages 4-10 will be held on Saturday, April 6. The run will start and finish at Freedom Plaza, the same staging area as the 5K, at 11:00 a.m. The starting time will allow parents to finish the 5K and still see their children participate in the Kids Run. Details about registering for the Kids Run can be found here.

Getting Ready: Training Options presented by ASICS

This year the Credit Union Cherry Blossom is offering both In-Person and Virtual Training programs for runners and walkers in both the 10 Mile and the 5K. Click Here for details about all of our training programs.

Race Updates and Confirmation

All accepted entrants will receive - by email - monthly updates in January and February along with a final confirmation email in March containing details regarding your entry, packet pick-up and race day.

Official Host Hotel

Our 2025 official race hotel, the Westin Washington, DC Downtown Hotel (999 Ninth St., NW, Washington, DC 20001), will be offering a special Credit Union Cherry Blossom to 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile & 5K participants. Details will be provided as soon as they become available.

Volunteering



It takes 2,000 volunteers to stage the race. If you have a non-running spouse, family member or friend please encourage them to volunteer. Click here for details. Volunteers receive a guaranteed entry code for the following year’s race, so your non-running friend can help you bypass the lottery for the 2025 race and have a ton of fun over this year’s race weekend.

Want to Know More?

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Happy Miles,

Event Director Phil Stewart and Deputy Director Becky Lambros

P.S. If you have general questions regarding this message, please reply to info@cherryblossom.org. Do not simply click "reply to" for this email. This email address is not monitored.