The Lottery

A lottery will be used to fill the fields for the 10 Mile and for the Double Blossom (participants running both the 5K on Saturday, April 5 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 6). Those who wish to enter either of those events should read the instructions below and then click on the button below to go to the Lottery Registration Form to enter. Note: We are using Race Roster for our registration process this year. If you already have a Race Roster account, you will be prompted to sign in when you reach the Lottery Registration page. If you don’t already have one, you will be prompted to create one. Don’t worry – it only takes a few seconds!

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!

For those wishing to enter ONLY the 5K, registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and that registration will open on December 20. For details on registering for the 5K, click here.

The 10 Mile and Double Blossom Lottery

• The 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile will be held on Sunday, April 6, 2025. The 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
• If you wish to enter the Double Blossom – BOTH races: the 5K on Saturday, April 5 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 6 – you MUST enter the Double Blossom lottery. If you are successful in that lottery, you will then be entered into BOTH races.
• The lottery for the 2025 10 Mile and Double Blossom (5K on Saturday and 10 Mile on Sunday) will open on December 1 and close on December 15 at 11:59 pm.
• When registering, prospective entrants will complete and submit the entire entry form including the credit card information. However, credit cards will not be charged unless the applicant is selected.
• The entry fees for 2025 are $58 (plus an online processing fee) for the 10 Mile and $105 (plus an online processing fee) for the Double Blossom. Both entry fees include a cotton 10 Mile/5K t-shirt.

Before you click the link below to begin your Online Lottery Registration, please read this page IN ITS ENTIRETY.
This will help answer your questions before you begin the lottery process. 

Note: Lottery Registration does not open until Sunday, December 1. If you click this link before the lottery opens, you will be not be able to register and must return on or after December 1. You may register for the lottery any time between December 1 and December 15. Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, so if the server is busy, just try again later. 

Lottery Details

• T-Shirts: You will be given the opportunity to upgrade your shirt to an ASICS technical t-shirt (either a 10 Mile or Double Blossom shirt depending on which event you enter). Double Blossom applicants may also opt to purchase a 10 Mile and/or 5K ASICS technical t-shirt for an additional $20 each.
• Medals: 10 Mile applicants will be given the option to purchase a 10 Mile finisher medal; Double Blossom applicants will be given the option to purchase a Double Blossom finisher medal. Medals are $15 for a standard medal or an additional $10 for an enhanced medal. The enhanced medal consists of the standard medal that you pick up after your race plus an iTab plate that we will mail to you by early May with your name, finish time, overall place and age group place on it, which you can attach to your standard medal (see image). Double Blossom applicants may also purchase a 10 Mile and/or 5K finisher medal for $15 each, or an enhanced 10 Mile and/or 5K finisher medal for $25 each.
• If you order an enhanced medal and then either do not start the race or do not finish the race, you will receive a “credit” to purchase an iTab plate at another iTab race for free.
• Lottery Groups: Prospective entrants will be able to register for the Lottery as an individual or as part of a Lottery Group of 2-10 individuals. The purpose of the Lottery Groups is to allow people to register together, and then the group either gets into the race as a whole or is rejected as a whole. So if a family wants to run the race but only wants to run if all family members are accepted, they should enter as a Lottery Group. Note that those who enter as individuals and those who enter as part of a Lottery Group have the same chance of acceptance into the race. For full details on how to create and join a Lottery Group, see under “Temporary Lottery Groups” below.
• Lottery Groups may consist of 10 Mile entrants, Double Blossom entrants, or a combination of both and will be accepted or rejected as a group. (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).
• Donations: When registering for the lottery, registrants will have an opportunity to make a donation directly to our official race charity, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
• Lottery Results: Once the lottery registration period is closed on December 15 at 11:59 p.m., the status of all applicants – accepted or rejected – will be posted on the event website by December 19. All lottery registrants will also receive an email indicating their status (these emails may precede the posting of the list on the website).
• Individuals (and members of Lottery Groups) who are selected will have their credit cards charged for the entry fee, ancillary items purchased such as the “Upgrade” performance shirts, medals and charity donations, a processing fee, and any applicable sales tax (your registration fee is not subject to sales tax, but many ancillary items are).
• Individuals (and members of Lottery Groups) not selected will not have their credit cards charged for the entry fee or for any ancillary items purchased such as the “Upgrade” performance shirts, medals and charity donations.
• 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.

Please consult the “FAQs” on the website for more detailed answers to questions regarding the lottery.

Please note that pre-registration is required for the 2025 Kids Run, but it will be held on a first-come, first-served basis and will open on January 6, 2025. The Kids Run is limited to 600 entrants.

Temporary Lottery Groups (Will Be Disbanded After the Lottery Is Held)

• The lottery will be able to handle “Lottery Groups” of 2-10 people. This is designed to allow families and other groups either to get in or not get in as a “Group.”
• Each “Group” has exactly the same chance of getting in as each single individual.
• The first person in a “Group” will set up the group, give it a name and register himself or herself as the first member of the Group. When subsequent members go to register, they will be able to affiliate with that “Group” by using a drop down menu on the registration form. Please note that no additional members can be added to a “Lottery Group” after the lottery period closes.  The “Lottery Groups” exist only for purposes of entering the lottery. Once the lottery is held, the “Lottery Groups” are disbanded. Lottery Groups may consist of runners entered in both the 10 Mile and the Double Blossom (both races).
• No more than 10 individuals are allowed into a single Lottery Group. If you have more then 10 people, you will have to form two Lottery Groups. Note it is possible that one of those groups would get in, but the other would not, so make sure everyone in each group would be happy to run the race without the other group (hopefully that won’t happen!).
• You must sign up either as an individual or as part of a Lottery Group – not both – and you will not be able to change your status from individual registrant to Lottery Group registrant once you have signed up. Individuals signing up as both individuals and as a member of a Lottery Group will have all of their registrations rejected.
• Each Lottery Group will be treated exactly the same as an individual runner when the electronic selections are made. In other words, a Lottery Group has exactly the same chance to get into the race as any individual runner.
• Please remember that these Lottery Groups are only for purposes of entering the lottery. The Temporary Lottery Groups cease to exist after the individual Temporary Lottery Group members are accepted or rejected. Temporary Lottery Groups have no relationship with Teams in our 10 Mile Team Competition (there is no Team Competition in the 5K). Teams may be formed from runners who are accepted into the race after the lottery is over. For details about Team Competition, please visit Team Competition or contact Team Coordinator George Banker at teams@cherryblossom.org.

Protect Your Race Entry

When you register, you will be given the opportunity to enroll in the registration refund program should you wish to. Participants that enroll in the refund program will be refunded if they are unable to attend due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances, such as:

• •  Injury & illness
  •  COVID-19
  •  Severe weather
  •  Pregnancy complications
  • Layoffs/termination
  • Mechanical breakdown

Full details are provided on the registration form.

Note: Lottery Registration does not open until Sunday, December 1. If you click the link above before the lottery opens, you will you will be not be able to register and must return on or after December 1. You may register for the lottery any time between December 1 and December 15. Your chance of being selected is not affected by the time that you register for the lottery, so if the server is busy, just try again later. 

The Results of the Lottery Will Be Posted Here By 10 A.M. on Thursday, December 19, 2024

Other Ways to Gain Entry into the Race

Use the links below to explore other ways to gain entry into the 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile & 5K:

• 100 Mile Club
• Two-Time Loser (TTL) Entries
• Elite and Seeded Runners