Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run presented by Warner Bros. Discovery

BIG CHANGES THIS YEAR - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2024
New Starting Time for 2024: 11:00 am
New Location for 2024: The Kids Run will stage on Freedom Plaza and start and finish at the 5K starting line on Pennsylvania Ave. between 12th and 13th Sts. The event will take place after the conclusion of the 5K.
New Location for Packet Pick-up: Packet pick-up will take place on Friday at the National Building Museum (401 F St., NW) and on Saturday at Freedom Plaza (1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW).

Registration for the 2024 Kids Run is now open!  We will accept registrations for kids aged 4 - 10.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 1/2 Mile Kids Run will start and finish at Freedom Plaza (the site of the Cherry Blossom 5K at 1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004).

The race is on an out-and-back course down Pennsylvania Ave. and is closely monitored by sentries. Parents are allowed to run with their children.

Limited to the first 500 to register.

Registration

Online registration will remain open until 11:59 pm on Monday, March 25, as long as the 500-runner maximum has not been reached. There will also be in-person registration (again as long as the 500-runner maximum has not been reached) at the Expo from 2 pm - 7:30 pm on Friday, April 5, and at Freedom Plaza (in the Kids Run Staging Area) on Saturday, April 6 from 9:30 am - 10:45 am.

Race Details

Ages: The Kids Run is for children ages 4-10.

Race Start Time: 11:00 am on Saturday, April 6, 2024

Fee: $10. Includes t-shirt.

Packet Pick-up: Packet pick-up for registered Kids Run participants will take place on Friday, April 5 inside the National Building Museum between 3:00 pm and 7:45 pm, and on Saturday,  April 6, between 9:30 am and 10:45 am in the check-in tent at Freedom Plaza (1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004).

Registration: Registration for the Kids Run has closed.

Awards: No times or places will be kept, but all finishers will receive a medal.

Course: CLICK HERE for the Kids Run Course Map and Staging Area Map

Kids Run Information:

• For security reasons as required by Metropolitan DC Police, every parent or guardian of a Kids Run entrant will need to locate and remove a detachable wrist band on the top of each child's bib number. The wrist band will be imprinted with the same number as each child's bib number. The responsible adult(s) will detach and wear the wrist band around their wrist. After the run, kids will be released from the secure Parent-Child Reunion Area only to adults with a wrist band matching the child's bib number.
• Every child on the race course must be registered and wear a bib number. Parents may choose to run with their child, but at least one parent must be wearing a wristband matching the bib number of their child.
• Accompanying adults may need to wear multiple wristbands as necessary for multiple child participants.
• Individual participants will run by age group, starting with 4-year olds and continuing by 1-year increments up to 10 years of age. It is likely there will be multiple heats in each age group, especially among the younger ages.
• Within each age group, heats will consist of approximately 25 participants.  Each heat will take about 8 to 10 minutes. The four-year-olds will run first, followed by the five-year-olds and on up in ascending order.
• Each age group will be called into the pre-race staging area by the announcer. From the pre-race staging area, children will be organized into heats and moved on to the Kids Run course.
• Participants will finish and be directed to a secure post-race reunion area. Children will only be released to the appropriate responsible adult wearing the wristband that matches the child's bib number. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE. Any children not matched with an adult in the secure parent-child reunion area will be referred to on-site security personnel.

The Lottery

The lottery for entry into the 2022 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk is now closed.

To Those Who Gained Entry, Congratulations!
We Look Forward to Seeing You on the Starting Line on April 3.

E-Mail Notifications

Nearly all of the communications regarding the race will be done via email. Due to the high volume of emails, we cannot take time to fill out forms to get our messages past personal spam filters. To help make sure that our emails will reach you and will not be treated as spam, you should add the following email addresses to your “white list” or “safe senders” list or however your particular email program allows you to indicate particular email addresses that you want to receive email from:

cucbweb@cherryblossom.org
info@cherryblossom.org
lottery_results@cherryblossom.org
registrationhelp@marathonguide.com

Note: This is something you must take care of in your own individual email program – it cannot be accomplished by requesting us to white list you.

Purchase Additional Registration Items

Accepted participants who would like to purchase items such as the ASICS Upgrade T-shirt, a finisher’s medal, a Packet Mail Out, a Carbon Offset, the RunCoach Gold Training Program or make a donation to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals may clink the link below for the Additional Items Order Form.

Book Your Hotel Room

We have two host hotels this year, the Crystal Gateway Marriott (1999 Richmond Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202) and the Crystal City Marriott (1700 Richmond Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202 USA). Hotel accommodations are always tight during cherry blossom season. The special Cherry Blossom rate is between $204 and $214 per night.

To Those Who Did Not Gain Entry, You Still Have Options!

Charity Entries

You can still enter the 2022 race by becoming a Charity Race Entry Participant. To qualify as a Charity Race Entry Participant, you need to raise $500 dollars or more for our official race charity, Children’s Miracle Network. Every dollar raised will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network, a network of 170 non profit children’s hospitals located across North America.

Details on how to become a Charity Race Entry Participant will be posted here soon, so please check back.

The 2022 race marks the twentieth year Credit Unions have sponsored the run in support of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Over $10 million dollars for Children’s Miracle Network 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 which supports your community.

Volunteer

You can gain entry into the 2023 race by volunteering for the 2022 race. Click the link below if you, or someone you know, would like to volunteer for the 2022 race and earn a transferable guaranteed entry to the 2023 race.

Guaranteed Entries for 2022 Through Teens Run DC

Guaranteed entries also are available through our partnership with Teens Run DC. TRDC is recruiting Mentors now for the 2022 season! TRDC partners with DC Public Schools to empower underserved middle and high school youth through a mentoring and distance running program. Run or walk with a student and together you will set and achieve goals for training, racing, and life.

Mentors commit to participating in Saturday morning group runs with their Mentees; maintaining contact with their Mentees during the week; and attending TRDC races, events, and monthly Mentor Training sessions.

For more information and to apply to be a Mentor, click the link below or contact Alee Wade at alee@teensrundc.org.

One Hundred Mile Club

One Hundred Mile Club members who did not get in through the lottery may apply for a guaranteed entry code between now and February 1, 2022. One Hundred Mile Club members have completed at least 100 miles in any combination of the 10 mile or the 5K results (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. If you feel you qualify, please send an email to searchable@cherryblossom.org. If you are uncertain if you qualify, you can check your status on the All-Time Searchable database at the link below.

Note: The results of the 2021 Virtual Run have not been uploaded to the All-Time Searchable Database. If your completion of the 2021 Virtual Run qualified you for the One Hundred Mile Club, please email info@cherryblossom.org and let us know.

Seeded Runner Entries

The qualifying standards for seeded runners are posted on the event website. Contact Seeded Runner Coordinator Sara Baugh at seededrunners@cherryblossom.org for details.

Kids Run Registration

Kids Run Registration opens on February 1, 2022. The Kids Run will be held on Saturday, April 2 at 9:30 A.M. at the National Building Museum (in conjunction with the Health & Fitness Expo presented by Wegmans and Packet Pickup).

Order Credit Union Cherry Blossom Merchandise

Visit our Merchandise Store for official race merchandise from ASICS.

Sign Up for 2023 Lottery Opening Notification

If you entered the 2022 event lottery, whether or not you were selected to participate in the event, or if you entered through a Guaranteed Entry for 2022, we have your email address and will send you an email notification of the opening of the lottery in late November 2022. If you did not enter the 2022 event – or if your email address changes during the year – and you wish to receive notification of the 2023 entry process by e-mail, please click the link below and complete the Notification Request form.