Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run

SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026
9:45 a.m. (Pre-run activities begin at 9:25 a.m.)

Army-Navy Dr. at S. Fern St.
Arlington, VA

Registration for the 2026 Kids Run Is Open!

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run will start and finish at Army-Navy Dr. at S. Fern St. in Arlington, VA (the site of the Cherry Blossom 5K . The staging area is .4 miles from the Pentagon City Metro station. The Kids Run is approximately 1/2 Mile.

Pre-run activities begin at 9:25 a,m. The first wave of four-year-olds will go off at 9:45 a.m. The race is on an out-and-back course and is closely monitored by sentries. Parents are allowed to run with their children; however the first heat of each age group will be a parent-free heat. Bring the kids and watch them run, then go pick up your packet and visit all of the exhibitors at the Expo!

Limited to the first 600 to register.

Registration

Online registration will remain open until the 600-runner maximum is reached (last year the race filled in mid-March) or until 8 p.m. on Friday, April 10, whichever comes first. If the race does not fill up by April 10, there will also be in-person registration at the Expo from 3 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 10. Again, however, the race filled in mid-March last year, so the odds of race weekend registration are quite slim.

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

Race Start Time: 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2026

Fee: $15. Includes t-shirt.

Packet Pick-up: Packet pick-up for registered Kids Run participants will take place on Friday, April 10 inside the National Building Museum between 1:00 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., and on Saturday,  April 11, between 8:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in the registration tent at the 5K staging area.

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

• 2026 Race and Staging Area Maps Coming Soon

Kids Run T-Shirt Design Art Contest: The Kids Run T-Shirt Design Art Contest is now open to budding young artists aged 10 and under. Click Here for Details!

Kids Run Information:

• For security reasons, 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 (each bib number will include two wrist bands so two parents or guardians can have them). 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. The first heat of each age group will be a parent-free heat.
• Each age group will be called into the secure pre-race staging area by the announcer. From the secure 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 (adjacent to, but separate from, the pre-race secure 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.