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.

Kirt West Advanced 10 Mile Training Program Presented by ASICS

Week of March 13 – March 19, 2023

Overview:  Week 8 is the last hard week of training of 5-7 days with a long run and two anaerobic threshold speed sessions. Try to increase your long run by a mile.

Monday, March 13, 2023

• • Goal:    Rest day or optional easy recovery run of 4-7 miles.
  • Tip:      If you feel tired from your training, you can always take an extra day off on Wednesday to let your body recover.

Tuesday March 14, 2023

• • Distance:     5-8 miles
  • Goal:    3-4 one-mile repeats with a two-minute recovery in between.
  • Tip:      Work on pacing. Run the first mile at your 10-mile race pace or 80-85% of maximum heart rate. Try to run each mile 5 seconds faster than the previous mile.

Wednesday March 15, 2023

• • Distance:     5-8 miles
  • Goal:     Easy recovery day.
  • Tip:     Remember to stretch after each run.

Thursday March 16, 2023

• • Distance:     5-8 miles
  • Goal:     Anaerobic threshold run.
  • Tip:      Warm up for at least one mile. Run nonstop at 15K-10 mile race pace for 20-25 minutes. If using a heart monitor, try to stay between 80-85% for the entire 20-25 minutes. If you do not have a heart monitor, the effort should be quite hard – you should feel like you could keep going for a long time but if you picked up the pace you would want to stop. Be sure to run at least a one-mile cool down at the end. You should feel great within 30 minutes of completing the workout. Skip this workout and run easy if you are planning to run a race this weekend.

Friday, March 17, 2023

• • Goal:    Rest day or optional easy recovery run of 4-7 miles.
  • Tip:      Only two weeks to go. Your last long run will be on Sunday. Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day!

Saturday March 18, 2023

• • Distance:     4-6 miles
  • Goal:    Easy run or 10K race.
  • Tip:      Doing a race today or Sunday will help you mentally prepare for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom race and assess your current level of fitness. Don’t worry if you can’t find a race though – every mile that you run will make you stronger to race the Credit Union Cherry Blossom.

Sunday March 19, 2023

• • Distance:     10-13 miles
  • Goal:    Easy long run.
  • Tip:      If you did not race yesterday, run two Credit Union Cherry Blossom predicted race pace miles after you are two or three miles into the run and run two race pace miles at the end of the run. For those who raced on Saturday, the entire long run should be at an easy conversational effort.