Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run

The first event I anticipate running within next year is Washington D.C.'s Cherry Blossom 10 mile run on Sunday April 11th. Entry into this event is done with a lottery system due to an overwhelming response to this year's event resulting in their web servers crashing due to the high volume of people registering for the race as soon as registration was opened. The 2010 race will be limited to 15,000 runners.

The lottery results will be posted by 10 a.m. on Tuesday December 15th on the web site http://www.cherryblossom.org.

Since there are so many runners, there will be six starting corrals used to help alleviate the congestion on the course. The fastest 2500 runners will start first, then after a period of a few minutes, the next fastest 2500 runners will begin the race. This will continue until the last corral has started. Each runner will have a color coded racing bib corresponding to the corral you need to be at within the staging area.

You are seeded in a corral based upon a time you estimate running the ten mile run which you enter during the registration process on their web site. Their is no verification you actually have run the time you entered.

In the past it has taken me about 90 minutes to run ten miles, or about nine minutes per mile. I anticipate starting in the next to last corral.

This race should be a very scenic one with the pink cherry blossoms in bloom and a large part of the race run along the Potomac river. At this point, I have no idea whether this is a hilly course.

Logistically, I would like to take the family to D.C. for the weekend. The race starts at 7:40 AM. I will be done by 9:30 am, leaving the entire day for the family.