2026 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Lottery to Take Place in January

November 18, 2025

New Schedule Designed to Shorten Time between Registration and Race Day

Washington, DC (November 18, 2025) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The participant lottery for the 53^rd Annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom (CUCB) 10 Mile and Double Blossom will move from its traditional December date to after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The lottery will be held during a 15-day period starting on January 5, 2026 and extending through 11:59 P.M. on January 19, 2026. All lottery information can be found on the event website, https://www.cherryblossom.org/. Lottery results will be announced by January 22, 2026.

The CUCB will once again offer the Double Blossom, which challenges runners to run the 5K on Saturday, April 11 and the 10 Mile on Sunday, April 12. Those who desire to run the Double Blossom must enter the lottery between January 5 and January 19. Runners will be able to select “Double Blossom” as their event choice during the registration process. Individuals who do not gain entry into the 10 Mile or the Double Blossom are invited to register for the 5K on a first-come, first-served basis beginning January 26.

The 2026 entry fees will be $64 for the 10 Mile; $47 for the 5K; $111 for the Double Blossom; and $15 for the Kids Run (plus processing fees).

Event Director Phil Stewart said, “This change in lottery dates ties in with New Year’s Resolutions, but our primary objective was to position the lottery closer to race day in order to provide our participants with more certainty about their schedules before entering the race.”

Named the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) 2023 Road Race of the Year, the CUCB 10 Mile course starts and finishes at the Washington Monument Grounds and passes by all of the prime cherry blossom locations and the National Memorials. The 10 Mile will take place on Sunday, April 12, 2026, a week later than usual due to Easter falling on the first Sunday in April.

Registration for the 5K, presented by ASICS, will open on January 26, 2026, and will be on a first-come, first-served basis until the entry limit is reached. The 2025 race took about three weeks to fill up. The 5K will take place on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

The 5K will be held on a new course in Arlington, VA, conveniently located near the race headquarters hotel at the Crystal Gateway Marriott. The course will return to the Freedom Plaza and Pennsylvania Ave. course in 2027.

Registration for the Kids Run will open on January 26, 2026. The Kids Run will be held in Arlington, VA on Saturday, April 11, 2026. It will return to its traditional Freedom Plaza location in 2027.

For the past 24 years, Credit Union Miracle Day has been the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K, and the partnership with CUCB organizers and charitable runners has raised nearly $12 million for the Children’s Miracle Network. The 2025 fundraising effort totaled $460,000, which included $192,000 from race participants.

About Cherry Blossom, Inc.:

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom, organized by Cherry Blossom, Inc., a 501(c)(3) chapter of the Road Runners Club of America, is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring®” in the Nation’s Capital. The staging area for the 10 Mile is on the Washington Monument Grounds and the course passes in sight of all of the major Washington, D.C. Memorials. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network, a consortium of 170 premier children’s hospitals across North America. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington, D.C.’s own Children’s National (“Children’s Hospital”).

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit union suppliers, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, Double Blossom, 5K and Kids Run. Presenting sponsors include ASICS and Wegmans; supporting sponsors include Velera, TruStage, Outside, Potomac River Running, Gatorade Endurance, Suburban Solutions Moving, Select Event Group, and United Lifestyle Brands.

The 10 Mile is sanctioned by USA Track & Field and the Road Runners Club of America and is a proud member of the PRRO Circuit, a series of this country’s classic road races with circuit stops in Jacksonville, FL; Washington, DC; Spokane, WA; Utica, NY; and Davenport, IA. The 5K was voted the Best 5K in the country by a 2025 USA Today poll.

To learn more, visit https://www.cherryblossom.org.

About Credit Union Miracle Day:

Credit Union Miracle Day is a partnership of over 100 credit unions, CUSOs and partner organizations united to sponsor the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile & 5K benefitting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals nationwide and promoting the difference credit unions make in their communities.

About Credit Unions:

Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives that provide consumers with financial services such as checking accounts, investments and loans of all kinds including mortgages. Funds are federally insured, but unlike banks, credit unions are owned and controlled by their members. Earnings are returned to member-owners in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings rates, low or no-fee products and services. The credit union philosophy of placing members’ needs first is why approximately 144 million Americans do their banking at a credit union.