On my quest to run a race in all 50 states, I figured I should run in DC too, even if it is not a state, it’s the nations capitol and my favorite American city, so an excuse to hit up the museums and memorials and run a race, come on, I wasn’t going to miss out on this. When I put my name in for this race (it is a raffle race) I wasn’t sure I would get picked, but I was super happy when I did. I was able to get a time ticket to my FAVORITE museum, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and booked a hotel in an area I hadn’t stayed in before, was nervous about that, but it ended up working out nicely. But first, let me tell you about the race.
The race takes place during the Cherry Blossom Festival (hence the name) so first off, be prepared for DC to be SWARMING with tourists when you do this race, but hey, those blossoms are damn pretty. The race starts right in front of the Washington monument, and there are 6 corrals of runners, all separated by color, I was in orange, and then of course the corral of elites. This year it was cold race morning, starting temp was about 34 degrees, I was prepared with layers, so I did ok waiting around. Once the race took off those, I was ready, cause I couldn’t feel my fingers. Luckily it was a nice sunny day, so once you were running, it did warm up. The race has some rolling hills, but nothing at all crazy I would say it is fairly flat and tons of beautiful scenery, you run by monuments and all the blossoms in bloom was amazing. They have entertainment through out the race, from drummers, to a sax player, it was great. There are not crowds through out the race, and some points were pretty quiet, but I like that mix. My only issue is, you are never out of a crowd, almost all races I end up running alone, or with only 4-5 other people around, never happened in this race. And I would think it would be difficult run this race for a PR because you would always be trying to get around people. You finish in front on the Washington Monument too, plenty of people there to cheer you on. 
Overall, I did very much enjoy the race, I ran it in under 2 hours, so pretty happy with that. I did have some knee pain, so I took today off to hopefully hold that off from becoming something, shall see how the rest of the week goes. I did also do a TON of walking around DC, so that probably didn’t help.
If you didn’t know, I am a giant history nerd and so DC, is my joy I love to visit the museums and memorials, if you want to see all my pics, check out my instagram @RuninRedSox but here are some photos
Also the hotel, I picked the Courtyard DC in the NoMa section of DC, and I couldn’t recommend this place more. Super clean, super pleasant workers, and SO CLOSE TO THE METRO, like a 5 minute walk to the metro. I will use this hotel again, because I will go back to DC soon, hopefully with Lars, so we can visit some more museums. If you can, do this race, and make sure you hang out in DC, such a fun city to visit
oh hey, another one checked off the map 
Running for My Life 
Great recap – thank you for joining our official link-up! I hope your knee pain goes away quickly.
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way to go! I was there too, but ended up dropping down to the 5k. I was a great day – despite the cold! BRR 🙂
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So glad that you had a fun weekend! Congratulations to you
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We really lucked out with the blossoms this year! Glad you had a good race.
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Sounds like a great race — congratulations. I experienced a lot of the same crowding, which was unusual. In past CUCB runs, the crowd tends to thin out about the time you get past the Kennedy Center. Anyway, hope your knee is feeling better, and you have a great year running.
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I feel you on the museum hopping. Your Holocaust Museum was my African American Culture & HEritage. So many steps, but such a gorgeous city. Hope your knee is on the mend
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