A great race today in DC for the 40th annual Cherry Blossom 10-miler. However, it didn't start out so great. Note to self: be in bed prior to 2 am when you have to wake up at 6 to meet friends to pick up your packet.
So I got to bed a little late. I slept straight through my alarm so didn't meet my sister and friends as we had arranged to pick up my bib and timer. The metro would have taken me forever. Driving there with traffic and finding parking was risky. So I decided to run the 3.5 miles from my apartment in Cleveland Park to the monument to meet them. It was early and I was tired. But, I was able to get to the corner of 15th and Constitution just on time to pick up what I needed. I had a 15 minute break to catch my breath before heading to the start line.
The race was very nice. Unfortunately, because we averaged 75 degrees by the beginning of March the cherry blossoms bloomed early this season. There were some left and I was able to stop along the way and snap some pics.
I also did not run this race for time. I took it a bit slow to enjoy the sites. I ran it with Carla. I often run through downtown DC but my paths have never taken me through the Tidal Basin. This was also my first time seeing the cherry blossoms since moving to DC. So I didn't want to miss anything pushing for time.
The race is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring” with the course passing in sight of all of the major Washington, DC Memorials. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a consortium of 170 premier children’s hospitals across the United States. Since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor in 2002, over $5 million dollars has been raised through donations and fundraising on the part of the runners and individual sponsoring Credit Unions and partners. About one-third of these funds support Washington, DC’s own Children’s National Medical Center. The event also funds two $5,000 Road Runners Club of America “Roads Scholar” grants designed to support up-and-coming U.S. distance running talent.
So this was not only a fun race but also a worthy cause.
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