The 35th Annual Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

In its 35th year, a record 10,707 runners finished the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, DC on Sunday, April 1. This race is the third largest 10-mile race in the United States. The two largest 10-milers in the nation are the Army Ten Miler (also in Washington, DC) and the Broad Street Run, in Philadelphia, PA.

During Sunday's race, a new women's world record was set for the 10-mile distance. 24-year-old Teyba Erkesso finished the race in 51:44, breaking the record set by Lidiya Grigoryeva at the 2006 Cherry Blossom 10-miler. Washington DC Mayor Mayor Adrian Fenty completed this race with a time of 1:08:34, just eight days after running the Wirefly National Marathon.

On Sunday morning, there was no rain for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. The forecast had called for rain all throughout the race, but it hadn't started yet. My friends and I arrived downtown where shuttle buses would take us to the start line. When we got off the bus, we walked about half a mile to the start line. I've lived in the Washington area my whole life, but I have never seen the cherry blossoms. They were beautiful.

The race was very well organized. We were corralled by our bib numbers, and bib numbers were based on previous race times that we had to submit during registration. I was at the very front of the second wave, surrounded by really fast runners. They organize the race based on your past race results so that you are not stuck in the back, having to pass a bunch of people in the beginning.The temperature was announced at 51 degrees. It felt more like 45. It was overcast and there was no sun.