Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run
Encyclopedia
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Founded in 1973 originally as a precursor training run for elite runners planning to compete in the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
, the race has evolved over the years into a local race for runners of all abilities. Nevertheless, it still attracts international running stars such as Catherine Ndereba
Catherine Ndereba
Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...
, Bill Rodgers
Bill Rodgers (athlete)
William "Bill" Henry Rodgers is an American runner and former American record holder in the marathon who is best known for his victories in the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon in the late 1970s...
, John Korir, and Olga Romanova
Olga Romanova (athlete)
Olga Romanova is a Russian long-distance runner.At the 2003 World Cross Country Championships she finished fourteenth in the short race, while the Russian team, of which Romanova was a part, won the bronze medal in the team competition...
.
The race is scheduled for the first Sunday of each April, meant to coincide with the bloom of the cherry blossoms given as a gift in 1912 from the mayor of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The race is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival
National Cherry Blossom Festival
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington...
of late March and early April in the city.
The race course covers many historic and memorable sights in Washington, D.C. Among the landmarks along the route are the Jefferson Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
The memorial's design concept of four outdoor "rooms" and gardens is animated by water, stone, and sculpture.The 1974 design competition was won by Lawrence Halprin; but for more than 20 years Congress failed to appropriate the funds to move beyond this conceptual stage...
, the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
, the Watergate complex
Watergate complex
The Watergate complex is a group of five buildings next to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. in the United States. The site contains an office building, three apartment buildings, and a hotel-office building...
, Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...
, and the Tidal Basin.
Past winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1973 | 51:22 | 1:11:19 | ||
| 2nd | 1974 | 50:50 | 1:02:48 | ||
| 3rd | 1975 | 51:47 | 59:55 | ||
| 4th | 1976 | 49:09 | 57:04 | ||
| 5th | 1977 | 49:44 | 56:08 | ||
| 6th | 1978 | 48:58 | 56:35 | ||
| 7th | 1979 | 48:01 | 56:03 | ||
| 8th | 1980 | 47:09 | 55:34 | ||
| 9th | 1981 | 47:17 | 56:44 | ||
| 10th | 1982 | 49:29 | 58:16 | ||
| 11th | 1983 | 46:13 | 53:46 | ||
| 12th | 1984 | 47:26 | 54:16 | ||
| 13th | 1985 | 46:24 | 53:30 | ||
| 14th | 1986 | 46:15 | 53:09 | ||
| 15th | 1987 | 46:48 | 52:23 | ||
| 16th | 1988 | 47:33 | 53:26 | ||
| 17th | 1989 | 46:43 | 52:34 | ||
| 18th | 1990 | 47:06 | 52:38 | ||
| 19th | 1991 | 46:26 | 51:57 | ||
| 20th | 1992 | 47:06 | 53:44 | ||
| 21st | 1993 | 46:29 | 52:27 | ||
| 22nd | 1994 | 46:01 | 54:05 | ||
| 23rd | 1995 | 45:38 | 51:40 | ||
| 24th | 1996 | 46:37 | 53:25 | ||
| 25th | 1997 | 46:29 | 54:28 | ||
| 26th | 1998 | 45:51 | 51:16 | ||
| 27th | 1999 | 46:59 | 53:37 | ||
| 28th | 2000 | 46:07 | 55:53 | ||
| 29th | 2001 | 46:12 | 52:16 | ||
| 30th | 2002 | 47:13 | 52:50 | ||
| 31st | 2003 | 46:56 | 53:43 | ||
| 32nd | 2004 | 48:12 | 52:07 | ||
| 33rd | 2005 | 46:55 | 52:01 | ||
| 34th | 2006 | 47:25 | 52:11 | ||
| 35th | 2007 | 46:00.7 | 51:43.4 | ||
| 36th | 2008 | 46:14 | 54:21 | ||
| 37th | 2009 | 45:56 | 53:32 | ||
| 38th | 2010 | 45:43 | 51:51 | ||
| 39th | 2011 | 45:36 | 54:02 |