Monthly Archives: April 2014

Race Recap Party!

Race Recap, Running, , , ,
lincoln memorial runners
Having fun at Mile 1

What’s better than running the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run or 5K? Reliving the fun by writing a race recap and reading other excellent race recaps!

To make the fun last a little longer, we’re hosting the first ever race recap link party here on the blog. Add your race recap here and make sure you check out the other great posts.

We want to hear from both 10 mile runners and 5K runners, veterans and first-timers, volunteers and spectators – ANYONE who has memories to share!

We’re accepting blog links until May 16, 2014, so make sure you click on the blue “Add Your Link” box.
[inlinkz_linkup id=395332 mode=1]

Five Tips for a Fantastic Post-Race Experience

Race Recap,

We are so happy to have the 42nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run under our belts, and hope you had a great race yesterday morning. We know there are some parts of race day that are still on your mind, and have some tips below for maxing out your runner’s high!

The elite men start the 42nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run
The elite men start the 42nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run

1. Check Out Your Results. Check your results on your RaceJoy App, on the results site right here, or even the interactive enhanced results on RunPix. RunPix results offer really cool visualizations that can show you where you were on the course when others finished. For example, you could look up Ben Beach’s finish time and find out where you were when he crossed the finish line on his 42nd CUCB! If your GPS clocked you at a longer or shorter race on Sunday, we have an explanation here. If your chip time is really far off, or you aren’t showing up in the results list, please fill out this form.

2. Relive Race Day. The wonderful team at RunnerSpace has an entire site dedicated to the CUCB. You can catch finish line videos of everyone, stories from elite athletes, and pictures from the lead runners in the USATF 10 Mile Championships and the open competition by visiting the page here. You can also see a segment about CUCB from FOX 5, and another from NBC Washington.

3. Treat Yo’self. Check the back of your race bib for a discount to Potomac River Running Store to splurge on some of their gear. If you want to commemorate a great race, you can also shop our official race merchandise page, which will have the order form for medals as soon as that is available as well.

4. Learn About Our Charity Partners. We have so many wonderful community partners who we work with year round. This is a great time to learn about organizations that are making a difference in the community like Teens Run DC, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and  Children’s National Medical Center, and the Council for Responsible Sport.

5. Mark Your Calendars. We’re already planning for the 2015 CUCB, and have heard from many of you who are doing the same. You can sign up for reminder emails about 2015 lottery dates here. If you are feeling inspired, we encourage you to enter our t-shirt design contest by June 1, 2014. The 43rd running of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run will be on April 12, 2015 – we hope to see you there!

Five Tips for a Flawless Race Day Experience

Events, Running, , , ,

We are less than 1 day away from race day! Having done this a few times, we have learned a few tricks that can take your race day experience from fun to fantastic.

Here’s how you can have the best race day possible:

1. Download our Race App, RaceJoy. The App is FREE and has tons of great information. Get corral start times, bib lookup, and split times for runners (even if they don’t have their GPS on!) so you can meet up with your friends and family. You can download it on Google Play, the App Store, or by clicking here.

2. Get Valet Service. We are so excited to offer a bike valet service for those of you helping us go green this year by biking to the start. The folks at Two Wheel Valet  will park your bike for you, you don’t even need to bring your own lock, and you can leave your bag with your bike to skip bag check. You can find them on Independence Ave, between 14th and 15th streets.

3. Get Emergency Text Alerts. The National Park Service is offering an emergency text alert process specially for the CUCB. Text “10miler” to 888777 to sign up for emergency alerts on race day, sent right to your phone.

4. Dress in Layers. It’s going to be a great day for racing! The temperature at the start will be in the mid to high 30’s, so you should wear extra layers while you are waiting for the race to begin to stay warm. You can discard them before you cross the start, and we will collect them to donate to charity. After the race we will have heat sheets, but you may want to bring a set of dry clothes to change into. You can pack them at bag check and get out of damp clothes after the race.

5. Get Just Enough Sleep. Go to bed on time tonight, and set multiple alarms. A frantic trip to the race because you overslept is less than ideal. Try to relax early tonight so you can put away the race jitters and fall asleep on time. Set more than one kind of alarm – if you have 3 alarms set on your phone but the battery dies overnight none of them are any good!

Happy Runner

Events, Goals, Running
happy runner
Remember all those snowy runs? Bring on the blossoms!

Are you a happy runner? This weekend, I am a seriously happy runner. In a few short hours me and my crew will be leaving Pittsburgh, PA and heading south to Washington, DC for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run!

The 2014 race was supposed to be my comeback from my August 2013 heel fracture. But by early March I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to run this year (a familiar worry from last year’s hip injury) because I was experiencing some serious foot pain during all of my runs.  I cut back on my training. I had long talks with my coach, other running friends, my sports medicine doctor and of course myself (you talk to yourself, too, right?).  After some trial and error learned I don’t have a neuroma like I thought. I was merely landing on my foot wrong.

I’ve managed some decent long runs pain free recently, but I’m not in racing shape.  I won’t be setting any personal records on Sunday. I don’t even have a goal time in my head. (OK, I sort of do.) But I’m a happy runner ! Here’s why:

1. I am able to run. And I’m grateful for this chance.

2. I am able to run without pain. Running injured stinks.

3. Friends and family care about me and are cheering me on.

4. Friends and family care even more about kids who need care, and they helped me surpass last year’s fundraising goal! You are all amazing!

5. The blossoms will be blooming!

6. Since I’m not racing, I can relax and enjoy the course and take photos. I’ve never done that before and I am really looking forward to it.

7.  I’ll get to see some good friends down in DC.

8. New friends from Pittsburgh are also making the trek down to enjoy the Runner’s Rite of Spring.

9.  Post-race celebration. There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after any good, long run.

10. I am incredibly lucky and honored to be a small part of an amazing team of bloggers, social runners and race volunteers.

See you all at the Expo tomorrow and at the starting line Sunday morning!

2014 Expo Clinic Schedule

Events, General, ,

We’re so excited to finally meet those of you we’ve been tweeting, blogging, pinning, and Facebooking with for the last few months!

In addition to our 5 PM – 8 PM Packet Pickup Happy Hour on Friday, we have more fun events at the Expo this weekend that with think you might want to know about:

Clinic Schedule at the Expo

Friday

4 PM – 4:50 PM Greg Meyer, 1983 Cherry Blossom Champion; current American record holder for 10 Miles (46:13) and 1983 Boston Marathon champion. Come hear Greg talk about how it’s time for a U.S. male runner to break his 31-year-old mark.

4:50 PM – 5 PM Stretch break

5 PM – 5:50 PM Jen Rhines, Three time U.S. Olympian at 5,000-meters, 10,000-meters and the marathon.

5:50 PM – 6 PM Stretch break

6 PM – 6:50 PM Dr. Betty Smith, Learn the secrets of longevity from our speaker who is an ultra-marathoner and top age group perfomer. She has been running for 46 years and has covered more than 100,000 miles with minimal injuries.

Saturday

10 AM – 10:50 A.M. Greg Meyer, 1983 Cherry Blossom Champion; current American record holder for 10 Miles (46:13) and 1983 Boston Marathon champion. Come hear Greg talk about how it’s time for a U.S. male runner to break his 31-year-old mark.

10:50 AM – 11 AM Stretch break

11 AM – 11:50 A.M. CPR Overview, Come hear the essentials about performing CPR. This is not certification, but an explanation of how to administer this life saving technique.

11:50 AM – 12 Noon Stretch break

12 PM – 12:50 PM Janet Bawcom, 2012 U.S. Olympian, American Recordholder for 10 miles in a single sex race.

12:50 PM – 1 PM Stretch break

1 PM – 1:50 PM American Championships Panel, Learn about the rising fortunes of American distance running in a roundtable discussion with six entrants in the U.S. 10 Mile Championships

1:50 PM – 2 PM Stretch break

2 PM – 2:50 PM CPR Overview, Come see the essentials about performing CPR. This is not certification, but an explanation of how to administer this life saving technique.

2:50 PM – 3 PM Stretch break

3 PM – 3:50 PM Dr. Betty Smith, Learn the secrets of longevity from our speaker who is an ultra-marathoner and top age group perfomer. She has been running for 46 years and has covered more than 100,000 miles with minimal injuries.

Autographs (at the Credit Union booth)
Friday April 4

3 PM – 4 PM – Greg Meyer

4 PM – 4:50 PM – Jen Rhines

Saturday, April 5

11 AM – 12 Noon – Greg Meyer

1 PM – 2 PM – Janet Bawcom

2014 Expo Booth List

Events, General, Uncategorized,
One section of the 2013 CUCB Expo
One section of the 2013 CUCB Expo

This is it, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the final Expo booth list is ready! Here’s who you can expect to see at the Building Museum from 3pm – 9pm on Friday, April 4 and 9am – 5pm on Saturday, April 5:

Auria LLC
BaySix
Beyond Body Pads
Bondi Band
Bushido Challenge – Obstacle Race
Charm City Run
Rock n Roll Marathon Series
Corrigan Sports Enterprises
Credit Union Miracle Day/Children’s Miracle Network
Department of Commerce Federal Credit Union
Dogs on Deployment
Elite Sport Optics
Feet First Sports
Fitletic
Fleet Feet Sports Annapolis
Gold’s Gym
Hoka One One
ID Life
In the Zone
ING Financial Partners
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Magic Massage Therapy
Muscular Dystrophy Association
National Cherry Blosoom Festival
National Running Center
Navy –  Air ForceHalf Marathon & Navy 5 Miler
Navy Federal Credit Union
New Balance
NYRR Team for Kids
One More Mile
Paiges Promotions for Wyndham
Potomac River Running
Ragnor Trail Relay
Real Time Pain Relief
Reverb Wireless
RUseeN Reflective Apparel
Small Planet Food
Sole Charming
Sparkly Soul
SPIBelt
Sport Science
Sweatwear Plus
Sweaty Bands
Team Z
Teens Run DC
The RooSport
The Stick (RPI)
Timex/Nova Retail LLC
Uber Technology
Ultima Health Products
University of Maryland
USA Sport Eyeware
Vibrant Health
Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon
Zooma Women’s Race Series

For full Expo information, visit our website.