So, you didn’t get selected for the 2015 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run or 5k. You might have really had your heart set on it, but it’s time to come up with a contingency plan.

I have a couple of suggestions that might help soothe the sting of lottery loss, depending on your running schedule and interests.

Volunteer Entries

If you have a back up race, but want to run the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run someday, we would love to have you join us in 2015 as a race day volunteer! Volunteers get a cotton long sleeve tee with this year’s winning race design, a guaranteed race entry for 2016 (at prevailing entry fees), and great running karma!

I missed out on the lottery for the 2010 race so I volunteered as a course marshal for a guaranteed 2011 entry. My job was to protect the giant, expensive clock at Mile 9, and make sure runners weren’t getting too far off course. My role let me see every single person who finished the race – starting with being awestruck by the elite athletes, clapping and shouting for the age groupers, cheering for the middle of the pack, and shouting encouragement for the folks beating the sweeper bus. I’ll never forget how fast the elite athletes seemed when they were zooming right past me, and how great it felt to push the runners who needed a boost at the end of Hains Point.

There are tons of other race day volunteer roles, too, you can visit the volunteer sign-up page to choose one you think you’d like. Bring friends to keep you company – all of the guaranteed entries are transferable so non-runners can get good karma on race day too!

Charity Entries

If you really want to run the 2015 race, we also offer charity race bibs to runners who fundraise for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. You can register as a charity runner and earn a bib for the 2015 race by raising $500 no later than February 28, 2015. You could be training for something bigger than your next PR – your fundraising efforts help treat children regardless of ability to pay. You can even get a whole fundraising team involved to support each other’s efforts! Remember to read through all of the registration instructions – you have to register as a race entry fundraiser to be eligible, and after you raise the $500 there will still be a registration process for the race that you will receive via email.

Bib Transfers

Finally, if you can’t wait until 2016 but you don’t really have a knack for fundraising, we offer a bib transfer process during the month of February. You post what you’re looking for on our forum and hope that someone with a bib they can no longer use is willing to make the transfer. Note: this is the only sanctioned way for one runner to get another runner’s bib. It’s very important that we have accurate information about who is running the race, and the only way to update that information is to use the bib transfer process in February. You can transfer your bib to someone you know and skip the forum arrangements, but for everyone’s safety we do need to be strict about updating bib and runner info through the official process.

I hope to see you at the finish line this year or next – I know you’ll enjoy the race whichever year you join us!