| Top international fields, including Mohammed El Youssfi, Weini Kelati & Karissa Schweizer, expected at 53rd edition; $80,600 prize purse with $42,600 in USA 10 Mile National Championship money; plus $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus qualifying and points also on the line in DC |
| WASHINGTON, DC – (April 8, 2026) – The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile on Sunday morning, April 12 will host the third stop on the 2025-26 PRRO Circuit, and like past race editions, competitive international and U.S. fields with six Olympians, vying for the win and a piece of the more than $80,000 guaranteed prize purse, are expected on the streets of the nation’s capital. For the fourth consecutive year, the race hosts the USATF 10 Mile Championships. The top runners expected at Cherry Blossom include: MEN: Mohammed Ahmed (CAN), 2020 Tokyo Olympic 5000m silver medalist, 2024 Olympian & 10 Mile debut; Mohammed El Youssfi (MAR), 2026 Gate River Run 15K champion; Kieran Tuntivate (THA), 2020 Olympian 10,000m & 5000m / 10,000m / 10K national record holder; Athanas Kioko (KEN), 4th 2026 Cooper River Bridge Run 10K (28:16); Aidan Reed (USA), 6th 2026 Atlanta Half Marathon & 6th 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (45:58); Jack Aho (USA), 3rd 2026 Cooper River Bridge Run 10K (28:08); Frank Lara (USA), 8th 2026 Cooper River Bridge Run 10K (28:37) & 2020 USA 15K champion; and Jared Ward (USA), 6th 2016 Rio Olympic Marathon WOMEN: Asayech Ayichew (ETH), 2024 Dam tot Damloop 10 Mile winner, 50:56 10 Mile personal record; Weini Kelati (USA), 2024 Olympian 10,000m & USA Half Marathon record-holder (1:06:04); Norah Jeruto (KAZ), 2024 Olympian & 2022 World champion 3000m steeplechase (8:53.02, championship & national record); Laura Galván (MEX), 8th 2026 Aramco Houston Half Marathon (1:07:31, national record); Karissa Schweizer (USA), 2020 & 2024 Olympian 5000m / 10,000m & 10 Mile debut; Everlyn Kemboi (KEN), PRRO Circuit points women’s leader & 3rd 2026 Gate River Run 15K; Emma Grace Hurley (USA), 2026 Shamrock Shuffle 8K winner (24:29, American Record) & 3rd 2025 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (51:04); and Molly Born (USA), 2026 USA Half Marathon & 2025 USA Marathon champion Elite bios can be found HERE. The 53rd edition of Cherry Blossom offers a guaranteed prize purse of $80,600 ($32,000 in the international division and $48,600 in the U.S. division) plus time bonus incentives (sub-46 men and sub-52 women) and world ($5000), American ($5000) and event ($3000) record bonus money. The 2026 Cherry Blossom champions will also earn automatic eligibility to compete for the $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus at the 29th PRRO Championship hosted by the Quad-City Times Bix 7 on July 25, 2026 in Davenport, IA. In addition, the 2-10 Cherry Blossom finishers will earn valuable PRRO Circuit points, with the top 5 point scorers overall before the PRRO Championship also qualifying to compete for the Super Bonus at Bix. Before the Cherry Blossom race, the PRRO Circuit points leaders are: for men, Wesley Kiptoo (KEN) & Mezgebu Sime (ETH), tie, and for women, Everlyn Kemboi (KEN), with 10 and 17 points, respectively. Current point standings can be found HERE. “This year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, like past editions, has assembled a world class field capable of producing fast, competitive, down-to-the-wire finishes as they race for the win and more than $80,000 in prize money,” said PRRO President Don Kardong. “Also on the line in Washington, DC, is automatic qualification for the two race winners to compete for the $10,000 Super Bonus at the 2026 PRRO Championship, as well as PRRO Circuit points for the second to 10th finishers.” In the annual “Runner’s Rite of Spring,” more than 19,000 are expected to run the 10 Mile past the world famous Japanese cherry trees in the nation’s capital on a flat, fast course that passes by all the major DC monuments. In addition, on Saturday, April 11, there are 8,000-plus entrants in the accompanying 5K and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Kids Run (600 limit). All three races are again sold-out. At last year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, Americans Charles Hicks and Taylor Roe won their respective races in course record times of 45 minutes, 14 seconds and 49:53. Roe’s time was a World Best (no official 10 Mile World Record category exists per World Athletics) in a women-only event as well the U.S. women’s-only 10 Mile record (10 Miles is an official record distance recognized by USA Track & Field). En route, the rising star also set American women’s-only records at 10K (30:56) and 15K (46:24). The PRRO Circuit showcases world class competition at six of America’s Classic Road Races™, the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, FL, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile in Washington, DC, the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane, WA, the Steamboat Classic 4 Mile in Peoria, IL, the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY and the Quad-City Times Bix 7 in Davenport, IA. The 2025-26 PRRO Circuit offers more than $440,000 in guaranteed prize money overall with $148,100 for U.S. athletes. The PRRO Circuit, a nationwide series of premier non-marathon road racing events, is organized and promoted by the Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO), an alliance of race directors. THE PRRO CIRCUIT 2025-26 SCHEDULE Quad-City Times Bix 7, July 26, 2025, Davenport, IA $50,000 in prize money WINNERS: Alex Maier*, USA, 32:02 and Vibian Chepkirui*, Kenya, 36:41 Gate River Run 15K, March 7, 2026, Jacksonville, FL $72,000 in prize money ($23,000 U.S. prize money) plus $5000 Equalizer gender race and World, U.S. & course record bonus money WINNERS: Mohammed El Youssfi*, Morocco, 43:26 and Chloe Herbiet*, Belgium, 47:58 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, April 12, 2026, Washington, DC $80,600 in prize money ($48,600 U.S. prize money) plus performance bonuses 50th Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K, May 3, 2026, Spokane, WA $81,000 in prize money ($20,000 U.S. prize money) Steamboat Classic 4 Mile, June 6, 2026, Peoria, IL $43,200 in U.S. prize money Boilermaker 15K, July 12, 2026, Utica, NY $65,100 in prize money ($14,500 U.S. prize money) THE 29th PRRO CHAMPIONSHIP Quad-City Times Bix 7, July 25, 2026, Davenport, IA $50,000 in prize money as well as: $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus to male or female Bix winners who are either defending PRRO Champions, have won any of the PRRO Circuit 2025-26 races or finished top 5 in the points system (Super Bonus split if both eligible male and female win) $2500 to male or female Championship winners who have not won any races on the 2025-26 Circuit $1500 to eligible PRRO event champions, males and females, finishing in places 2-10 *Qualified to compete for the $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus at the 2026 PRRO Championship. With their 2025 PRRO Championship titles at Boilermaker, John Korir and Veronica Loleo were the first two athletes eligible to compete for the $10,000 PRRO Super Bonus at the 2026 PRRO Championship hosted by the Quad-City Times Bix 7 in July. In pursuit of the Super Bonus, the pair will join the winners of the 2025-26 Circuit events as well as the top 5 per gender in the PRRO Circuit points system (2-10 finishers score points at each current Circuit race; except, 2-5 finishers score at a U.S.-only Circuit race). To-date, PRRO Circuit events have produced 18 world and 24 U.S. road records, awarded more than $8.9 million in prize money and seen more than 2.8 million runners cross their finish lines. In addition, since 1996, the PRRO Championship race has paid out more than $2.2 million including $218,500 in PRRO Championship bonus money. PRRO Championship and Circuit Year The PRRO Circuit, launched in 1995, starts and finishes the Circuit Year at the same event that will also host the season-ending PRRO Championship race. The reigning titlists of the PRRO Championship, the event winners on the current Circuit and the top 5 in the PRRO points system are eligible to compete for the PRRO Super Bonus at the PRRO Championship. Visit PRRO.org for more information, including its history and past champions, as well as how to join the PRRO Circuit. |