The City of Washington, DC has regained the Metropolitan Cup after a one-year leave of absence in Arlington County, Virginia. The cup is awarded to the Metropolitan Washington area's finest fitness jurisdiction based on results from the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile held in Washington, DC on April 1, 2007.

The Metropolitan Cup is a team competition among teams from Washington, DC and the surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties. Teams consisting of the fastest 40 men, 40 women, and the next 20 runners of either sex are drawn from finishers from Washington, DC; Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland; and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the City of Alexandria in Virginia.

"The winner of this competition gets a trophy and bragging rights for their home jurisdiction as the most physically fit place to live in the Metropolitan area," said Event Director Phil Stewart. "When I see all the runners filling the streets and parks of our Nation's Capital, I am not surprised that the city of Washington has taken this title. However, I am sure that the surrounding counties will not take this lying down and will be back to try to return the Cup to the suburbs in 2008."

The final team scores showed the District's top 100 scoring runners with a combined time of 108 hours, 38 minutes and 15 seconds (an average time of 1:05:11 per runner) with Fairfax County narrowly eclipsing Montgomery County for second place with a combined time of 111 hours, 4 minutes and 44 seconds (1:06:39 average per runner) to Montgomery County's time of 111 hours, 42 minutes and 25 seconds (1:07:02 average per runner). Defending champion Arlington County slipped to 4th place with a combined time of 112 hours, 20 minutes and 4 seconds (1:07:25 average per runner). Steve Meinelt (11th place male in 48:45) and Kerry Meagher (15th place woman in 58:14) were the top Washington, DC male and female finishers respectively.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile is Washington, DC's only World Class running event, featuring the world's finest road runners competing for $35,000 in prize money and bonuses, along with 10,500 runners from throughout the Washington, DC area and across the country. The flat, fast course starts and finishes in West Potomac Park, passes by many of the city's monuments, crosses Memorial Bridge, and tours Rock Creek Park during the city's prettiest time of year. The race fills to capacity in just a matter of days more than four months prior to race day.

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a partnership of credit unions and affiliated organizations, serves as the title sponsor. More than $2.5 million dollars have been raised for the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) and its local affiliate, Children's Hospital, since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor in 2002. The 2007 event raised a record amount of $828,000. The event is part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Complete Metropolitan Cup results

1. Washington, DC           108:38:15
2. Fairfax County           111:04:44
2. Montgomery County        111:42:25
4. Arlington County         112:20:04
5. Alexandria City          121:49:39
6. Loudoun County           134:38:41
7. Prince William County    137:59:01
8. Prince George's County    139:06:57



Past Metropolitan Cup Winners


2007 - Washington, DC
2006 - Arlington County, VA
2005 - Washington, DC
2004 - Washington, DC

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile