Do you want want to start 2020 with a race? Establish a standard for running for the new year? Lean into the punch after a New Year’s Eve party? Want to enjoy some unseaonable warmth? Do you just want to run with some other people? A variety of races and running events are yours for the striding, and three – The New Year’s Day 5k in Reston, the New Year’s Day 5k in Gaithersburg and the Predicitions and Resolutions 5k – are among RunWashington’s 2020 ranked races.
This is also a reminder that if you manage a road race in the D.C. area, the best way to reach the audience you want is to post your race on our free online calendar. As much as I’d like to say people come here for our prose and journalism, day-in and day-out, most people are also checking out the calendar.
8:30 a.m. Kensington parkrun 5k (Kensington, Md.) – Registration
The free weekly time trial makes an encore on Wednesday and is the earliest New Year’s Eve event (they say it’s not a race but there’s an order of finishers and times are kept, so you can debate semantics with them in person) to allow for runners to also participate in the College Park event two hours later. You have to register ahead of time and bring a printed bar code to be timed.
9:30 a.m. New Year New Day 5k/10k (Ashburn, Va.) – Registration
Ashburn may be the farthest west of local New Year’s Day races, but it plays host to some of the earlier races, with 5k and 10k courses that loop neighborhoods surrounding House 6 Brewing, which offers a post-race breakfast.
10 a.m New Year’s Day 5k (Reston, Va.) – Registration
The course starts and finishes at Reston Town Center and follows a USATF-certified course onto the W&OD Trail and back.
10 a.m New Year’s Day 5k (Gaithersburg, Md.) – Registration
The first of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club’s low-key (and low-cost) races, the race features several out-and-back stretches where you can easily see who else got up for the race.
10:30 a.m. College Park parkrun 5k (College Park, Md.) – Registration
Held with the Prince George’s Running Club, it’s the same routine as Kensington. You have to register ahead of time and bring a printed bar code to be timed.
10:30 a.m. Fletcher’s Cove parkrun 5k (Washington, D.C.) – Registration
This one is on the C&O Canal Towpath. You have to register ahead of time and bring a printed bar code to be timed.
Noon – Predictions and Resolutions 5k (Arlington, Va.) – Registration
The D.C. Road Runners’ annual New Year kickoff allows the greatest opportunity to sleep in. The USATF-certified course starts at Washington-Liberty High School and heads down and back up the Custis Trail.
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St Louis Hawks 5K & Fun Run
2023 will be the 10 year anniversary of the St. Louis Hawks 5K and Fun Run for Health & Wellness. The USATF certified course runs through the historic Hollin Hills neighborhood in Alexandria, VA.
The Hawks 5K goal, in conjunction
Columbia 5K/3K Race to Feed The Hungry
The out and back Falls Church City 5K/3K course is mostly flat on the W&OD Trail starting and finishing at 103 Columbia Street. Overall male and female winners earn free shoes and medals are awarded to all categories. Great family
