New Year’s Day races abound in the D.C. area

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.