Local residents should prepare for road closures this weekend thanks to the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run & 5K Run-Walk and coordinating Cherry Blossom Kids Run.
That’s right, more than a week past peak bloom, and even after a brief tornado scare, some cherry blossoms are still hanging on. Runners will take in the remaining flowers — and those piling up on the ground — Sunday during the race around the Tidal Basin and East Potomac Park.
The half-mile Cherry Blossom Kids Run will happen Saturday and start and finish at the National Building Museum.
For the kids run, there will be no parking from 5:30 a.m. to noon on Fifth St. NW between F and H streets NW and on G St. NW between Fifth and Fourth streets NW. Road closures will be in effect on Fifth St. NW between F and H streets NW and G Street between Fourth and Sixth streets NW from 5:30 a.m. to noon.
Road closures for the ten mile run and 5K on Sunday extend around the Tidal Basin and Hains Point and on some surrounding roads. The closures will begin at around 1 a.m. and end at about 11 a.m., with the timing of specific closures depending where in the course they are. Access to Memorial Bridge will be cut off from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Here is a full map of the road closures, provided by the run organizers.
Not a runner? There’s lots of other ways to get swept up in Cherry Blossom fever, including several options this weekend.
Avery Kleinman