The National Capital Bank (NCB) Capitol Hill Classic road races are a major community event and an annual fundraiser for the Capitol Hill Cluster School, a DC public school with over 1,000 students.
2025 marks the 44th annual running of the Classic, which includes a 10K race, a 3K race, and a kids’ fun run and is the only race run exclusively on the roads of Capitol Hill. Approximately 4,000 - 5,000 people are expected to participate in the Classic.
Packet Pickup and On-Site Registration
The primary site for packet pickup and on-site registration will be at Peabody Primary School (at 425 C St NE).
Packet Pickup dates and times are as follows:
Friday, May 16th from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 17th from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Sunday, May 18th from 7:00 AM to 8:15 AM (smaller staff will remain until 11:00 AM to handle 3K & fun run participants)
Race Day Schedule
Race day is Sunday, May 18th, 2025, and all races will start and finish in front of Peabody Primary School (425 C St NE). See the course maps for complete details on the start/finish and courses.
10K race start: 8:30 AM
3K race start: immediately following conclusion of 10K (approximately 10:30 AM)
fun run start: immediately following conclusion of 3K (approximately 11:00 AM)
T-Shirts
The 2025 race T-shirt is a technical T-shirt. We’ll have unisex/men's cut shirts, as well as women's cut and children’s T-shirts.
Bike Valet
We’ll have the good folks from Two Wheel Valet on-site to provide you with a place to stash your bike for free during the race! Just look for them in Stanton Park; they should be set up on the eastern side of the park (alongside 6th St NE).
Bag Check
There will be bag check available at the race. In the case of good weather, it will be in Stanton Park, across the street from the Peabody Primary School. In the event of inclement weather, bag check would be moved inside of the Peabody school building. You will need to attach the pull-off tag from your bib to your bag before checking it; we strongly recommend that people not check valuables, however, and ask that you don’t overstuff your bag or put heavy items in it.
Timing
Race bibs for the 10K and 3K will have ChronoTrack B-Tags attached to the back, which will allow precise timing of the races. Please follow the directions for pinning your bib on so that your tag can be accurately read on the race course!
Water and Fuel
There will be two water stations on the 10K course - one around mile 2 and the other around mile 4. There will be one water station on the 3K course, roughly halfway into the race on East Capitol Street. There will also be post-race food and water set up in Stanton Park just past the finish line.
Awards
Awards will be given for the top overall finishers in both the 10K and 3K races, as well as age-group winners in the 10K.
first place man, woman, and non-binary runner, $150
second place man, woman, and non-binary runner: $125
third place man, woman, and non-binary runner: $100
Age group medals will go to the top man, woman, and non-binary finishers in the following age groups in the 10K race only:
under 15
15-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-79
80+
Finally, an award will be given to the fastest team in the 10K and the 3K, calculated from the fastest three members of each team. (Note that teams must be co-ed, and must have at least four members, to be included in the prize consideration.)
The awards ceremony will take place in front of Peabody Primary School immediately after the conclusion of the Fun Run (approximately 11:00 to 11:30 AM).
Strollers
Runners with jogging strollers are allowed to participate in the NCB Capitol Hill Classic 10K and 3K races! However, the presence of strollers on the course increases the chances of injury to participants and children, so we strongly ask that if you’re considering using a stroller, you abide by the following guidelines.
At the start of the races, please line up behind the runners.
Please use a real (e.g., three-wheeled) jogging stroller which has a wrist strap you can attach.
Getting Here
With the limited on-street parking on Capitol Hill, the easiest way to get to the race is either via bike, bikeshare, or rideshare; if you're relying on Metro, remember that Metro now opens up at 7:00 AM on Sundays. If you're biking, thanks to the amazing folks at Two Wheel Valet, we will have a free bike valet on-site in Stanton Park. If you're navigating via bikeshare or rideshare, your destination is 425 C St NE. And then if you're going to Metro, take the Blue or Orange lines to Eastern Market or the Red line to Union Station and walk to 5th St and C St NE.
About the Classic and the Cluster
The funds raised through the NCB Capitol Hill Classic help to bridge the gap between the DC Public Schools budget and the money needed to fund field trips, buy art supplies, support classroom projects, provide professional development for our teachers, and fund the gardens and teachers’ requests.
The Capitol Hill Cluster School is a unique DC public school on three campuses serving students from age 3 through 8th grade with a variety of strong educational programs. We are also training many of our older students to be able to run the 3K, and offer students the ability to earn a bib through raising money to support the Cluster School.