It’s cherry blossom season in DC, which means it’s also peak tourist season and that makes running anywhere on the Mall more challenging than normal.



Typically during cherry blossom season, I try to find alternate running routes because I don’t have the patience to spend my whole run dodging people.

But this year, I hadn’t yet made it to see the cherry blossoms. They are at peak bloom, and the weather was pretty perfect today. I couldn’t resist killing two birds with one stone after work. So I braced myself for the madness and went for a run to the cherry blossoms.



As expected, everything from the White House down the the Tidal Basin was a complete disaster. There were people everywhere. Honestly, I don’t know how so many people were able to cram on to some parts of the sidewalk.

I played Frogger with the crowds and eventually got myself to the Tidal Basin, where I stopped running and let myself just be a tourist like everyone else.



The trees looked beautiful and I enjoyed my time walking around and taking pictures.

On my way home, I was eager to find a route that was less crowded so I actually felt like I got somewhat of a workout. After several blocks, I managed to have some open running room and enjoyed a slow and steady run back home.

The crowds and the people-dodging were worth it to get to see the trees at peak bloom in such perfect weather.