Sat, Oct 3, 2026
Potomac, MD
Entry is $35 now and rises to $40 after Jul 31, 2026, so registering before then saves $5.
The course runs along the C&O Towpath, a packed-dirt and gravel path that follows the Potomac River. It is an out-and-back, so the route is flat and straight with no real navigation to think about. Aid stations with water and nutrition are spread through the course. The longer option is built for runners training toward a fall marathon.
Free race emails
In for this one or still deciding, keep race season near Potomac on your radar: a Monday look ahead and a Thursday rundown of the weekend's races.
Two helpful emails per week. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Going by the 2025 results, this is a small, friendly field, and the field is fairly quick, so expect a competitive front.
20 Miles · 2025 results
Top 3: Drake Platenberg (1:01:39) · Rahul Nandi (1:03:24) · Sean Hicks (1:04:36)
5 Miles · 2025 results
Top 3: Hans Moleman (29:08) · Kyle Hall (29:10) · Sean McLaughlin (29:55)
The National Capital 20 Miler and Janet Braunstein 5 Miler has been held every year since at least 2025. That is as far back as RunSignup's records for this race go, so it may well be older.
Enter a finish time to see where it lands against the most recent 20 Miles results.
How we calculate these stats: RunSesh calculates these figures from the most recent published results of past editions, sourced from RunSignup. We show aggregates only: field size, winning and median times, and the cutoff. We never publish individual finisher tables. Last updated Jul 27, 2026.
Set a goal and get a pace band: every mile split on a card sized for your phone lock screen, so race morning needs no math.
Traveling for this race? The map shows hotels and rentals in and around Potomac — pan or zoom to compare what's nearby.
The map is provided by Stay22. If you book through it, RunSesh may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it never affects the races we list.
Almost certainly not. Half the 20 Miles field finished slower than 1:29:37, and the last recorded finisher came in around 2:32:02, so there is a long tail of runners behind the middle of the pack. Most fields are far slower than people expect.
It is a small race (85 finishers), which is friendlier and less intimidating than a big-city event, though the field thins out. There is no qualifying time, and the finish-time spread above shows how varied the field really is. If it is your first 20 Miles, that spread matters more than the winner's time.
The 20 Miles winner ran 1:01:39 while the median finisher took 1:29:37. That spread points to a relatively quick field, so expect a competitive front end.
