The St. Jude Rock ’n’ Roll Washington DC runs on Saturday, 20 March 2027. The half marathon starts at 8 a.m. at Constitution Avenue and 14th Street NW. The 5K starts at 7:30 a.m. Both finish at 4th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in front of the Capitol. The finish line festival runs 8:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The date is also opening day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs 20 March to 11 April 2027. Two room demands land on one Saturday.
What the official program carries
The race accommodations page lists 26 properties with a starting rate for each. The floor is $169 at Hotel Washington. The ceiling is $369 at the Marriott Marquis Washington DC. Eighteen listings carry a booking deadline between 1 February and 22 February 2027. Eight publish a rate with no date.
Two entries share a name. Homewood Suites Washington DC / Convention Center appears at $219 with a 15 February deadline and at $209 with no deadline. Confirm which inventory a request reaches before quoting it.
The deadline ladder
1 February: The Quincy Hotel DC, $245. The only 1 February deadline in the program, and 47 days before race day.
15 February: Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC / US Capitol, $199. Eaton, $209. Homewood Suites Washington DC / Convention Center, $219.
16 February: Kimpton Banneker, $249. The Darcy Hotel, $224.
17 February: Le Meridien Washington DC - The Madison, $185. AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill Navy Yard, $229. The Royal Sonesta, $230.
18 February: Marriott Marquis Washington DC, $369. JW Marriott DC, $338. Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC / Downtown, $249. Hotel Washington, $169.
19 February: Holiday Inn Washington Capitol - National Mall, $229.
20 February: Capital Hilton, $227. Riggs Washington DC, $279. LYLE Washington DC, $209.
22 February: Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, $189.
20 February falls on a Saturday. A desk that closes a group block on Friday afternoon needs to work that deadline on 19 February.
The earliest deadline in the program
The Quincy closes first, on 1 February, at $245. No other property carries a date in the first two weeks of the month. A group that wants the decision behind it books the Quincy or waits.
15 February is three deadlines
Three properties share the 15 February date, and the spread between them runs $20. Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC / US Capitol opens at $199, Eaton at $209 and Homewood Suites Washington DC / Convention Center at $219.
A team that reads the day as the Eaton date pays $10 more than the Hilton Garden Inn on the same deadline and $20 more than the Homewood Suites. Read the whole date before quoting one property off it.
The low end of the ladder
Hotel Washington opens at $169 with an 18 February deadline. Le Meridien Washington DC - The Madison opens at $185 with a 17 February deadline. Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel and Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington DC Capitol - Navy Yard both open at $189. The Sheraton carries a 22 February deadline. The Homewood Suites listing carries none.
Weighing the $189 Sheraton
The Sheraton closes last in the program. Its 22 February deadline arrives four days after Hotel Washington and the Marriott Marquis close, and 21 days after the Quincy.
On rate the Sheraton sits behind two lower starting rates in the same program, $169 and $185. Its case rests on the 26 days between the deadline and race day. For a group that cannot commit in February, that slack is the product. The premium over the cheapest rate is $20 a night.
The accommodations page publishes no distance from the start line for any property. Ask the property for the route to Constitution Avenue and 14th Street NW, and ask the transit operator for the race-morning service window before the group relies on it.
What the expo adds
The Health & Fitness Expo runs Thursday 18 March from noon to 7 p.m. and Friday 19 March from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., in Hall C of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW. The expo page routes visitors on the Red line to Gallery Place-Chinatown, and on the Green and Yellow lines to Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street Convention Center.
A Thursday bib pickup forces a Wednesday arrival, and a Saturday start forces a Friday night.
The tax on top of every rate
District hotels charge a 15.95 percent transient accommodations rate. The Office of Tax and Revenue states that the temporary increase is extended through 30 September 2027, which covers this race.
At that rate, $169 runs about $196 a night and $369 runs about $428. A three-night stay runs from about $588 at the bottom rate to about $1,284 at the top, tax included.
What to confirm before you book
Race registration is non-refundable and non-transferable. The room’s cancellation term carries the whole risk of a change in plan.
Ask each property for three things in writing: the cancel-by date and its penalty, whether the quoted rate holds if the Saturday sells out, and whether the figure includes the 15.95 percent tax.
The earliest decision belongs to the Quincy and to the three 15 February properties. The cheapest nights belong to Hotel Washington and Le Meridien. The Sheraton buys time. Book the property whose deadline the group can meet.