Frederick Women's Distance Festival
About this race
Join us for the 37th annual Frederick Women's Distance Festival!
The Frederick Steeplechasers are bringing this exciting event back to Frederick Community College in 2026!
As with all Steeplechaser races, we will pay your processing fee. The registration fee you see is exactly what you'll pay! No sneaky add-on fees.
Net proceeds will again be donated to The Women's Giving Circle of Frederick County.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information, see our website at https://frederickwdf.com
HISTORY
In 1979, the RRCA started the Women’s Distance Festival in response to the lack of distance running events in the Olympic Games for women. The first Women’s Distance Festival events were held on July 13, 1980, the date of the men’s marathon at the Moscow Olympics. Today, the Women’s Distance Festival celebrates the history of women’s right to participate in running events at any distance and at any age. While women’s participation in distance running nearly matches that of men, the Women’s Distance Festival continues to serve as a celebration of the determination and dedication of women runners across the country.
TEAMS
Participants of the 5k Run/Walk may optionally register as part of a team. In-person runners who are competing on a team are also eligible for individual awards.
Team TypeDescriptionMinimum Team SizeFamilyAny combination of mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, granddaughter, wife, partner, etc (you know who your family is!) 2 FriendsAny company, civic organization, club, friends 4
Registrants who wish to participate in the team competition must provide the team name and team category during registration.
If you are registering a large team and would like to pay in a single payment, contact the race director at info@frederickwdf.com.
SPONSORS
Please consider supporting the event through one of our sponsorship opportunities. See www.frederickwdf.com/sponsors.
TRAINING
The Frederick Steeplechasers Running Club offers a nine-week summer training program for women in preparation for the Frederick Women's Distance Festival 5k. The coaches are excited to be able to bring our beloved women's 5k training program back this year for in-person training runs.
Registration for the training program is separate from registration for the race. Signup at: https://runsignup.com/fsrcwdf5ktraining. The training program is free for members of the Frederick Steeplechasers Running Club. If you're not already a member, you will need to signup before registering for the training program.
For more information about our training program see: https://steeplechasers.org/training/training-programs/wdf-5k-training-program/
Pick your distance
Running
5K Run/Walk
Athletes Serving Athletes 5K
This event is reserved for participants with the Athletes Serving Athletes organization, including athletes, captains, and wing (wo)men.
Little Women 1K Fun Run
1k Fun Run for girls age 13 and under. Registration includes t-shirt and medal.
VIRTUAL 5k Run/Walk
Typical race-day weather
Based on 13 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Frederick, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 6:09 AM and sets at 8:22 PM local time (EDT) in Frederick on August 1, 2026 — 14h 12m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
Reviews
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2026 results — Frederick Women's Distance Festival
599 finishers across 3 distances · leading places in the 5K Run/Walk
| Place | Name | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hannah Toth | 18:20 | 5:54 /mi |
| 2 | Mariah Donovan | 18:38 | 6:00 /mi |
| 3 | Savanna Plombon | 19:06 | 6:09 /mi |
| 4 | Christine Brace | 20:09 | 6:29 /mi |
| 5 | Sherry Stick | 20:21 | 6:33 /mi |
Every finisher is on the results page, filterable by distance, gender and age group.
All results by year
Other races near Frederick
Different organizers, within 40 miles, in the next three months
Sheppard Pratt Turkey Trot in Frederick
Ymca Santa Run 5K/10K and One Mile Elf Run/Walk
Headless Horseman Fun Run & 5K
Pink Ribbon 5K
🏃 Plan Your Next Race in Frederick
Find upcoming events by distance:
- Frederick 5K Races 15 races
- 10K Run Events in Frederick 2 races
- Frederick Half Marathons 4 races
- Frederick Running Calendar 2026 27 races
Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 27 Frederick events
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