Charles County Maryland St. Charles Running Festival
Race morning in Waldorf begins before the sun has properly cleared the rooftops. Runners gather outside Regency Furniture Stadium, home of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball club, lacing shoes and pinning numbers while the Festival Village takes shape around them. By nine in the morning the starting horn sounds and two chip-timed fields, one for the 10K and one for the 5K, set off along certified courses through the St. Charles developments and neighbourhood streets, past parks, and back to the stadium. The gathering pairs a serious morning of running with a food festival, music, games and vendors, and it welcomes spectators whether or not they run. Its latest dated edition took place on Saturday 12 September 2026, partnered with Hospice of the Chesapeake as its signature Charles County event. The sheet title is printed exactly in the layers read, and the published name forms are “St. Charles Running Festival” and “St. Charles RunFest”, two forms that the record keeps apart rather than merging.
About
The St. Charles Running Festival is a running gathering with a festival built around it. Corrigan Sports Enterprises, Inc. organises the event, and its home is Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, which serves as both the start and the finish for the races. The morning programme is built on certified courses, and the rest of the day belongs to the Festival Village and the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival, with games, music, vendors and food and drink. The Festival Village is free and open to the public, so a family can spend the day at the stadium without entering either race, while runners pay a participant fee for their place on the start line — a participant fee, not gate admission — and no race entry figure is stated in the layers read.
Waldorf is the host town, and Waldorf is not the county seat of Charles County; La Plata holds that role. The festival’s name points to the St. Charles developments rather than to any civic centre, and the courses themselves run through those developments and the surrounding neighbourhood streets. Spectators can watch the start, wander the village, and be back at the finish line when the first runners return. The 2026 edition, held on Saturday 12 September 2026 with registration closing the day before, shows the event at its fullest, with its Hospice of the Chesapeake partnership tying the morning of running to a charitable purpose in the county.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
| Sheet title | Charles County Maryland St. Charles Running Festival |
| Published name | St. Charles Running Festival; also billed as St. Charles RunFest |
| Host town | Waldorf, Maryland |
| County seat | La Plata (Waldorf is not the county seat) |
| Venue | Regency Furniture Stadium, home of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs |
| Organiser | Corrigan Sports Enterprises, Inc. |
| Latest dated edition | Saturday 12 September 2026, nine in the morning |
| Race distances | Certified 10K and 5K, chip-timed |
| Festival Village | Free and open to the public |
| Race entry | Participant fee; no figure stated in the layers read |
History
No founding account for this gathering appears in the layers read, and the earliest dated edition found is Saturday 16 April 2011, when a race report records a 10 Mile and a 5K. A second early edition followed on Saturday 14 April 2012, documented in a 5K race report. Those two spring dates show the event already running in the early twenty-tens, yet the record gives no account of who first organised it or how it began, so no founding year is derived here.
The next dated edition is Saturday 23 September 2023, which appears in a handbook layer, marking a shift from the spring calendar of the two early editions. That autumn date did not hold: the 2024 edition was first planned for a September date and then rescheduled, finally taking place on Saturday 13 April 2024 at nine in the morning. Saturday 12 September 2026 is the latest dated edition, returning the gathering to September, with both races starting at nine in the morning, chip timing on the 10K and the 5K, registration closing the day before, and the Hospice of the Chesapeake partnership in place. Taken together, the five dated editions — 2011, 2012, 2023, 2024 and 2026 — show a gathering that has kept returning across a decade and a half, moving between spring and autumn, and building its festival around the races.
For a useful comparison, see the Charles County Maryland SOMD Sunflower Festival for another county festival.
What to Expect
The morning belongs to the runners. Two certified courses leave Regency Furniture Stadium at nine in the morning, one for the 10K and one for the 5K, and both are chip-timed, so every finisher gets an accurate time. The routes run through the St. Charles developments and neighbourhood streets, past parks, and return to the stadium, so the start and the finish share the same ground. The 10K suits runners who want a longer test, while the 5K offers a shorter distance that still carries the full race-day atmosphere.
Once the running begins, the Festival Village opens up around the stadium. It is free and open to the public, and it holds the food festival, the vendors, the music and the interactive games that make the day feel like a festival rather than a race with a car park attached. The post-race party is built around the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival, bringing food and drink, music and games together in one place, so runners finishing their race walk straight into a crowd that is already eating, listening and celebrating. A handbook layer records the variant wording “Taste of Charles County” for the same food rally, and the two wordings are kept apart here rather than merged, with “Taste of Southern Maryland” governing. Because the village charges nothing, a runner’s family can spend the whole morning at the stadium without entering a race, and neighbours can drop in for the food and the music alone.
Planning Your Visit
Arrive early, because the races start at nine in the morning and the stadium fills well before the horn. Registration for the 2026 edition closed on Friday 11 September 2026, the day before the races, so anyone planning to run should treat the day before the event as the deadline rather than race morning itself. Spectators have an easier morning: the Festival Village is free and open to the public, so there is no ticket to buy and no gate to queue at.
Waldorf is the host town, and La Plata, the county seat, lies nearby, so visitors staying overnight have more than one base to choose from in Charles County. The stadium is the centre of the day, and the courses loop out through the St. Charles developments and back, so the best viewing is at the stadium itself, where the start, the finish and the village all sit together. Because the calendar has shifted before — the 2024 edition moved from September to April — visitors should confirm the date and the start time with the organiser’s own announcements before travelling, rather than assuming the previous edition’s date will repeat.
A Sample Itinerary
A good day starts the evening before, when runners confirm their registration, since registration for the 2026 edition closed the day before the races. On the morning itself, arrive at Regency Furniture Stadium well before nine, warm up on the stadium ground, and be at the start line in good time for the horn. The 10K and the 5K start together, and the stadium empties as the fields head out through the St. Charles developments and neighbourhood streets.
While the runners are out on the courses, spectators can settle into the Festival Village, which is free and open to the public. Browse the vendors, find a spot for the music, and sample the food festival as the stalls open. The courses loop back to the stadium, so the finish line is the place to be as the first runners return, and the post-race party built around the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival takes over from there, carrying the day into the afternoon. After the party, allow time to explore Waldorf, and consider a short trip to La Plata, the county seat, before heading home.
How It Compares
The St. Charles Running Festival sits apart from the other running gatherings in the region because it pairs two certified, chip-timed races with a full food festival and a free village, all inside a baseball stadium. Many road races offer a finish-line tent and a medal; this gathering offers a post-race party built around the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival, with games, music and vendors that keep the crowd at the stadium long after the running ends.
The TCMDAC Runs Southern MD 5K, held in White Plains in June 2026, is a different event and should not be confused with this one. It is a single-distance run in another Charles County community, held in early summer, with none of the festival apparatus that defines the Waldorf gathering. Within the gathering itself, the two distances offer a genuine choice: the 10K is the longer test, while the 5K is shorter and faster, and both are certified, chip-timed, and finished at the stadium, so the choice is about distance rather than about the quality of the day.
Your Checklist
- Confirm the date and the nine o’clock start with the organiser’s own announcements before travelling, since the calendar has shifted before
- Register before the deadline, noting that registration for the 2026 edition closed the day before the races
- Arrive at Regency Furniture Stadium early enough to warm up before the start
- Bring running shoes suited to neighbourhood streets and park paths
- Plan spectator time around the stadium, where the start, the finish and the village all sit together
- Leave room in the day for the post-race party and the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival
- Remember that the Festival Village is free and open to the public, runner or not
- Allow time after the party to explore Waldorf and nearby La Plata, the county seat
Beyond the Festival
Waldorf is a community built around the St. Charles developments, and the festival’s courses show visitors those neighbourhoods and parks at running pace. The stadium itself is home to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball club, so the venue carries a sporting character beyond the single day of the festival. La Plata, the county seat, lies nearby and offers a quieter counterpoint to Waldorf’s busier streets, worth an hour or two after the party ends. Charles County sits in Southern Maryland, and its towns and waterways give the region a character distinct from the busier corridors to the north, so visitors who come for the race and stay for the food festival will find the day opens a window onto a county worth pausing in.
Why It Matters
A running festival matters when it brings people together around something they can share, and this gathering does that in two ways at once. It gives runners certified courses and chip timing, which are the marks of a serious race, and it gives everyone else a free village and a food festival, which are the marks of a community day out. The event is not only for the fast or the fit; it is for families, neighbours and spectators as well, and the stadium setting keeps all of them in the same place. The charitable partnership with Hospice of the Chesapeake in the 2026 edition gives the gathering a further purpose, turning a morning of sport into support for hospice care in the county, and the dated editions stretching back to 2011 show a community event that has kept returning across a decade and a half, shifting its calendar when it needed to and holding onto its stadium home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I enjoy the Festival Village without running a race?
Yes. The Festival Village is free and open to the public, whether or not a person runs, and the post-race party built around the “Taste of Southern Maryland” food festival welcomes everyone too. Spectators can watch the start, browse the vendors and eat at the food festival without entering either race, and race entry itself is a participant fee, not gate admission.
Which distances does the morning programme offer?
The morning programme offers a certified 10K and a certified 5K, both chip-timed and both starting at nine in the morning from Regency Furniture Stadium. The courses run through the St. Charles developments and neighbourhood streets, past parks, and finish back at the stadium. An earlier edition also included a 10 Mile race, documented in the 2011 race report, but the recent editions in the record run the 10K and the 5K.
Why did the 2024 gathering move from September to April?
The 2024 edition was first planned for a September date and then rescheduled, finally taking place on Saturday 13 April 2024 at nine in the morning. The layers read record the move without giving a reason for it, so no reason is offered here. The move does show that the calendar can shift, so confirm the date with the organiser’s own announcements before travelling.
What does the Hospice of the Chesapeake partnership mean for the 2026 gathering?
The 2026 edition partnered with Hospice of the Chesapeake as its signature Charles County event, which ties the morning of running to charitable support for hospice care in the county. The layers read do not give further particulars, such as fundraising figures, so none are stated here.
What to Expect From the Next Charles County Maryland St. Charles Running Festival
How often is Charles County Maryland St. Charles Running Festival held?
The dated editions in the record fall in 2011, 2012, 2023, 2024 and 2026, which is roughly one gathering per year when it runs, with gaps between some editions and no edition documented for the years in between. The calendar has shifted between spring and autumn across those editions.
When is the next Charles County Maryland St. Charles Running Festival?
No date beyond Saturday 12 September 2026 has been published in the material consulted, so the next gathering remains unannounced at the time of writing. The most recent editions were held in April 2024 and September 2026, which shows the calendar can fall in either season.
Will the dates change?
They have changed before, so a change is possible. The 2024 edition moved from a September date to an April date, and the 2026 edition returned to September. Visitors should confirm the date and the nine o’clock start with the organiser’s own announcements before making travel plans.
The St. Charles Running Festival is, at its heart, a morning of running inside a day of food, music and community, staged in a ballpark in Waldorf and open to everyone. Its certified courses and chip timing give runners a serious test, its free village and food festival give spectators a full day, and its charitable partnership gives the whole gathering a purpose beyond the finish line.
