The first Capital Challenge three-mile road race was held on Sept. 10, 1981, in East Potomac Park in Washington D.C. There were 201 finishers from the three branches of the federal government and the media that day, including Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, whose time of 18:15 remains the fastest ever by a senator.
Jeff Darman founded the race as a team event, with five-person teams captained by members of Congress, federal judges, administration officials and on-air and bylined journalists. Initially the times for only the top three runners were used to determine the winning team in each division. But that was changed so that the times for all five runners counted, to ensure that the team captains had to finish in order for their team to be eligible.
Over the next decade, the race grew from 307 finishers in 1982, to 433 in 1983 and 514 in 1986. It cracked 600 finishers for first time in 1989.
The Capital Challenge has always benefitted a charity. The original beneficiary was the national Special Olympics organization. Then it became DC Special Olympics, followed by Wounded Warriors and Fidelco Guide Dogs. Since 2019, all entry fees and additional donations from race sponsors totaling nearly $700,000 have gone to Junior Achievement USA, and its financial education initiatives serving more than 4.6 million students nationwide.
Prominent participants have included current and future U.S. vice presidents, Supreme Court justices, Cabinet secretaries, House and Senate leaders, White House press secretaries, Joint Chiefs of Staff members, Pulitzer Prize winners and network TV anchors.
The event was held every September at East Potomac Park from 1981-2000. There was no race in 2001, due to 9/11. In 2002, the date switched to May and the location changed to Anacostia Park. The 2010-11 races were moved back to East Potomac Park due to construction issues at Anacostia Park. The race returned to Anacostia Park in 2012 and was held there every May until 2020, when the race was cancelled due to COVID. The race resumed at Anacostia in September 2021, and switched back to May starting in 2022.
Nike sponsored the race from its inception through 1996. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) sponsored it between 1997 and 2003. The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) became the title sponsor since 2004. ACLI bought the race from Darman in 2023.
The race’s iconic logo features Abe Lincoln and George Washington running in athletic gear. The logo has remained largely the same over the years. An American flag was added for several years after 9-11; Abe and George’s running shorts were lengthened a while back, and in 2025 they started wearing historical hats.
1984 Olympic women’s marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson was the race’s first celebrity runner in 1985. Many other Olympians and running luminaries including Meb Keflezighi, Deena Kastor and Keira D’Amato have since supported the participants as the Capital Challenge celebrity runner.