Justttt kidding! There was nothing hot about this past weekends Hot Chocolate 15k. Has any of my readers been to a Hot Chocolate 5k/15k event? Let me tell you, IT. WAS. AMAZING! My friend and I had a blast and I cannot wait to tell you how our weekend went. Sit back, grab some hot chocolate and get ready for a sweet ride.
It all stared month and months ago. You normally find out about these awesome races months in advance. To me, the best time to buy a race bib is right when the race opens. The best prices are always when they first open, and that is how I usually get in trouble by signing up for so many! Whoops. When Googling the Hot Chocolate race the first thing you see is a race JACKET! WHAT?? A free race jacket? YES, PLEASE. After seeing this sweet jacket, you have the option of earning a MEDAL! Yes, you heard right. A jacket and a medal. Sign me up and take all my money. (5k=no medal, 15k=medal) Of course if you are “CrAzY” like me, you would sign up for the 15k option.
Fast forward to Friday night.. It was a normal day, work, work, work, pack, unpack, and repack. (I did not want to leave anything) Woke up Saturday to snow on the ground! You heard right! SNOW. Yuck. After a late start we finally got on the road for the 2.5 hour drive. It was a smooth ride, the snow was there one minute gone the next. We arrived around 1 o’clock to the Expo. It was at the Georgia World Congress Center. That place was huge. They had the Hot Chocolate Expo, a cheer leading competition, graduation and I am sure other things going on at the same time. We probably walked a mile just to get where the Expo was. (There might have been some exaggerating in that!!) There were a ton of vendors with anything from headbands to compression socks. They had you covered if you needed anything. I ended up purchasing an “America’s Sweetest Race” long-sleeve T shirt. You get a medal and a jacket with bib purchase..but no shirt! Come on HC!
After packet pick-up we ended up going to check into our hotel and then grabbing dinner. I suggest the Hilton Garden Inn by the Atlanta Airport. It was super convenient to everything and even closer to Turner Field. Once we got settled in and ready for bed we got the unnerving e-mail that the 15kers might not get to run the race. The temperature had dipped down in the 20’s and the morning of the race the temp felt like 17!! Talk about COLLLLDDDDDD. Luckily we went to Walmart before heading back to the hotel for me another pair of yoga pants, hand-warmers and bagels. We managed to find some emergency blankets, which are like tin foil, so we got a pair of those.
The morning of the race IT. WAS. COLD. I am talking super cold. It would not have been as bad if the wind was not blowing, but of course it was. We got to Turner Field super early just so we could get a good parking space. Two hours in a semi-cold car and emergency tin foil blankets make for great conversation and great laughs.
Standing outside waiting for our wave was the worst. Nothing would prepare you for standing in your corral waiting 10 plus minutes..not even tin foil or hand warmers. We did manage to see an amazingly good tip to share. A girl with duct tape on the top of her shoes. The part that air easily goes into..who would have thought to tape those?? Thanks girls in front of us!! We are definitely shared that with our running group 🙂
After all the blood was lost from our toes and you could barely feel them it was time to begin our race. Ahhh, about time! BURR. Once we got going it was a little crowded, that usually happens when your a slow tortoise like me!! The first couple of miles were a blast. The first stop had strawberry marshmallows and Nuun/water. Once we got to about mile 1.5 we had the option to split from the 5kers to run the 15k route. WOOHOO! We did not miss the cut off. (I am still not 100% sure if they cut anyone off, I have not talked to anyone else that might have been cut off). Next stop was M&Ms. They handed you a cup of tiny of the candy and then Nuun or water. I ate a few of them but then in reality its not good to eat chocolate while running..at least for me it is not. Let us just fast forward to mile 8. I like to call it “mile to heaven”. It was a straight up hill. Literally. All. The. Way. Up. If you have not run in Atlanta, then no judging. They always say run with your heart and not your legs. Well, my heart broke on that mile. I walked up that hill as much as a I could, then went snail pace. My heart was fast repaired when I could hear the announcers cheering runners on. The coolest part of this race was the announcer would pull up your bib number and say “Go Brittany — you are almost home — you got this!!” and the crowd got into it. After crossing the finish line I almost lost it. I have never wanted a race to be done like that before. The cold was taking its tole and I just needed my hot chocolate. Once I got the first couple of sips I knew I was going to be OK.
The after-party was just as cool. Once you got your mug filled with goodies, you got to dance out your cold joints and get pictures with some awesome props. We sorta walked fast through these things since we needed to stretch and showers. Even with it feeling like 17 degrees I still stunk!
Overall, I would grade the Hot Chocolate Atlanta race an 80/100. The corrals were a little jumbled up. I think the Expo needed a little bigger room. It was a little crowded when we got there and not many people who move. The Atlanta Police Department gets a huge high five from me for putting up with us crazies and keeping us safe. I tried to thank every one when we went by. A little suggestion for races…take all kinds of options for weather. I was expecting 55 degree weather and got 25. And last but not least, be a blessing for someone else. I am glad we were able to purchase a few extra hand-warmers to give out to unexpected cold runners.
How was your Hot Chocolate race experience? I bet it was not as cold as ours!
B
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