WHO WOULDN'T RUN FOR CHOCOLATE?

A race in January with a Hot Chocolate theme; now that is an event that caught my eye. The Hot Chocolate 5K and 15K series came to San Francisco for the first time this year after being established in 2008 with the inaugural Chicago Hot Chocolate 15/5K. At first I thought I was going to have to pass up what looked like a fun run with a very tempting reward at the end because I would be off skiing in Tahoe. It turned out that the weather/lack of precipitation didn’t cooperate with the ski plan but it provided perfect running weather in San Francisco.
 

I’ve had both bad and great experiences when it comes to first time events. There was that inaugural triathlon in Napa when the weather was in the high 90s and they ran out of cups on the run course. They still had water and the volunteers were picking up used cups from the ground and refilling them. Almost 100 degrees 2 and a half hours into a race, I didn’t really care, I just needed water. That’s when I learned it’s always a good idea to carry a bottle of some size. Then there was Ironman Lake Tahoe which had its glitches but it all worked out well for me. Given the fact that there was the promise of chocolate at the end, I thought this inaugural event would be worth the risk.

The Hot Chocolate run series is put on by RAM racing which I had never heard of. Since I was optimistically praying for snow, I waited until three days before the event to register. The on-line registration process was easy although they were out of hoodies in my size.  I opted for a men’s XL and if I wasn’t able to exchange it after the race I could give it to my husband. The packet pick-up was at my all time favorite store, the Sports Basement. Packets could be picked up either Friday or Saturday before the Sunday event. Packet pick-up was very organized, no waiting, and I was able to exchange the men’s XL hoodie for a woman's in my size. They were serving marshmallows dipped in warm, gooey, and thick chocolate fondue just to get us primed for reaching the finish line. 
 

The organizers were very conscious of the impact 10,000 runners could have on the neighborhoods around Golden Gate Park, so they had two shuttle options from two different ends of the city.  One from a BART and MUNI stop and the other from a large parking lot. There were some grumblings in social media about the costs and suggested early arrival times of these options, but I think it offered a nice alternative and was well utilized.

I opted to drive my easy to park SMART and car pool from my house with Roberto.  We met up with 3 friends of Roberto's at the race.
 

The race organization was pretty impeccable. Timing
chips were in the number bibs, there was a large tent for sweat check at the start, an abundance of porta-potties, and there were starting corrals. The corrals were lettered and each bib had a corresponding letter based on the estimated pace we put in at the time of registration. All 5 of us were in the same starting corral, which was not planned. Given the early hour and nearby neighborhood there wasn't any blaring music at the start. The announcer sounded like he could have been a DJ at an easy listening radio station. They started the race in waves, allowing a few minutes between starting corrals which spread us out enough that there was room to run as soon as we crossed the timing mat. There were timing mats along the course and at the turnaround keeping it an honest race. 
 

This was the first time for me running a 15K distance race. My training plan called for an hour run at an easy aerobic pace. I knew I wasn't going to be able to run 15K in an hour even at my fastest pace, so I told myself I'd at least keep with the easy pace part of my plan rather than running it as a race. I started out nice and slow allowing Roberto and the others to go on ahead without me. About two miles into the run I saw another woman who is also coached by Chris Hauth and she introduced me to the women she was running with who had all been at Ironman Lake Tahoe. I had fun chatting with them off and on over the next four or five miles, although I had to up my pace to keep up with them, passing and being passed by Roberto and friends at different points along the way. All in all, I liked the 15K distance and loved the chocolate reward at the end.
 

I was expecting to get a ceramic mug of hot chocolate and somehow having to compete with my fellow runners to get a few bites of chocolate fondue. Although I was a little disappointed not to get a ceramic mug, what they did was ingenious. There were enough stations and volunteers that we didn't have to stand in line to receive a large plastic mug. It was partitioned so that it held a cup of hot chocolate, a well of delicious warm melted chocolate and various things to dip into the chocolate: a marshmallow, banana, rice crispy treats, pretzels and a wafer cookie.
 

Overall, I'd give this race an A grade and recommend it. By the way it doesn't matter if you do the 5K or 15K, everyone gets the same goodie bag and post race chocolate. If you like the idea of running for chocolate you can even be a Chocolate Ambassador. Ambassadors agree to promote the race and get rewards based on the number of people they get to sign up with their code. RAM racing is still taking applications or be an ambassador for the Seattle race which will be on March 2. This is the link: http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/seattle/61-2/