I received entry into Hot Chocolate Atlanta 15k as part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.
I want to preface this with a bit of a disclaimer. The weather sucked on race day. It was literally freezing cold, pouring rain, and miserable. I'm going to whine a lot during the review. None of this is the fault of AllState Hot Chocolate 15k. They cannot control the weather!
Ok, so I already posted about the expo, so let's move on to race morning. We woke up around 6ish to the sound of pouring rain. Legit. Pouring. Rain.
Ugh
My weather app, which has been deleted from my phone, said light rain and 40s. This is what I packed for. No poncho. 2 long sleeve tech shirts.
Not even my toasty running pants. This is gonna get ugly.
The Facebook page was updated with the weather report, and the race director was on point with replies. Races never delay or postpone unless conditions are dangerous. This weather sucked but it was in no way dangerous.
We stalled as long as possible and then walked over to the race. Luckily, we were close by. We were still soaked by the time we got there. We each went to our corrals to wait for the race to start.
The anthem was sung and we heard from Taylor, who benefited from Make a Wish, the charity that the race sponsors. The corrals started on time and we waited our turn to begin the race.
While we waited, the emcee mentioned that mile 1.7 was decision time. This is where the 2 races separate. I had read on the Facebook page that morning that if we wanted to run the 5k we could still get a medal if we had a 15k bib. Hmmm.
Did I mention that the weather sucked? Before the race even began, I was soaked to the skin. I couldn't get warm, and my legs were like lead. I was running a 15:30 pace and the limit for the 15k was 15:00. Ugh.
Even this little ray of sunshine couldn't motivate me. It was mush after the first taste. The volunteers were amazing though! The course had 2 big hills, one at the beginning and one at the end. I heard that the 15k was worse! Atlanta is very hilly, so I expected it. Add those hills to the bad weather and I wanted my mommy more than once.
I finished the 5k (you knew that was going to happen!) And let a group of ladies take selfies with my medal before I headed to the chocolate tent. A Mylar blanket would have been perfection here. I'll have to remember to bring one next time there is weather like this!
Photo cred to Lissa on that one! They wrapped it in plastic which was awesome! I drank my hot chocolate right away, while I made my way to the merch tent to wait for Lissa, who was having a PR day at the 15k!
It was still cold but much drier in there. A very nice man gave me his hand warmers when my teeth started chattering!
After about 20 or 30 minutes, Lissa finished and we headed back to the hotel.
Ok, maybe not too much whining. We cleaned up and put on our super cozy race jackets for the drive home.
One very important thing to mention...all of those race photos above? FREE! Y'all, they give everyone race photos for free. FREE! I'm gonna live off that until my next race! Way to go, Hot Chocolate peeps!
My sad results are finally up on Athlinks! Check them out here!
I'll be running again on Saturday in Charlotte, that's how much I love this series!
Have you run a Hot Chocolate race?
I want to preface this with a bit of a disclaimer. The weather sucked on race day. It was literally freezing cold, pouring rain, and miserable. I'm going to whine a lot during the review. None of this is the fault of AllState Hot Chocolate 15k. They cannot control the weather!
Ok, so I already posted about the expo, so let's move on to race morning. We woke up around 6ish to the sound of pouring rain. Legit. Pouring. Rain.
Ugh
My weather app, which has been deleted from my phone, said light rain and 40s. This is what I packed for. No poncho. 2 long sleeve tech shirts.
 |
| not warm enough! |
Not even my toasty running pants. This is gonna get ugly.
The Facebook page was updated with the weather report, and the race director was on point with replies. Races never delay or postpone unless conditions are dangerous. This weather sucked but it was in no way dangerous.
We stalled as long as possible and then walked over to the race. Luckily, we were close by. We were still soaked by the time we got there. We each went to our corrals to wait for the race to start.
The anthem was sung and we heard from Taylor, who benefited from Make a Wish, the charity that the race sponsors. The corrals started on time and we waited our turn to begin the race.
While we waited, the emcee mentioned that mile 1.7 was decision time. This is where the 2 races separate. I had read on the Facebook page that morning that if we wanted to run the 5k we could still get a medal if we had a 15k bib. Hmmm.
 |
| Looks pleasant, right? |
Did I mention that the weather sucked? Before the race even began, I was soaked to the skin. I couldn't get warm, and my legs were like lead. I was running a 15:30 pace and the limit for the 15k was 15:00. Ugh.
 |
| poor, wet little chocolate chips! |
Even this little ray of sunshine couldn't motivate me. It was mush after the first taste. The volunteers were amazing though! The course had 2 big hills, one at the beginning and one at the end. I heard that the 15k was worse! Atlanta is very hilly, so I expected it. Add those hills to the bad weather and I wanted my mommy more than once.
 |
| finisher chute. still raining. |
I finished the 5k (you knew that was going to happen!) And let a group of ladies take selfies with my medal before I headed to the chocolate tent. A Mylar blanket would have been perfection here. I'll have to remember to bring one next time there is weather like this!
Photo cred to Lissa on that one! They wrapped it in plastic which was awesome! I drank my hot chocolate right away, while I made my way to the merch tent to wait for Lissa, who was having a PR day at the 15k!
It was still cold but much drier in there. A very nice man gave me his hand warmers when my teeth started chattering!
 |
| this is the back of generous dude's head |
After about 20 or 30 minutes, Lissa finished and we headed back to the hotel.
 |
| yes. I do have chocolate on my chin. don't judge. |
Ok, maybe not too much whining. We cleaned up and put on our super cozy race jackets for the drive home.
One very important thing to mention...all of those race photos above? FREE! Y'all, they give everyone race photos for free. FREE! I'm gonna live off that until my next race! Way to go, Hot Chocolate peeps!
I'll be running again on Saturday in Charlotte, that's how much I love this series!
Have you run a Hot Chocolate race?
Reminds me of RnR DC!!! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteLol that's what Eileen said!
Delete