I received entry into the Hot Chocolate 15K Charlotte as part of being a BibRave Pro. (Ambassador) Check out BibRave.com to find and write race reviews.
My Facebook memories were filled with pics from last year's Hot Chocolate Charlotte 15K. Arm in arm pics of BibRave Pros and local friends, Legacy Medal (next year will be 5 years for me!!) photos, scenery. How crazy that a short time later we would all take to our houses in the hopes of flattening the curve.
This year's event looked a little different. My fellow BibRave Pro, and one of the first friends I met when I moved south 5 years ago,
Lissa organized an amazing race that took place in her hometown of Rock Hill SC. My friend Toni and I planned to walk the 15k, which would be the farthest I have walked since, well, ever. I haven't run since October, except for a mile run I did a few weeks ago, and even then I couldn't go past 10k.
It was 28 degrees at the start, which isn't typical for SC mornings, but is very typical for Hot Chocolate race days! We do get cold mornings here, but they are very rare. We joke that winter lasts two weeks in the south, but it's pretty much true!
Lissa took a poll on Twitter about what snacks to have, and M&Ms were the winner (hooray!) plus the peeps at Hot Chocolate sent her a ton of official Hot Chocolate 15k dark chocolate and some swag. My friend
Anna hooked us up with some
Nuun as well, so we were all set! Every racer got a full tube of Nuun, plus we were able to make some for the table.
We began at 7:30, and Toni and I were having so much fun right away that we missed the first turn. It was easy enough to fix, since we were in a part of Rock Hill that I knew, and soon we were at the first of 3 on course Little Free Libraries. I brought my Hot Chocolate drawstring backpack in case I found any good books.
We found the first one at the White Home, which is where I go to do Goat Yoga so I've visited it before. I usually have very good luck with this one, but nothing that day caught my eye.
Now it was time to pull out the directions. Lissa had marked the course with these arrows, but obviously we missed one already so we needed to stay focused! We were leaving the main street area of Rock Hill, and heading towards Winthrop University, and I didn't know this area as well!
The course was gorgeous. We walked through a neighborhood, all throughout Winthrop, and then back towards the start area.
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| Lissa took this one right after we got un-lost. My pockets are bulging with my nutrition, water, and that drawstring bag. |
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| bike path |
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| save the clock tower! |
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| one of Lissa's arrows |
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| Winthrop |
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| flowers blooming!! |
During our trek through one of the neighborhoods was Little Free Library #2. I loved this one, the back of the library had the coolest wallpaper on it! Plus, I found a book!
As we were finishing the first loop, which was 10K, Toni's asthma started acting up. It was so so cold! My friends Robert and Kyle were waiting for me to walk the 5k part together, so I told Toni that she should wait with Lissa and my Hubs while I did that. Robert messaged me and said they were going to start without me because we were dawdling. (my word, not his!) Hooray! Now we could stop after 10k. I knew my knees would thank me later, and I can tackle the 15k for my Virtual Hot Chocolate Kentucky.
Back to the starting area we went, where we picked up the hubs and headed over to Knowledge Perk for the obligatory Hot Cocoa!
Robert and Kyle joined us for a bit, and then Lissa, and we had a blast hanging out. We took some post race photos, and then it was time for beer and lunch.
After lunch at Legal Remedy Brewing, we went back to the start area, and hit up Dust Off Brewing for another obligatory post race tradition.... beer!
Have you ever done a Hot Chocolate race? If you plan to do one, use HCBR20 for a free hat at checkout!
