My Third Year With The Hot Chocolate Race!

Hey friends! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Like has gotten busy in a good way so posts here may be sporatic but they will be filled with a bunch of good info! Today I wanted to share my experience with the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k race. This is popular race series with dates nationwide and 2020 happens to be my third year running this race!

Disclaimer: I received a race entry to the Hot Chocolate 5k to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

One reason why I sign up for this race year after year is the epic swag! The Hot Chocolate race series doesn’t hold back and every runner (no matter the distance) gets an epic zip-up/hoodie. I’m sure you’re used to cheap t-shirts that get thrown into a drawer and forgotten but that’s not the case with these! Some of my favorite zip-ups are from this race series and this year was no different! It’s cozy and warm and I absolutely love the colors!

The expo for the Houston date takes place at Minute Maid park which is where the Astros play. It’s really neat to check out vendors and pick up race goodies while getting a cool look at the field you probably wouldn’t get otherwise. I didn’t get a good picture of it this time but I could tell many other runners did from social media posts I saw!

Obviously, the main part of this race has to deal with chocolate. Starting with the expo, the chocolate is the star. From small chocolate treats sprinkled between vendors, to the epic Legacy mugs with specialized chocolate bars! You can get a small cup of hot chocolate while you stroll and pick up your bib and goodie bag! This was my third year running the race so I was officially a Legacy runner! I got a special mug, medal, and chocolate bar!

Race morning brought some chilly weather for Houston. The last few years I ran this race, it was hot, muggy, and rainy. This time, it was finally hot chocolate weather! I drank a cup of coffee in my new Legacy mug and got my layers on for the run! It was about the 40s but the route is pretty open so wind would definitely be a factor.

This race takes place in Downtown and down Allen Parkway so parking wasn’t too hard to find. I found the corrals easily as each bib is marked and there are many volunteers helping get people to the right corral. I didn’t mind waiting because the body heat kept us warm! They sang the National Anthem and off we went!

I am still dealing with a bit of a leg issue but I was able to walk and sprinkle in a few jogging intervals. I turned on an Outdoor class from the Peloton app and off I went! It was so nice to enjoy the views of the sun rising over Downtown Houston and I did the intervals I was coached through. I truly had a blast stopping at each chocolate and water stop and the volunteers were so fun!

The 5K route was a quick out and back and soon after the finish, I collected my medal, a water bottle, and a NUUN tablet! This race has NUUN on course and I absolutely love it. Two of my favorite things at a race! Once I had my goodies and I exited the shoot, I went to collect my mug of goodies!

The picture doesn’t do it justice but we received a cup of hot chocolate, some fondue chocolate with banana, pretzels, rice krispy treat, and other cookies to dip into it. It was so yummy and it warmed me up after the race! I sat on the lawn of the park and enjoyed my treat with other runners!

They had a DJ playing music and they were announcing the 5k awards during the time. There were also many photo opportunities around the park. Since it was a chilly morning, I imagine the merch tent was probably selling lots of long sleeve gear.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this race! I was so glad that there was some cooler weather this year and it was so fun to finally achieve Legacy status! I’ll definitely be running this race again next year. Fingers crossed we get good weather again!

Have you ever run a Hot Chocolate race before?