This past weekend was pretty incredible. I got to spend the weekend with one of my best friends, run 15 kilometers, and consume an excessive amount of chocolate. Win, win, win!
You might be wondering how these particular things all fit together. 3 words: Hot Chocolate 15k. (Or maybe that's 4 words, depending on if "15k" is one word or two. I'll let you decide that for yourself.)
Let's backtrack a bit. While living in Montana, one of my close friends had previously done a Hot Chocolate 15k and said nothing but wonderful things about it. Ever since she told me about her experience, I knew I wanted to do one. Luckily, Allstate puts on these races all over the country - including one that is just a few hours away from me in Dallas, Texas! When it was finalized that I was moving back to Texas, I quickly texted my Texas BFF and asked her if she wanted to do the race with me - and now here we are. We even decided to make a short weekend trip out of it and stopped to do some fun things along the road on our way to and from the race. We did some shopping in Spice Village, drank some sweet tea at Magnolia Market, had dinner with a friend at the half-way point of our trek, and even stopped by my in-laws house to pay a quick visit to the nephews. By the time we made it back to Austin after the race we decided to sit back, relax, and watch The Sound of Music to conclude our "weekend getaway". But anyway, back to the race.
If you haven't heard of the Hot Chocolate 15k, it's pretty much what it sounds like. It's a 15k race (though they do also have a 5k option), and at the finish line they hand you some hot chocolate, as well as a bunch of snacks and some melted chocolate to dip them in. Seriously - we dipped everything in chocolate this weekend. We ate marshmallows, pretzels, rice crispy treats, and bananas.... all dipped in chocolate. Talk about motivation, right?
I've done a lot of races over the past few years, but this race was probably one of my favorites. Most runners can likely tell you that there are some races that have just the right energy to make them extra special. This was one of those races.
The enthusiasm of the participants, the volunteers, and the spectators was exactly what you hope for in a race. It was cold, rainy, and entirely too early in the morning - but everyone was SO EXCITED to be there. The entire crowd had that small but simple sparkle that made it feel like a great community event, full of crazy people that like to run absurd distances for fun.
On top of the great energy, this race also gets two thumbs up from me because of the awesome swag we got with our registration. Most races will give you a t-shirt, which is why the runner in your life most likely owns about 100 more t-shirts than any one person ever needs to own. This race, however, came with a very spiffy (and warm) jacket... AND a pretty cool medal at the finish line. They also had an entire tent set up of other merchandise that you could buy if you wanted - so, naturally, I now have about 4 articles of clothing with a hot chocolate 15k logo on them.
I was also very appreciative of the stations along the route for this particular race. Most races will have a few water stations along the way for you to stop at if you would like, or to just grab some water while you pass by. The stations at this race were extra special though, because they offered more than just water. They also offered some sort of electrolyte juice and some small snacks in case you needed that little extra boost during your run. One of the snacks was a very small amount of chocolate chips, one was a singular marshmallow, and one was a small handful of valentine heart candies. It may seem odd to some people to snack on sugary treats while running, but that tiny amount of glucose can really pump you up for the next leg of the race!
Plus, there was a giant inflatable chocolate bar that you could take photos in front of - so that's pretty cool too.
Overall, I absolutely loved this race and would recommend doing it if there is one in your area. The weather wasn't the best, but we made lemonade out of lemons and enjoyed ourselves anyway. My nephew even asked me as I was leaving for the race, "Aunt Laney, why are you going for a run? I don't understand!". His 6-year-old mind might think I'm crazy, and I probably am. But at least I have fun doing it.
Find what makes you happy and do it. Even if your 6-year-old nephew thinks you're crazy.
Happy February, everybun!
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