Hot Chocolate 15k/5k

This race was super fun and chocolate after the race tasted 100x better! What’s better than a banana dipped in chocolate after exercising? The race is very family-​friendly and laid back. I’m definitely going to register again

NOTE: This year, I am an ambassador for the SF Race, so feel free to ask me any questions! You may use my promo code SFSWAGMARANDA to get a special gift with your swag bag :).
I really like this race. I have done it all three years that it has been in San Francisco, and am happy to see it continue to grow! Compared to other big race series of similar distances in this area, I think the price is reasonable (~$ 65 for 15K and ~$ 40 for 5K). You get a sweater instead of a tech shirt, which is pretty sweet, and a nice «finishers’ cup,» which includes hot chocolate, melted chocolate, and various treats to dip in said melted chocolate. The 15K finishers also get a well-​deserved medal for their accomplishment!
Shuttle service is offered from a number of nearby locations, but you must purchase this separately. I have used the shuttle service each year provided from the SFSU lot, as I travel from the South Bay for the race. It is efficient and I have always had a positive experience on both the ride to the race and the ride back.
The 5K course is standard for a course through Golden Gate Park. The 15K course ventures onto Great Highway, and I believe 60−75% of the course runs on that stretch. This gets a bit long, but is more than worthwhile when you’ve got beautiful ocean views! There are several aid stations, and even extra treat stations with marshmallows, m&ms, chocolate chips, etc.
My only constructive criticism for this race is that the expo should be moved to a larger venue. The first year, the race was much smaller and the Sports Basement was able to accommodate the expo. The next year, we moved to the South San Francisco Convention Center. I think the race has outgrown the area allotted to it in the SSF Convention Center, and they need to adjust the layout or find a larger space. The race is tremendously popular (and rightfully so) and will likely continue to grow. The expo gets SO crowded between the amount of people and the limited space provided to the vendors.

As ambassador for the Hot Chocolate 15/​5K Philadelphia I got the opportunity to come run in the San Francisco Hot Chocolate 15/​5K. I was able to opt out of actually going to the expo and based on comments probably for the best especially since it was so far away. But I did use the shuttle bus and that was extremely efficient and made getting to and from the race from the hotel super easy would highly recommend it especially since parking seemed limited around Golden Gate Park. Plus I talked with someone who tried to park and she said getting to the start line was difficult, but even as a bus taker my friend and I also found it difficult.
Bag check and Mug Pick up was super organized and there seemed to be people telling you where to go except near the start line which is what we kind of need cause it was kind of a little away from the party area. The course was gorgeous, less hillier than Seattle but still on the hilly side. But the numbers of walker astonished me, my friends and I ran the 5K. I had a difficult time getting to my corral and actually missed it so I ended up one behind which was corral B, I am not a fast runner so how I ended up assigned to A was beyond me at 1^st but once I spent the 1^st mile dodging walkers I really wished I didn’t miss my corral. I know the 5K usually has more walkers then the 15K but I didn’t expect them until corral D or E, B shocked me, my also friend missed her corral and she planned to run the whole thing as well and had an even harder time dodging walker than I did since she got in even further back than B. Over all it was a great race, loved the course, they could just improve the start and finish line and maybe relooking to corral assignments.

So chocolate is healthy for you. and so is running. so the Hot Chocolate run is an overall win!
Course: The 15k course starts at Golden Gate Park, then it takes you down to the Great Highway where you loop and finish back at the Golden Gate Park. Loved that the course started with down hills, but that means you must go back up… *cues in Miley Cyrus’s THE CLIMB. Okay, it’s not that bad, but kinda bad because you’re so close but so far in the last 2ish miles.
Pros:
— 15K finishers received a deliciously beautiful chocolate bar medal
— Plenty of bathrooms on the course, water/​Nuun stations, marshmallows, chocolates (4 aid stations to be specific)
— Scenic course
— Finisher cup filled with chocolate goodies
— Free photos for download post-​race; yay!
— Very well organized. They had the letters of the alphabet lined up along the sides at the finishers area so you can plan to meet up with your friends at a specific letter
— Cool swag (hot chocolate jacket most notably)
Cons:
— Small expo. kinda no expo.
— This is a personal fault, but I couldn’t finish the hot chocolate because I felt my lactose intolerance coming on after a few sips.
The race sold out in 2016, so sign up early! Also, if you’re unfamiliar with the streets of San Francisco, take the shuttle service that they offer. Otherwise, you might be able to find parking in the surrounding neighborhoods or streets adjacent to the park!

So this review is solely as a volunteer for this race. Read my other review for a perspective on the run itself.
So this year, I didn’t feel like running the race as well, I didn’t feel that the swag was something I really needed. The medal was the same. So nothing absolutely new. So I decided, why not volunteer as the volunteers also get some nice swag. Well I signed up on the site though it was kind of confusing what spots were available, there wasn’t really any info on how long shifts were for and they changed the website design right before the race so it got a little confusing as to whether or not I signed up, what other info I could get from that page, etc. So it was not looking good already.
A week before the race, they send you an email with a link to a page with more information about your shift. My friend could not for the life of her get her link to work. Mine did and wow… what a security hole cause you can basically place an email in the url and you can see that person’s name and the volunteer info. Within this email you get more information about where to meet, your shift, and parking info with a pass. Sweet. Free parking but if you show up before 6am. Uff.
Anyways, we got to the park around 5:35 with some time to spare as they said we needed to be there by 5:45am. We walked to the volunteer tent which is located closer to the port o potty’s on the opposite side of gear check. Okay, well then after signing in, the folks there told us to go to the next tent to pick up our volunteer shirt. Well apparently we were about half an hour too late as there were no more smalls or mediums for the tech half zip hoodies but well they were men’s sizes anyways. It all worked out as it was great to wear over all the other layers to keep us warm. Right next to gear was goods like hot cocoa and granola bars. Now… this is where things go a little awry. We went back to the first tent asking where we should go for start line corral volunteering. She hemmed and hawed saying that oh we might be too late and that they’re likely at the start line already. So ignoring the fact there was a sign for «Start Line» right behind this tent, we walked all the way to the start line and saw nothing… then we walked back and went back to the sign where everyone was standing with orange vests. I approached a group of guys and they seemed to be high schoolers. I asked, «Where did you guys get instructions?» Silence…“Um, did someone tell you guys to put those vests on… can you point us to who that was?” *crickets* Mind you there were like 5 – 6 of these guys just staring blankly at me. It’s like I was speaking in a language outside of English. Are high schoolers really like this? Should I tweet or instagram or put a bunch of emojis to be understood? Well we walked back to that same first tent and someone more official from RAM racing told us oh, you go to the sign you saw, there’s a blue bin with orange vests, put one on and put on a badge. *face palm* Really?
Well we then just stood there for another hour or so until finally they told us what we needed to do for the start corral. So we manned the last corral meant for the 15k folks but no one was allowed to enter until all the 5k-​ers left. I still find it ridiculous that some folks came to run the 5k almost at the start time of the 15k. Well after we got everyone off to run, there wasn’t really any instructions on what to do next, so we walked back to the volunteer tent and asked someone there, they said take off the vest and just wait, but we saw a lot of the high schoolers just wander away. There wasn’t anything stopping us from just leaving. We already signed in. There wasn’t really a check out. That’s where I think this volunteering was flawed.
Well we were then reassigned to the chocolate tent where the mugs were set up to be distributed. Again, there must be something wrong with youths today because they thought this was a race to set up all the mugs even though NO ONE WAS THERE to claim them. They basically tried to stare us down to make us put more but who wants solidified chocolate and a luke warm cup of hot chocolate? I was so frustrated and angry at them that part of me wants to not do this volunteering again next year. I also now have a tactic on which lane to go to. Just look if there’s a lot of mugs waiting or go in a line where there’s a lot of people. You’ll get a fresher set of hot chocolate. Don’t go to the ends because you’ll regret it.
Overall as a volunteer, it could have been better organized. As a runner, it’s a lot better. Next time if I do ever volunteer again, I need to be strategic about when to volunteer and talk some sense into those high schoolers.

The Hot Chocolate 15k/​5k is one of my favorite race series to run. The San Francisco race did not disappoint. I ran it with my little cousin Taylor C. who was a first time 15k’er! The route took us through Golden Gate Park and then along Ocean Beach. The weather happened to clear up right when we took the turn to see the waves and it was beautifully sunny the rest of the way. The last two miles was at a consistent incline and man did it burn my legs out. Thank goodness for the chocolate finisher cup at the end to make me feel better! We got a cup of hot chocolate, a banana, chocolate fondue and pretzels, marshmallows, cookies, and rice Krispy treats to dip. Also LOVED the race medal and the jacket we got for running.
The only downside was that the race expo was small and didn’t have very many vendors and barely any chocolate treats were given out compared to the other cities I’ve done this run in. Aside from that, this run experience was one of my favorites!

One of my favorite races held anywhere, both the 5k and 15k are well-​organized. Though it attracts a lot of casual, social runners — be forewarned that this is a very congested race — the 15k is a challenging course for the serious runner with some serious swag to go with it. I love the digital clocks at each mile marker, but the sweet treats at aid stations were wasted on me. My 9YO daughter was the picture of joy as she crossed the 5k finish line solo, and it’s her favorite of the nine different 5k races (plus at least 3 more shorter events) in which she’s participated. My complaints that keep my review to 4 stars are the inconvenient expo location near SFO and that 5k runners don’t get a finishers medal. Thanks for making running fun for everyone, regardless of age or ability!

Registered around Thanksgiving after my longtime running buddy Ani T. suggested Hot Chocolate 15K as our «reunion race» with Casey O… for some reason SF races tend to bring us together (Bay to Breakers, SF Marathon First Half). Also, my friend Jon K. was a local Brand Ambassador for this race so I heard about it A LOT with all the social media posts. Between Bay to Breakers (past participant) and knowing an Ambassador, both provided special promo codes which got you a free running buff in your goodie bag. The 15K swag also included the embroidered jacket and the heavy-​duty medal. The race course was also a factor that convinced me to sign up, and of course the chocolate. They also offer a 5K distance, you still get the jacket but not the medal. Course time limit is 15 min/​mile (4 mph) speed, so it’s certainly walkable.
Race registration for me (the 15K distance) ended up being $ 74. Packet Mailing would have cost additional $ 14.95, but Ani T. kindly picked up my packet for me at the expo with a copy of my registration confirmation. Actually was able to cancel packet mailing before the payment went through and get the refund (e-​mailing Hot Chocolate support wasn’t a problem). I personally did not go to the Expo but it seemed accessible by BART and walking, and included an area to try on jackets for sizing/​exchanging purposes, and hot chocolate of course. The women’s jacket size S fit me well, and the running buff turned out to be quite useful on race day. Did not have thumbholes or a hood as the 2015 jacket did.
Unlike Bay to Breakers which provides early BART service, we had to drive into the city on race morning (also meant bridge tolls $ 5 each way). Shuttles ran from 5 locations: Civic Center, Union Square, SFSU, Millbrae, Emeryville. Parking pass at SFSU cost $ 10 per vehicle, and the shuttle ticket cost $ 9 per rider I believe (Bauer Transportation). Really long lines standing out in the cold early morning darkness, but just one of the crazy things runners do. What was weird was that NOBODY ever checked for our printed passes upon entry/​exit of the parking garage or boarding/​exiting of the shuttle bus. The small shuttle we took to Golden Gate Park was super rickety, with broken tray tables shaking with every bump in the road. On the way back to SFSU, we got a larger bus which was so much more comfortable.
Lines for bathrooms self-​formed, noticeable lack of TP, probably from all the 5Kers who started before we did? Nobody thought to restock? A bunch of inflatables to take photos with. Walked past the Finishers area where some of the 5Kers already were to get to our starting corral after some time to stretch. No joke, they really did start at 8:20AM. Not sure what letter corral was first to go – I was assigned preferred corral «H» and assumed it started with letter «A,» but after helping a friend get to corral «N» we found out that corral «H» had already left! So we joined in with letter «I» instead, which put us at about 11 – 12 minutes after gun time (~3 minutes between waves; chip timing is all that really matters though).
Cold, wet start, but the sun did eventually come out, and some layer-​shedding followed. Course itself got a little crowded while inside Golden Gate Park, and pretty early on was an uphill stretch, but it was neat along the Great Highway by the beach/​water to see the turnaround and breathe that ocean air. Miles 1 – 3 were hilly, miles 3 – 7 flat, miles 8 till the end were hilly again — not extreme incline but brutal when you’re already near the end. Each aid station had medical, bathrooms, water, Nuun hydration, and sweet treats (chocolate chips before mile 2, strawberry marshmallows before mile 4, M&M’s before mile 6, and chocolate marshmallows before mile 8). What I liked is that each mile marker had a race clock on it (relative to gun time start) so you could easily visually/​mentally see how your pace was from mile to mile. They also had a 5K and 10K marker on the 15K course.
They really tried to prevent huge crowds forming near the finish line, so after you got your water bottle and medal you were ushered back into the Music Concourse area with the merchandise, gear check, and finishers mugs. The medal had a similar candybar design to 2015, but with a cable car instead of the Golden Gate Bridge on it. They even had Runner Reunion areas to find your friends! The finisher mug was blue this year, tear off the bottom of your race bib to claim one. Paper cup of hot chocolate in the middle of the mug, melted chocolate for dipping in one section, and the rest had a whole banana, rice krispie treat, mini pretzels, marshmallow, and pirouette wafers for your fondue pleasure. Also a wet wipe to get that extra drippy chocolate off your hands and face. Race results were posted pretty quickly, and the race photos are free! Overall a good race, organized and cool swag and sweets, but keep in mind that hassle of being in the city and all the extra costs for transportation.

It’s very well organized with plenty of restrooms and water stations.
The course went through some prettier places than most road races
The chocolate fondue is very yummy, but weird to eat so much after a run.
It feels gimmicky
The vendors/​expo are far smaller/​fewer than I expected.
I’d only run this again if I had interested friends.

I decided to start 2016 off with a bang. Months ago, I registered for the Hot Chocolate 5K with the best of intentions. I had never run a 5K before, other than on the treadmill at the gym, but I was excited to run a real race! As the race date loomed, I began to get nervous. I’m not the best «runner» and I began to worry that I’d embarrass myself by not being able to run the full 5K. Despite this, somehow I was able to muster enough motivation for myself and my fiancé to get in the car this morning and drive to SF for the 5K. I am happy to announce that both my fiancé and I were able to successfully «run» (albeit slowly) the full 5K!
This is a very well organized event. The event is located in Golden Gate Park and parking is hard to come by. The event works with another company to provide, at a cost, nearby parking and shuttles. Packets/​goodie bags cannot be picked up at the event, but they can either be mailed to you, at a cost, or picked up at the Hot Chocolate Expo during the days before the event. The goodie bags are great — they include a well made fleece jacket, your running bib and safety pins, and race day information.
At the actual event, the 5K is run first followed by the 15K (which I someday hope to run). Runners are organized by running time into corrals. Then, at 3 minute intervals, runners are allowed to start running. Throughout the course, there are cute Hot Chocolate Run themed displays. There are also hydration stations as well as chocolate stations along the course. After the race, there is also a post-​race party, where runners are able to pick up their finisher mugs — this delicious mug that contains hot chocolate, chocolate fondue, and various treats. Unfortunately, only 15K runners get finisher medals. Will probably be running this again next year!

Removed a star because packet pick up is in South San Francisco which for me is a pain to get to. Not public transportation friendly. Packet pick up should be in the city. This year I get a special jacket so it cant be mailed to me.
But LOVE this event. Well organized, awesome volunteers. Lots a bang for your buck.

This is definitely a really well organized event. Email communication started well before the event with information about parking. Bib pick up was in the south San Francisco conference center, which has free parking! However, the expo was quite a bit smaller than expected, especially for such a large race. I pretty much just got my swag bag and left. They have an area to try sweater sizes and option to exchange. I wanted to trade my small for an xsmall, but they ran out of the xsmall. I also used someone’s affiliate code and got a free «will run for chocolate» tech hat with my entry. I liked the design and look of the hat but wished they had it in different sizes; it’s way too big even with the Velcro adjustability feature at the back.
Honestly, I only did the race this year because it was the first time they were giving out finisher medals for the 15k. I am glad they only had medals for the 15k runners as I feel that having the same medal for 5k and 15k would not be fair as 5k is only ¹⁄₃^rd the distance! The medal did not disappoint! It’s heavy, huge, and has the Golden Gate Bridge on it!
Race day:
–I was coming from the South Bay and had purchased the shuttle ticket. I parked at SF state which had plenty of parking and then boarded the shuttle to get to the start line in golden gate park. They had a ton of shuttle buses and the line basically was a steady stream of ppl boarding; it never stopped!
–lots of porta potties at the start and along the course; though the lines for the potties on the course were really long
–many chocolate snack and water stations. I didn’t take any of the chocolates or marshmallows during the race as I knew it would dry out my mouth. They always had a sign ahead of time to let runners know that sweets and water was coming up; the sweets station ALWAYS came up before the water station; which makes sense as I’ll bet runners would really appreciate the drinks right after biting into the dry chocolates
–very scenic course! Loved it. The beginning was nice and easy downhill. Middle portion along the waterfront was really flat. But the last couple miles-​ALL. Up. HILL. lord have mercy.
–Gatorade right when u cross the finish line.
–Got my fondue afterwards and the lines were super fast! They also had little plastic baggies so you could take the fondue to-​go easily and mess-​free. Had banana, Rice Krispie, pretzels, and marshmallows to dip in the chocolate fondue. They also had cups of hot chocolate (hot chocolate, dipped marshmallows, and dipped strawberries were also being handed out at the expo to give a sneak peak taste!). The chocolates were all really yummy!
–went to the shuttle station to get back to my car and this area was SO WELL organized. They had lines clearly organized, labeled with flags, and roped off according to which destination the shuttle was going to (they had shuttle stations at SF state, San Mateo, east bay, and maybe 1 – 2 more options which was nice because there were runners from everywhere near and far! They had a constant stream of buses running so lines went super fast!
I just wish the fondue cups were designed more like a real mug without the center hole for chocolate, and in ceramic, so that people could reuse them as coffee or tea mugs.

I did this run with a large group of friends. Overall it was a fun experience with lots of yummy chocolate during and after the race. The race was very well organized: everything started on time, the aid stations were well-​staffed, and all of the volunteers were really cheerful and friendly. I must admit that we wanted to do the run at first because of the hoodies, which were really nice! They are well worth the admittance fee. We also got free caps from using an online coupon code.
If you aren’t used to running long distance and can run your first mile much faster than your second two, I would recommend putting down the pace of your start mile. We ended up getting stuck at the beginning due to a lot of walkers (even though we were in a non-​walking group) because of our assigned start time.
I would recommend doing this run for anyone! The minimum speed is reasonable to walk, and the steaming hot chocolate at the end was a perfect end note for such a cold morning run.

Another fun run! The drawback is that it is so family friendly. But this is also a plus if you’re looking for something fun to do with your family! It was super crowded at the start of the 5k that you end up having to walk much of the first half mile. I had to weave around people even on the sides, but it eventually cleared up enough where I could run consistently. The course isn’t too bad. There’s a little bit of downhill and uphill around Speedway Meadow (now Hellman’s Hollow), so there’s a bit of a slowdown, but it wasn’t all that bad!
The hot chocolate warmed me up even more and the chocolate fondu with snacks was nice! Just don’t wait too long to eat it because it’ll harden! I’m not sure what I’ll use the «mug» for now, but still a cool thing to have as a souvenier.

I wanted to do this event last year but had to rethink due to a severe Knee injury so I was really looking forward to the fact that it was returning this year I signed up almost as soon as registration opened which then prompted friends too also.
Distance:
— 5k (3.1 miles NOT 3.5)
— 15k (9.3 miles NOT 9.5 as I have seen other reviewers say)
This was also NOT a Marathon. A Marathon is 26.2 miles. No less!
Yeah, It irritates the serious Runner in me when people don’t know distances. It’s simple math.
Expo:
The Expo was better located from those who do not live in The City, still a long way for me to come from The Valley yet still much more easily accessible.
The parking situation on the Saturday before was crazy! There didn’t appear to be enough spaces but then just driving around the parking lot turned out that actually there was, it was just that people were too lazy and wanted to park right near the entrance so that they didn’t have to walk too far. Uuurmm. you’re picking up a packet for a distance Run people. Lol.
The expo was packed with so many people and a few vendors but not much in the way of Chocolate, I only saw one table giving out Chocolate dipped Marshmallows and was disappointed I didn’t get my little Chocolate they had the previous year.
The pick up itself was easy yet my Corral was not printed properly do I had to manually color it on with a pen.
Swag:
I love the cool Hoody which came in really useful on the cold San Francisco morning of the Run. I requested an XS yet it still felt a little on the large side though. I also bagged myself a Hat as one of my Running Club was an Ambassador and gave me a code to use. The Hat was big too (Boo)
Course:
Wonderful and scenic though the Golden Gate Park and along the bay, the little Waterfall not even a mile into the course was killer though, I heard that water from far off and made me need the rest room for the next 4 miles. Darn it!
Most of the course was flat with a few hills mainly towards the end. I seem to excel at hill Running so they were a breeze for me but if you’re unprepared these hills will slow you.
Post Run:
Lot’s of picture opportunities and as this was a Chocolate Run we got a Bowl of Chocolate Goodies = Hot Chocolate, liquid dipping Chocolate and a few bits to dip (Banana, Marshmallow, Krispy Treat, Pretzels and a Wafer). I skipped the Wafer and Pretzels but did end up scooping out about 70% of the melted Chocolate with my finger before feeling really sick. I know a lot of Runners (myself included) swear by Chocolate Milk after a Run for recovery but this was something else. Great concept but not a good idea to even try consume that much Chocolate at 9:30am.
I would have liked some more savory food options and only as we were about to leave I noticed a couple of food trucks that were not advertised as being there — Sam’s Chowdermobile, an Indian food truck and a stall selling Baked goods and Coffee. The location however left a lot to be desired, hidden behind the row of tree’s where the portable restrooms were. The smell coming from that area left a lot to be desired so even if I had seen the trucks sooner I doubt I would have got anything from there.
I did the first 5k of this course with a friend and the last 10k solo, definitely more fun with friends if you all keep the same pace. I would definitely do it again as the swag alone is worth it.

Fun race! I ran it with a friend (the 5k). We got there around 7ish AM and we were definitely a little crunched on time since we were looking for the gear check. There were no signs leading us to the direction of the gear check so it was a lot of asking and walking around, but we finally found it.
Other than that, super organized and well planned out in Golden Gate Park.
The start and finish are at different places but very close by each other and the center is the post race party where they hand out chocolate and the like and have lots of blowup toys to take pictures with!
The 5k trail is pretty monotonous. Hilly. and it is about and around so you run in the same path, which is kind of boring, but golden gate park can be a doozy so I can understand that.
Weather was great for this time of year. Could wear shorts and a long sleeve or something like that and that would be all you needed!
Parking: was fairly simple to find. We parked around 19^th ave and irving and around the neighborhood areas.

The best run EVER!
A scenic route that will distract your pain away, starting from Golden Gate Park to the Ocean Beach and back to Golden Gate Park behind the DeYoung museum. The goodies alone can motivate you to cross that finish line. You get a chocolate fondue with hot chocolate, marshmallow, pretzels, banana, and rice Krispy. You also get the most rad bling medal reminiscent of your chocolate run. The zip up hoodie is lined with fleece and equipped with 2 zipped pockets outside and 2 pockets inside.
It’s an organized event. People coming from out of town, there’s a convenient shuttle pick ups and drop offs provided by Bauer transportation. We used the SF state parking. You have to pay for that and each person can pay for the shuttle ride. All of these are purchased ahead of time. The further you park from the city, the more it cost.
There were 12K plus runners, corral that goes up to N, merchandise tent, information services tent (you can get tampons and pins here), gear check tent, and plenty of potties. During the run, they have 2 marshmallow stations (chocolate and strawberry). They have water and Gatorade stations to help you hydrated during your fun run.
I have a feeling this will be a tradition for us!
I was not the one who picked up my bib, but my friend said they had strawberry dipped chocolate and hot chocolate during the expo. The good thing is that others can pick up your bib for you. You just have to show your confirmation number that can be both printed or show a snap shot of it on your phone.
To top it off, it is perfect timing for a 15K. Many runners can concur that it’s the best way to start off the New Year. Yes, I’m sore as hell, but a little Motrin can remedy that.
Stay tuned for the next run! You won’t regret signing up.
I just want to brag one thing! I just worked a 12-​hr shift. Got off work at 330am, ate breakfast and got ready. Left San Jose at 5:20a and got to SF parking lot without hitting traffic. Been awake for 24 hours when I finished the run. What’s your excuse? My fiancé said I’m a bad ass! I think I’m a zombie runner!

DEATH BY CALORIES, CHOCOLATE, AND THE SMELL OF BISON POOP.
«I run for chocolate» so cliché. You technically are running to get chocolate wasted but fail to mention belly aches… But I guess the 9.5 miles was worth it!!! «I run for chocolate and belly aches». It’s a fun course, fun run, and lots of sweet treats earned. But those GREEN BANANAS though!!!
PRE-​RACE.
Smart idea to hold the expo at South SF Convention Center. Away from the city means easy access in and easy access out, Bib pick up was organized. Lots of booths to shop at. However, disappointed not one booth were selling the jelly beans energy boosts. They can be found at every expo. Each racer left with a bag, bib, free goodies, chocolate, AND a sweater!!!
RACE.
They promoted limited parking and to take the race shuttle in. Limited parking outside the park but there were a ton of parking in the park, the 4hr limit parking sign does NOT apply on Sundays and the race falls on a Sunday. The crowd was overwhelming of runners and bandwagon runners. They have corrals to not clutterf* the start line but there were still sections in the course with bottleneck areas. The course was nice, through the park, through ocean beach, and back into the park. There were sweet stations right before each water station. Concept is cute but it won’t be cute when your belly aches. Also, I heard about Bison living in the park but never knew where… UNTIL THAT MOMENT I smelt an odd poop smell and looked to my left to see big brown furry balls laying on dry grass in a fenced section. BISON!!! awesome to see during the run. Inclines hit at the end, nothing too steep but it was a consistent incline through the end that gave a runners endurance and stamina a beating.
THE FINISH.
The medal is pretty cool. But All I wanted was that plastic bowl mug of hot chocolate, chocolate, sweets, and a GREEN BANANA to get chocolate wasted in the AM. How are they going to give runners a GREEN BANANA!!! I can’t let that go. Super fail.
Will I be back? Yes, I’ll do it next yr.
Until the next review. x

I will definitely run for chocolate! This is pretty much counterproductive for a race but great motivation to run. We probably cancelled out the calories burned from the 15k with the amount of sweets and chocolate from the race course and post party.
After hearing about the inaugural race last year, I knew I wanted to sign up this year. Do it fast because this race sells out!
The Hot Chocolate is a 15k/​5k race. So that’s 9.3 miles or 3.5 miles.
It’s strange that the 5k runners start first though and that the 15k runners start afterwards around 8:20am. The 15k run starts in Golden Gate Park, down the Great Highway, and back to the park and the 5k run just stays in the park.
I loved the course and scenery for the 15k and the cute stops for refreshments and treats. There were 4 stops for water and treats. The first one had chocolate chips, water, and Gatorade. The second had strawberry marshmallows and water. The third had tootsie rolls and water. The last one had chocolate marshmallows, water, and Gatorade. I especially liked the chocolate chips we were given in a small cup but it made it difficult run since it took me awhile to finish them.
The race seemed fairly organized and started on time. There are markers for every mile as well as 5k which made it easier to track our progress. After the race, you are given your medal and you them follow the signs for the post race party which ended up being near the Academy of Science area. The line for the race mug goes fast. You year off the finisher mug ticket on your bib and are given a plastic mug. The center held the hot chocolate and then there were other dividers for the chocolate fondue dip, pretzels, marshmallows, banana, and rice krispie treat.
The expo was held at the South San Francisco Conference Center. The parking lot seemed pretty small but I was still able to find parking. There is no race day pick up so you either had to go to the expo on Friday or Saturday. Definitely makes it inconvenient for runners from the south bay or east bay. Bib pick up was quick if you had the barcode readily available for them to scan. You have the opportunity there to change your coral as well. Don’t forget to pick yp your hot chocolate sweatshirt. I liked that we got a hooded jacket instead of a typical race shirt for this race asking with a drawstring bag.
The expo itself wasn’t very big. There were some vendors with samples and a handful of vendors selling clothes, shoes, and other race goods. The biggest section was for the hot chocolate race merchandise.
Overall, this was a fun race that everyone should try at least once.

Fun and well organized race.
I heard that this race was nice last year, and I signed up for 15K this year.
Starts in the Golden Gate Park and go to Ocean beach, go south and back to the start point. The scenery was nice.
The aid stations are interesting. Water/​sport drink, and marshmallow. However it was hard to eat during the run. After the run, runners get hot chocolate, banana, and more marshmallows.
It’s a little annoying to park at SFSU and take a shuttle ($ 8). Worth trying.
My time was 1:25:02.