Dick Pond Cocoa 5K Run & Walk

Extremely disappointed in this race! When registering for the race it asked us for our jacket size AND a shirt size, which to me and others in our group, meant we would also be getting BOTH. However, that is NOT what we got. We only got the rain jacket that was more or less a garbage bag that was too small in the waist and huge in the chest (needless to say, I will be giving mine away). Also, the information and website for this race was lacking lots of information and you cannot find the results of the race ANYWHERE! Also, I had contacted someone about packet pick up and times not condusive to our schedule and they were very addiment about not being able to pick up your packets at the day of the race. When we got there, they were announcing that the 2 ppl who had requested to pick up their packets needed to come to some tent. How come I wasn’t offered the same thing, not asking for special treatment, but if I had mentioned not being able to get to either location at the given times, I was just sol?.
So, all I got out of the race was the bib and a pretty course. The 8-​mile course was pretty and was a good training course for my upcoming half.

Well, it was definitely, cold! But, overall, this is a wonderful, smaller, local, and family-​friendly event! What a beautiful flat and fast course they have put together… oh and scenic! Herrick and Danada Forest Preserve views in the fall were stunning, and distracting. 8 miles never went by so quickly. With the sun out the temperature really wasn’t bad once you start moving.
The refreshments at the end too were fun — I definitely enjoyed 2 cups of hot cocoa and a brownie after I finished :) There were also buckets of Halloween candy out on some tables. The giveaway jacket/​fleece was a nice surprise for a $ 40 registration fee. I was very impressed that they had as many water stations along the course as they did (4 – 5 for the 8 mile run). Also, an important fact to note: there was no more than a 5 minute wait to use the restroom at the beginning.
Would highly recommend doing this race!

I love Dick Pond and go there for all my running shoe needs. You should definitely check them out if you want great personal customer service when looking for the perfect shoes to run in. However, this was about my tenth race and probably the worst I’ve ever ran. It was so congested I had to walk the first ¼ mile after crossing the start line. It was advertised as a Run/​Walk and I have no problems with walkers, but walkers were walking in the middle of the path, not to the side like they should to let faster people go through. There were times at the beginning were I was literally stuck and could not pass. There were also people with strollers in the middle of the path. Most of these things are not the organizers’ fault, just poor judgement and lack of experience from the people running, but it made for a terrible race experience for me.
The fleece jackets and hot chocolate were great, and I personally thought the weather was perfect (I like cooler race weather). It started on grass, which was interesting, and turned into a path which is my favorite to run on and easy on the knees. I’d recommend you move toward the front to avoid the bottleneck if you do this race.

Ears frozen, noses dripping, hands blue.
Smal price to pay for hot cocoa and sinfully fudgey brownies after a 3.1 mile run through Danada’s Forest Preserve.
This race is sponsored by Dick Pond’s, an amazing local business fitting suburban runners with the right kicks. My husband and I frequent the St. Charles location when we’re looking for individualized attention for new running shoes & to pick up our favorite Balega socks.
On one of those trips is when I happend to pick up the flier for the Cocoa 5K. Perfect for us since my husband hates driving so early all the way into the city for races and also since we’d be out of town for this year’s Hot Chocolate 5K. This race is a great alternative for suburban dwellers not willing to make the trek to the city.
Stats:
–online registration $ 39
–chip timed
–warmest, softest, zip fleece jacket (runs a little big for women, short for men)
–hot cocoa and fudge brownies after the race (I appreciated that they didn’t over do it with the chocolate)
–completely flat course that starts out on a grassy race track with the majority of the course on a soft crushed limestone path
–out & back course so beware of bottlenecks!