Hot Chocolate 15k San Francisco Race Recap

The San Francisco Hot Chocolate 15K was my first race of 2019. I’ve done a Hot Chocolate 15K in the past. So, I knew to expect hot chocolate at the end of race but that’s about it. Since I’m new to the San Francisco Bay Area I kept an open mind about the race and I vowed to have fun regardless.

My morning started at 4:45 am. I rolled out the bed and gave Mrs. 300PAR a kiss on her forehead. As I stumble to the bathroom I wondered if I was prepared for this race. Yes, I’ve been doing some running but nothing serious since the Snoopy Loop-a-thon in December. I tried to rationalize the distance in my half awake brain. “It’s only three 5K’s! You can do this distance in your sleep.” I said to myself as brushed my teeth half asleep.

This was my first time going to Golden Gate Park. From what I can tell it’s San Francisco’s version of Central Park. Like Central Park, the parking was atrocious. I knew something was up when they were selling shuttles tickets at the expo. I found a parking spot near the Mile 8 aid station. It didn’t hit me that I was that far from the starting line until I ask the volunteer how to get there. He pointed and responded about 2 miles in that direction. I gasped and thought about getting back my car to find another parking spot. But before I could respond the volunteer offered to give me a ride to the starting line.

When I arrived at the starting line I notice that I was assigned to the last corral. I wasn’t feeling that assignment. So I snuck into the corral ahead of mines.

About a 1/4 mile into the race I met two ladies who was also doing 1-1 intervals. I asked if I could tag along with them and we became a trio. They were a little faster than me so I had to push myself to keep up. It was challenging but wasn’t hard.

Miles 1-6, there was nothing to note. The course was flat and the ladies and I chatted during the run. When we made it to Ocean Beach, we took a few selfies and kept running.

Miles 6-9, we ran back into Golden Gate Park. It was no longer flat race. The incline was noticeable and it didn’t seem to stop until we made it to the finish line. Around mile 8.5, the sweeper passed me. I tried to have a conversation with her to slow her down but she saw through my ploy and kept running. With less than a half a mile to go shrugged it off and ran my slow pace until I crossed the finish line.

My official time was 2:28:29 with an average pace of 15:56/mile

Here were my splits:

INTERVAL	TIME	PACE	DISTANCE	TIME OF DAY
5K	44:50	14:26	5 Kilometer	9:07:42AM
10K	1:32:41	14:56	10 Kilometer	9:55:33AM
Full Course	2:28:29	15:56	15 Kilometer	10:51:21AM

Race Expo Quality/ Logistics

The race expo was at the South San Francisco Conference Center. It was a small expo. There were about 15-20 exhibitors there. Nothing super exciting. They gave out s’mores during the expo that was pretty cool. There was no packet pick up the day of the race. You either had to pick up your bib during the expo or have it mailed to you early on.

T-Shirts/SWAG

This year we got a full-zip hoodie. The hoodie had zip pockets and thumb holes. It was a nice quality hoodie. I was surprised that they offered sizes up to 3XL because most races stop at XXL. Two thumbs up for offering a hoodie I could actually wear. Race directors take note.

Parking/Race Access

The parking and access into Golden Gate Park was kind of trash. At the expo they sold shuttle tickets that ranged from $15-$30 depending on where the shuttle picked you up from. Since I had somewhere to be immediately after the race I opted to try to find parking near the race (bad idea). I got to Golden Gate Park around 6am. The park entrances was closed and the volunteers didn’t know where the location of the open entrance.

Race Course

Course Scenery

Most of the course was in Golden Gate Park. From miles 3 to 6.5 the course ran alongside the Ocean Beach. Everything about that part of the course was flat out stunning.

Course Difficulty

Most of the is course flat. But, the last 3 miles of the race is on an incline. It was enough incline to get on your nerves but it wasn’t unbearable.

Back of the pack friendliness

I seen plenty of water, Nuun Hydration, snacks at every station and they didn’t run out of medals. What more could you ask for?

Finish Line/ Post Race Experience

After you crossed the finish line they had volunteers with medals, bottles of waters, and Nuun Hydration. They also had plenty of Hot Chocolate mugs filled with goodies.

Overall Experience of the San Francisco Hot Chocolate 15K

This was a fun race and I would definitely do it again. I’m glad I met some awesome people along the course. Something that I did find weird was that there weren’t many people out there cheering us on. I also learnt that I need to do some hill work. Anytime I do a race that has hills the wheels fall off. That means that I need to get stronger so that won’t happen again.

Race Grade

I give this race a 4 out of 5. I wish there was same day packet pick up and the parking situation definitely left a bad taste in my mouth but not enough to stop me from running the race again.

I look forward to the next race. Which is the San Jose 408K! You can use code: RepresentME to save some $$$ on the race entry if you’re interested in running with me.

Until next time keep crushing goals,
Martinus