Hot Chocolate 15K – San Francisco
The Hot Chocolate 15K/5K race series is an awesome experience! From the expo to race day, this race is on a beautiful, scenic route and has some of the best race day swag you could ask for!
*Disclaimer: I received free race registration 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!
Hot Chocolate 15K/5K Series
The Hot Chocolate 15K/5K series has races all over the U.S., and it’s not too late to sign up for some of them this season! Check out their website to sign-up for upcoming races in Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Charlotte, and so many more in 2022. Use code HC21 at registration for a FREE buff!
San Francisco Expo
The folks at the Hot Chocolate series put on a great race experience, from the expo to the finish line festivities. I didn’t take a lot of pictures over the weekend. Seeing as we are still in the pandemic, with very high rates of the Omicron variant, I was trying my best to move through the indoor expo quickly and not linger around crowds too much. I appreciate that the race adhered to the local pandemic restrictions, checking vaccine and test results at the door of the expo and on race morning!
The expo was small and quick to get through. After moving through the BIB pick-up lines, which didn’t have a wait, my daughter and I quickly picked up my race day jacket and browsed the limited expo merchandise area. On the way out, we were able to get a cup of delicious hot cocoa. We were in and out of the expo experience in less than 20 minutes!
This was my second year running the Hot Chocolate 15K; I ran it virtually in 2021. They do not disappoint with the awesome jackets that they give out with registration. I’m a sucker for a nice running jacket and love all of the pockets:
2021 Hot Chocolate Jacket 
2022 Hot Chocolate Jacket
Hot Chocolate 15K Race Day
The Hot Chocolate Series has both the 5k and 15K distances. I signed up for the 15k. If you’ve ever been to San Fran, you know it’s beautiful and HILLY! The races both started in Golden Gate Park. The 15K took us on a challenging 9.3-mile adventure through the park and along the coastline for a beautiful view of the ocean for half of the race. The 5K race did a loop within Golden Gate Park; and while the park is beautiful, if you want the scenic views, you have to go for the 15K! Just make sure you brace yourself for the hills, especially if you train in flat areas like me.
15K Start 
Golden Gate Park 
Golden Gate Park
3 Part Race
I mentally broke the Hot Chocolate 15K up into three segments. I’m not going to lie, it was a hard mental day for me. I just ran the Honolulu Marathon a month prior. While I thought a 9-miler would be easy after that, my mind just wasn’t in for another “destination” race so quickly (especially another hilly one)! Nevertheless, I was excited to take this race easy and enjoy it! I broke it down into three mile portions:
- First three miles – these miles we nice, downhill and easy! I wanted to pace this race around 10:30-11:00min/mile. This would give me time to run an easy pace, take in the views, and walk some water stations. With the first three miles mainly downhill, I was able to get into a really nice flow, wake up my legs, and get out a bit quicker than planned with gravity pulling me down those hills!
- Miles 4-6 – these miles were flat and on the coast! I enjoyed the views so much, and there was a nice breeze coming off of the ocean! These flat miles helped me level out my pace a bit. I ran the first 3 miles around a 9:55 pace. I zoned into staying with the 10:00min pacers for this second chunk of miles.
Mile 3/4 
Fake smile through the pain 
Around mile 6
- Miles 7-9 were hardwork! Before the race started, the race MC got on the announcement system and shared that the last few miles were a “climb”, and that’s exactly what they were. I felt like these miles were a never ending battle uphill. I definitely did some walking, stopped to take some videos and pictures, drank a lot of water, and figured I’d get to the finish whenever I got there!!! My knees, quads, and IT band were killing me by mile 8.
Push to the Finish!!!
The last .3 of this race was a push. The hills were finally behind me at this point, but my little legs were exhausted. I’ve never been tempted to walk across the finish line, but I definitely considered it on this one! I have an entire new outlook of respect for folks that get to regularly train on hilly terrain!
Finish Line Party
It was a beautiful day for a race in San Francisco. The sun was shinning and the temps were in the 50s. You really couldn’t ask for better race day weather. Post-race had plenty of music and the cutest little bowls with Hot Chocolate, bananas, cookies, rice crispy treats, and pretzels. While it felt like a lot of people were there that morning, it didn’t seem like a lot of people lingered around for the post-race festivities. Given the state of the pandemic, I’m not surprised. It actually felt comforting that there was not a big crowd to navigate through.
The race also provided shuttles (at an extra cost of $15) to and from the race to three different pick-up/drop-off points. The shuttles weren’t crowded and everyone was masked and able to spread out!
Exploring San Francisco
My daughter and I came down a couple days ahead of the race to be able to enjoy a little time in the city before and after the race. I’m so glad we did! We spent Saturday frolicking around Fisherman’s Wharf, hanging out in the shops, grabbing a bite to eat, and playing around in the Escape Room! This was our first time in the Bay Area together and it was an quick and easy get away from Sacramento. We stayed at one of the race hotels, which made catching the shuttle super easy (but parking at the hotel was a whomping $60 per night and my only complaint about the whole weekend)!
Sign Up for a Hot Chocolate Race Near You!
All in all, this was a great race experience. I’d love to see what this race is like outside of pandemic restrictions, but I loved the fact that it wasn’t overly crowded and felt safe in my space! Have you run a Hot Chocolate Race? Jump on it and don’t forget to use code HC21 to register for an upcoming race near you!
