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Race Reports for Hot Chocolate 15K - Chicago 2009

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?No
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too easy

  • Comments: I had fun, but lots of folks were stressed out because the gear check was messed up...felt bad for them.
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[2]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Bad
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I wanted to love this race. I have to say although it seemed run okay I was somewhat disappointed. It was very crowded for such a small run area. Worst of all the Hot Chocolate was undrinkable. Something was seriously wrong with it... it boarded on rancid! One sip and in the trash it went. Considering the whole race was based on the Chocolate hype... that's a huge let down! They were also out of chocolate Fondue. C'mon if you're going to increase the race entrant #s that much be prepared! I watch what I eat so I had no plans to pig out, but it's just the principal of it. This race is really expensive and although the swag was decent (running benie, jacket, shoulder bag) I expected more from a race that cost over $50.00. Don't know if I'll be back. I'd actually be more annoyed but at the mini-expo they had I got an amazing deal on a jacket that was marked down way more then it should have been, so I call it even. :) I went home and made my own Hot Chocolate. Humf!
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[3]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?No
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?No

  • Post race activities? Below average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too easy

  • Comments: RAM racing certainly does a good job at hyping their events, but this one left much to be desired. First of all, the race entry fee was very high for what you get. It was a run on an open bike path around a park, with 3 or 4 aid stations. For the entry fee and 4,000 people paying they should be able to secure a better venue than that for at least part of the race. Ever seen 4,000 people race on a 5-foot-wide bike path? How about putting an out-and-back section in there so that with two-way traffic you actually have 2.5 feet of space? Yeah, it's a silly idea. At the end I got about $2.50 worth of food. It was not chocolate heaven as advertised. I got a fun size snickers, a cup of hot chocolate, and a couple ounces of fondue chocolate that froze instantly because it's November in Chicago. Fondue was a nice idea, but after I finished that generous 1/8th of an apple and single marshmallow I was still starving and had to buy breakfast, effectively raising the price of this race.
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