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The Hot Chocolate 15K - Run15k


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Chicago, Illinois
United States
RAM Racing
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 8h 00m
Overall Rank = 79/1194
Age Group = M30-34
Age Group Rank = 10/64
Pre-race routine:

Woke up around 6:00am. Took the dog for a quick walk and had a bagel and Gatorade. Headed over to the race around 7:00. Got my chip and hung around with my wife and some of our friends. Got in line as the 15k went off.
Event warmup:

Did a quick 1/4 mile jog around the starting area to get loosened up
Run
  • 22m 53s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 07m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

It was a PR for me. I was happy with the results. The course was extremely flat which suited me just fine. It was fairly crowded for the first 1/2 mile or so then let up some. I started towards the front which helped.
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I was happy overall. Maybe start a little more towards the front.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a little. My wife was running the 15k so I went to the massage tents they had setup and let them stretch me out some.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I've lost a decent amount of conditioning from the Ironman training. Just need to get in better shape.

Event comments:

I was fairly disappointed with the race. Usually Running Away puts on good events. I hope it was due to this being the first time for the event. Here are my biggest pet peeves with this race.

~ Porta Potties: They had the 15k go off first and had the course go directly in front of the porta potties. Anybody from the 5k that was waiting in line was cut off from using them as all the 15k runners passed by. By the time the 15k passed by the 5k gun was going off. It was a poor logistic decision.

~ They had all the athletes (~3000 runners) start and run the whole time on a narrow running path. Most of the events that start up there do the first mile on the street which helps with the crowding.

~ This was the "Hot Chocolate" race where you were supposed to get hot chocolate and other goodies at the end. I waited in line for over 20 minutes and never even got close to getting any food. They had the entrance and exit to the food in one small tent that all 3000 plus people were trying to get into. In addition they had tables in there for people to sit. It was a complete mess. The wife and I and some friends ended up going to Starbucks to get our own hot chocolate.

If I decide to do this race next year, I'll have to talk to the race director and make sure they plan on making logistic changes. For the amount of money I paid for it ($50) I was expecting much better. I would rather them cut back on the schwag they give out and put it towards getting up-graded permits for the actual event. It has the potential to be a great race, but poor logistics turned me off to it.




Last updated: 2008-10-06 12:00 AM
Running
00:22:53 | 03.1 miles | 07m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 10/64
Overall: 64/1194
Performance: Good
Course: It was a little different than the typical north side lakefront course, in that we started south and then turned around to head north.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 2

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2008-11-02 3:55 PM

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Master
1376
1000100100100252525
Chicago
Subject: The Hot Chocolate 15K


2008-11-02 5:47 PM
in reply to: #1781838

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Champion
5312
5000100100100
Calgary
Subject: RE: The Hot Chocolate 15K
congrats on the PR. Too bad about having to go to starbucks. Good job though.
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