Registration for the 5K was either online or by mail. I chose to mail my registration as the Kids run registration is only by mail. If you wanted to get a t-shirt for your kid(s), you had to preregister. There was no expo for this race as it's a small local race. We picked up our numbers the day of.

On race day, parking was confusing. On their website was map of where to park, labeling two parking lots, however one was blocked off and the other was just hard to find and it did not help that the girls directing us where to go were of no help, so we ended up parking on field where others were parking (not on map).

When we got to the track where the races were located, we headed to the tables for the Kid's run registration. Pick up went smoothly for the kids's however for the 5K, it was confusing which table to go to. There were separate tables for those that went to the school versus those that didn't. It would have been a lot easier for everyone if they had just labeled the tables or made signs so we wouldn't have to walk to each table and ask if this was the correct place to pickup our numbers and shirts.

The Kid's run is great! It's my favorite part of this event as kids of all ages can participate to run and their ages determines how far they have to run. Both my 3 and almost 5 year old ran and they had a blast. What is cool is they each get a t-shirt and a medal. Major plus is that the kid's races are free but they do want you to bring canned goods in place of the entry fee which is pretty neat as they donate them to local community agencies that fight hunger.

As for the 5K, the run was great. It is pretty flat and fast, it takes you all around the school grounds. They even had water stops. Only thing that I would have preferred on the course was mile marker signs, but other than that the race was good. Finish line doesn't have all the cheering like other runs, but it's where the finish area is that makes it so. It's kinda tight. They did have water right at the end which was good, but a lot of the snacks (doughnuts) were gone as after the kids races, it was a free for all. I did manage a banana which I was totally good with.

I would do this run again, just because it's local and also the kid's races make it a great family affair.

I had never run a Hot Chocolate race before but heard great things as I had friends in Seattle that did the one there.

When I first registered, I was expecting there to be an expo with bouncy houses as that was what they advertised on their website. I figured it would be a fun thing to bring my kiddos to before race day, however they set up the expo at a Philadelphia Runner store and it seemed like it was a last minute thing as they did not have the expo details on their website until pretty late. I also found it odd that they listed hotels late on their website, as I know people from out of town like to reserve their hotels early to get a good deal and just for peace of mind. That wasn't the case in this instance because I guess there was a huge conference the same weekend and many of the hotels were already booked.

Anyway, packet pickup at Philadelphia Runner went smoothly. It was a quick pick-up, they even handed out chocolate, which was great. The black hoodie is really nice! Really awesome actually. I like how there is a pocket so you can put a key and ID in.

Parking for the race was not so great. The Hot Chocolate website isn't very clear on where exactly to park, they just suggest you to visit a website that lists garages. I really wish they would make it clearer so that we don't have to a bunch of research on our own. A friend and I drove from Princeton and the parking lot we had our eyes on that was really close to the Philadelphia Art Museum ended up being full as we pulled in. If only we came a little earlier. Anyhow, we ended up having to park almost a mile from the start. Ended up not being so bad as it was a pretty cold morning and we considered it to be a nice little warmup.

When we got to the start area, the 5K had just started. We had more than enough time before we were to start at 8am. There were lots of port a potties which was nice, so there wasn't a long wait to go to the bathroom. Gear check was also easy to find.

My friend and I were in the K corral, so we were starting not too far from the fastest wave. The course was nice. We ran towards downtown Philadelphia but turned quickly back (would have been nice to go further) however the rest of the race was beautiful. We ran on road that was right by the Schuylkill River, so we had nice scenery throughout the run. The crew boats were even out, so it was nice to have a little distraction. Water stations were good and they even handed out chocolate close to the 5 mile marker (took one but kept it). The course was pretty flat except for some slight hills. The hill I remember is the one heading back up to the finish. I remember saying to myself, just up this hill and we're home free. :)

The finish line area was awesome as there are lots of people cheering you on. I sprinted to the finish, and once I crossed you walk a bit to get some water. I found my friend and we both walked to the area where we turned our tags in from our bibs to get our finisher's mug filled with yummy goodies to dip into fondue and a cup of hot chocolate. Oh my! The hot chocolate was so yummy. It was my favorite, but I guess anything will taste yummy after running 9.3 miles. I will definitely run for Chocolate again!

I only found out about this run from a FB page of another race that I did (Trenton 10K). I had never done a trail race and I needed some sort of motivation for spring so I signed up. Registration was easy as it was online.

There was packet pickup the day before at Great Harvest Bread Co., however I opted out as there was pickup on the day of the race. The run was located at Tyler State Park in Richboro, PA, so it was only about a twenty-five minute drive from Princeton. Parking was easy and it was nice since they had people flagging you down and directing you where to park. This being a small race, I was impressed with how organized it was on the parking aspect.

Packet pickup was fast and easy. The shirt was a nice long sleeve black tech shirt. I was pretty pleased with it. However, one thing that was disappointing about it was they actually had women's sizes but both my friend and I weren't aware and we both apparently signed up for a men's small. Not sure where we missed that but it was kind of a bummer as the shirts we got were a little big.

Anyway, they had a nice small setup of booths of local companies. They had port a potties (maybe 3 or 4) and it was sufficient and I didn't have to wait long. It was a brisk cool morning and it was nice that they warned us by email that the course would be muddy due to the large amount of rain a couple of days beforehand, so I was prepared and ran in my older shoes.

The run started at 9:30am and we got there a bit early. As it got closer, we headed to the start line. I had never been to a small run like this, so there we are all waiting and I look at my watch and it is very close to 9:30am, and all of a sudden I hear a horn for the start. There was no warning at all so I had to quickly start my Garmin. It was just surprising that it started so quickly as usually you hear them talk and there is a countdown, but I guess that is what you get at some of the smaller races.

The run was pretty good throughout the first mile, however between miles one and two started the hills. I was not expecting the hills. Not one bit. We would go up, then down. We ran through corn fields, and the trail even went on a little bit of pavement but not much. The hills were what killed me and there was definitely mud on the course. There was a section where if you didn't step in the right place, your shoes could have definitely sunk deep. It was great that they had water stations and they were in the perfect spots, so that was a plus. The course was pretty challenging for me as I wasn't prepared for the hills. I guess it was for many, because I noticed many people walking up them.

The finish line was nice, it was nice to see people cheering, even if it wasn't the hugest crowd, the cheers were still there and it was great! At they end there was water and they even had pancakes with syrup. It was a nice touch and the samples of bread from Great Harvest were pretty yummy.

In all the course was great. I just need to practice some hills for next time and now I know why they call it the Looney Leprechaun. ;)

I had done the half marathon in 2012 and loved it then as it was so organized for its first year, so I knew I had to do their race again, but this time I didn’t think I would be ready for a half, so I did the 10K. Plus, they gave alumni registrants a nice discount if you registered early, which I did. Registration was fast and easy as it was online.
The health and wellness expo was at the Lafayette Yard Hotel and Conference Center in Trenton. It was nice, it was a little bigger than last year, with some vendors but still pretty small. I didn’t stay long as I parked across the street which had meter parking and I didn’t put much in the meter. So, I just picked up my packet with my bib and long sleeve tech shirt and left. The long sleeve tech shirt is really nice. It’s a quarter zip and I love the colors. I have not been disappointed with the shirts they have given us.

Race day
They did a great job emailing us where to park, so we had no problems parking. We got there pretty early, so we hung out in the car a bit as it was pretty brisk out. As we saw more runners walking towards Arm & Hammer Park (baseball stadium) we headed out. The 10K was after the ½ marathon start, so we hung out for a bit. There were lots of port a potties, so when we got there, there wasn’t a wait at all. When the ½ marathoners started it was really neat to watch as there was a 5 year old running the race.

When it was our turn to start, I was excited and ready. I had not run a 10K before, so I was excited to run a new distance. The course was great, pretty flat, although a few hills but nothing that I could remember being horrible. The water stations were nicely placed. We got to run on two bridges, however I wasn’t keen on the grates on the bridge, so I ran on the sides, where it was a lot better than running on the grates (something I remembered from the previous year) but it was pretty cool that we got to run on the "Trenton makes the World Takes" bridge.

My favorite part of the run was at the end, when we end in Arm and Hammer Stadium. It’s awesome because we run along the outside of the outfield and then the finish is right at home plate. There are lots of people in the stands and I even heard them say my name called after I crossed. It was the best feeling. After I crossed the finish, they gave me my medal, and handed out water quickly which was great. I really enjoy the race these guys put on, they are well organized and seemed to have everyone’s concerns from the previous year taken into account. I’m excited to see how next year’s race will be as I’m definitely doing it again.