On April 27, I had the chance to run the Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k Brooklyn. It was 2.5 loops of Prospect Park, which is one of my absolute favorite places to run. Even better, I was running with my wife of exactly 8 days, which was a blast.

The Expo was simple--I was late because I had to work that day. When I got there, it was easy to find my bag and bib. I also had the opportunity to try on my swag sweatshirt and exchange it for a different size. I WISH MORE RACES DID THIS. If they did, I'd wear race shirts more often.

The race itself was well-managed. It's hard in NYC to manage a park race where every day non-racers still have access to the roads, etc. I thought HC had the right amount of signage, and the course was simple enough that I always knew where I was in the race.

Also, there's chocolate on course. Obvs. Two of the aid stations came armed with chocolate discs and marshmallows. I, with my overly sensitive stomach, passed on the course candy, but my wife had an excellent time pairing the chocolate with her orange blossom honey stinger gummies.

The course was hilly. I knew that going in, but even with the forewarning, the third time up the prospect park hill is a doozy. I definitely felt wiped by the time I hit the finish line.

Which was all the better, because the finish line treats are arguably the number one reason to do one of the Hot Chocolate 15ks. We got a bowl filled with warm dipping chocolate and a bunch of treats to dunk in it, along with some hot chocolate. It was a far more fun alternative to the standard granola bar and plain bagel.