This race is a BLAST! Well organized, lots of chocolate and tons of fun! This was my second year running it, and it was just as good as last year if not better. I had so much fun last year, this year a lot of friends ran with me which made for a great time with lots of chocolate! This is a great race to run alone or with a group of friends.

You must pick up your packet prior to race day, so plan on going to the expo. They do have an option where they can mail your race packet to you if you are coming from out of town or there is no way you can make it to the expo. The expo had different vendors and there was chocolate! Packet pick up was easy and organized.

Race day the parking and access not difficult. The race location (the Seattle Center) is very central and easy to get to. There are road closures which can make it hard to get to the parking garages that the Hot Chocolate race suggested, but if you are flexible with where you park, it is really easy. There is a ton of free parking as well as Seattle does not charge for parking on Sundays!

The 15K course is pretty hilly. It has flat parts and downhill parts that make up for the hills. The hardest part of the race is mile 4.5 to 6.2 miles. Those miles are steady incline hills. Once you hit the turn around, you get a nice downhill break. There is an incline at the finish line, but that makes the finish that much sweeter (no pun intended). There were 4 aid stations and 4 'sweet' stations on the 15K course. All were well stocked and had amazing volunteers.

Upon finishing the race you get your medal as soon as you cross the finish line. There was plenty of water too. The gear check was easy to use, and I was thankful they kept our bags dry. The weather on race day was sun, then rain, then sun, then a downpour. This is nothing you can control, but I was thankful my change of clothes was kept dry while I was out running. I grabbed my bag and went to get my finisher mug, the best part of the WHOLE race! The finisher hoodie is awesome, but the chocolate is the best part!!! This year the hot chocolate was DELICIOUS and so was the fondue. We enjoyed our chocolate with friends.

Fun, well organized and definitely worth running. Looking forward to running this race again next year with even more friends!!!! Highly recommend!

Read more in the race recap on my blog --> http://sweetblondesfitlife.com/the-sweetest-race-hot-chocolate-recap/