Expo: I came in on Friday to pick up my stuff and was there bright and early. I've heard lots of complaints from runners over the last few days about the expo being horrible, but honestly, I saw none of that. I waited in line for maybe 10 minutes at the longest! The expo had a ton of booths all well stocked.

Swag: The sweatshirt is great but I'm really not a fan of green or pink so maybe next year there will be chocolate brown, black, blue or reds? The medal?!? Absolutely the best addition to this race! Whoever designed this opened chocolate bar medal needs a raise! I heard hundreds of runners all saying the same. Bravo Hot Chocolate...bravo!

The Race: While it was rather cold out to start, that ambiance of excited runners and volunteers gets the blood warmed up. I was lucky enough to be in Corral B and the entry was easy. Once the crowds got in and the corral started to fill up, that's when the excitement built! Something about that countdown that really gets the crowd going. As for the course itself, I'll never be a fan of of the McCormick tunnel as it's just too dark and the potholes were just a danger. For the rest of the course, how can the beautiful city of Chicago be beat?!

I'm always going to run the Hot Chocolate race as it was one of my first races but also because the spirit of running it gave me the addiction to keep racing. I'll just have to remember to sign up early every year as the sellout in inevitable especially with the addition of that medal!

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