Hot Chocolate 15K/5K was my first IRL race after a long time post pandemic. It was everything that I could have expected of an IRL race and has set the right order for all my future races!

Expo
Expo was good. My experience with the race swag was about to go south but with a bit of negotiation I managed to exchange the right size race shirt. The race swag shirts could sometimes go way off in size and having an option to exchange it for the right size should be a given IMO.

Parking Logistics
It was a nightmare to get to the race avenue despite starting hours earlier than the start time for the race. Since the venue was near downtown Dallas, I would have expected the parking and logistics for people getting to the race venue to be smoother with a bit more planning, it turned out to be a big disappointment. I was stuck in the car about half a mile from the venue for over an hour and 30 minutes, eventually parking in a nearby CVS parking lot and running to the start line.

The Race
This was perhaps the best part of the race and thus trumps every other less than desirable experience. The course was reasonably flat and the crowd was great. The ambience was electrifying with live music and I was very eager and enthusiastic to run with so many runners after being a loner running virtual races for the past 2 years! I challenged myself to try and keep up with Rebecca the 8.30 pacer and surprised myself by running past the finish line along with her! I'm so grateful for her to keep me high up in spirits all through the course. The weather was perplexing in bits, high winds for sometime and even snow and sleet for a bit, but not really something I would complain about!

Post Race
The medal was great and I took pride in the fact that I got a 15k PR especially after the injuries last year and early this year. The refreshments including HOT CHOCOLATE after the race were sweet, literally!