Thursday, November 24, 2016; 8am start - 15th Annual

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot with special 15th Year Finishers Medal! The challenging course on the scenic streets of Palos Park is 4 miles and USATF certified. There are 13 hills. In 14 years this race has donated over 120,000 cans of food and $3,000.00. The event is limited to 1,300 and proceeds, which include 2 canned goods from every entrant, go to stock the Worth Food Pantry. Each participant receives a stocked goody bag and a special giveaway item (hooded shirt (purple for women and green for men) and Feetures socks). Start and Finish outside Palos Park Rec Center. No aid stations, but give 3 stars because I don't think it's necessary for a shorter race distance to have one. They can be nice, but not needed. Weather was in the upper 30s, cloudy - my kind of weather.

PROS:
+ Parking is limited at the race start, so you can park at a nearby Metra lot (you don't have to pay for parking), and the race has school busses to take you to the start and back again when you were finished.
+ Packet pickup is at the store (Running for Kicks in Palos Heights) Monday–Wednesday.
+ Packet pickup on race day.
+ Packet pickup also included map for parking and the course.
+ Goody bag included a purple or green hooded shirt and a pair of Features running socks.
+ Tent to hang out in before/after race.
+ 5 year age group awards going 3 deep.
+ Post race bottled water, bagels, and bananas.
+ Family friendly - love seeing so many people being active.
+ Smaller race, maybe about 700 participants.
+ NEW for 2016 - race medals. Not sure if it'll happen again next year or just special for the 15th year.

CONS:
- There was a screw up with the shirts (not sure what happened), but the women's didn't have any L and I think they ran out of women's sizes... I heard that it was possible that the men and women's numbers got mixed up.
- It wasn't obvious during registration that the hooded shirts were gender specific - in the past it's been unisex so was unaware it was gender specific.
- No raffles during the post-race party - I think this was due to the shirt mishap and they likely had to shell out cash to order more. Would have been nice if they announced it, as I was waiting around for them haha.

I really enjoy doing this race every year. I think this was my 5th or 6th year running this race. It raises money and donates food to the hungry and I love starting my holiday (that generally means lots of food) with a 4 miler. I think this was our fastest pace yet, too :)

We had a new name for the 5k this year - Mickey's Holiday 5k - along with a new day. The 5k was held on Friday, the 10k on Saturday, and the half marathon on Sunday. All morning races. The 5k ran through Animal Kingdom and the start and finish, though different lines/areas, were both in the parking lot. Race time began at 6:30am and I think maybe 5 minutes between each corral.

The expo was well organized as far as bib and shirt pickup. I will say that I was there on Thursday morning before opening to get a spot for the merchandise, and while the lines were organized and everyone was polite, when the doors opened, they failed to monitor the initial amount of people going inside. For the first 30 minutes you could barely move through the aisles, they were so jam packed. They started holding the line back and only letting a few in at a time, but I wish they had started that from the get go. It was very stressful and overwhelming. While most were nice and would pass back sizes or products, there were others just pushing through. I think starting from the beginning they need to only let a few folks in at a time (like they do in California - Tinker Bell was so well organized and controlled, the shopping experience was a breeze). The lines to checkout were long, but I feel they moved pretty quickly.

PROS:
+ runDisney transportation was easy to use for expo and the race. You had a 30 minute window for the 5k to get on the bus to be at the race to be in corrals by 5:30 (I think they ran from the resort hotels from 4:30–5am)
+ Medals for the 5k this year instead of medallions
+ I saw 4 character stops, but heard others saw 6. Lines generally moved pretty quickly.
+ Plenty of the PhotoPass photographers on course. You could then get your photos via Memory Maker or if you are an Annual Passholder, it comes with that (you had to enter the code on the back of your bib to link them up - easy to do).
+ It's really cool to run through Animal Kingdom while the sun is rising. Looked really awesome behind Expedition Everest.
+ While some parts of the course get narrow, mostly it's not too bad. Read why I gave the elevation and course scenery those scores in the Cons.
+ Post-race you receive a bottle of water, Gatorade, and the runner box filled with: tortilla chips, cheddar dipping sauce, dried cranberries, oreos, Clif Builder's bar, GoGO Squeez, and a wet wipe.
+ Pre- and post-race you had the opportunity to get your photo with Mickey and Minnie, though there were long lines and they had time limits (I think maybe stopped photos at 6am and then had to leave by 8:30 to get inside the park).
+ Clear course markings, mile markers, and clocks.
+ Volunteers/Cast Members are fantastic!
+ Transportation back to hotel went until 9am, which then the park is open so you can either go have some fun on the rides (if you have a ticket) or hop on the hotel buses if you miss the race transportation.

CONS:
- I wish the 5k shirt was tech material over cotton. It's the hard cotton, not that super soft material, so I'd just rather have a tech (I wear them all the time, even when not running)
- Corral placement seemed off. I feel that's people submitting finish times inaccurate with what they actually run, trying to get a better placement. We were towards the front of our corral (I went back to D with my mom), and at the start people were just walking. I'm fine with people that only walk, but they should have been in E, or at least the back of D. It was unfair that people were trying to run at the start line and couldn't.
- Elevation I gave a 2 just because there are some very minor inclines, but mainly it's for the fact that some of the pavement is uneven and you want to be careful of your footing. Not a big deal, but something to notice.
- Course scenery would get a 5 if we didn't have that out and back towards the end. Mainly it's just super congested and hard to run through the crowd since it's more narrow (I don't think they can do any other way for the course, so I get it, but still frustrating).

Even with a few cons, it's a race at Disney so it's really fun and mostly laid-back. I enjoyed myself despite getting caught in congestion at points... I expect it, especially if you start farther back and then stop for photos, you just get caught behind more walkers. This was my 5th year at Wine and Dine Weekend and I love it.

2016 was the Inaugural Wine and Dine 10k held on Saturday, November 5 at 5:30am. It was also the Inaugural Lumiere's Two Course Challenge which was the 10k and Half Marathon. You can read my thoughts on the expo under my 5k review.

PROS:
+ Photos ops pre- and post-race with Check Mickey and Minnie, Emilie and Remy (though Remy left earlier so my mom and I only got Emile), Lumiere, and/or Donald Duck and Goofy.
+ I think I saw 6 character stops, though there might have been more I missed (not sure you'd count it, but penguins from Marry Poppins, Flik and Princess Atta, Pinochhio and Geppetto, Genie, Chip and Dale, and Sebastian.
+ 10 minutes between each corral, went from A–E.
+ Easy to use race transportation (at least where I stayed, I heard some horror stories of no buses showing up because they kept filling it up at the one resort before going to the second stop). I think you had to be on a bus between 3:30 and 4? So that runners were in corrals by 4:30? They took down the digital event guide so I can't double check.
+ Post race run box was same for 5k and half, plus got bottled water and Powerade.
+ Loved the inaugural medal.
+ Start and Finish line were in Epcot parking lot (again, two different locations for each)

CONS:
- A bit of congestion here and there, but generally I felt it was better than the 5k - you had about 3 miles on highway before anything else where it was mostly wide areas for runners to spread out (a few narrow areas, but everyone seemed to manage).

The course took your from highway to Epcot, half way around the world to the Boardwalk, enter Epcot again, and then out of Epcot for the finish. runDisney is great at organization and race management is very clear in their emails. Loved this race and the medal. Very happy I was able to take part in the Inaugural race.

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k Chicago was held on Sunday, October 30. Chicago is the first stop on the 2016/17 Hot Chocolate Nationwide Tour. I've only done this race one other time maybe three years ago as it always falls on a weekend that I commit to another race. I was so happy with the weekend change this year so I could participate, and run my first ever 15k! Race day weather seemed a bit iffy. When I checked it said rain would be done by 6am, but while waiting to start in my corral we had a few bits of rain drops and drizzle, but it wasn't much or lasted too long. It was in the mid-50s with high winds now and again, mostly cloudy. Generally, perfect running weather.

PROS:
+ The Expo was two days - Friday 10a–7p and Saturday 10a–6p at McCormick Place Skyline Ballroom, West Building. I went on Saturday morning - crowded, but easy to get packet. You go and scan your QR code sent in your confirmation email or from the email they send a week before the race with info. They give you your bib. Then you head over to a line of shirts - go to your shirt size line and they give you a bag with your jacket, which was a fitted jacket with hood and thumbholes. Gear check bags were on your way into the vendor area.
+ Lots of vendors at the expo - Hot Chocolate official merchandise, Fleet Feet, OOFOS, and a bunch of others. You could also sign up for one of the many RAM Racing events (SF10, Rudolph Ramble, Mag Mile, etc).
+ 2 waves for race day - wave 1 at 7:30 and wave 2 at 8:15.
+ Corrals were clearly marked as was the course.
+ I believe there were 5 aid stations - Nuun first and then water.
+ Candy/chocolate stations - there was chocolate chips, strawberry marshmallows, m&ms, and chocolate marshmallows. They were before aid stations which was nice, so you could wash it down.
+ Interesting course - running north on Columbus, west on Lower Wacker, south on Clark, east on Van Buren, south on Lake Michigan (5k turned east on Roosevelt and north on Columbus to finish) - 15k finishers went straight on, east on 31st street, north and then back on MLK Dr, east again on 31st, a small out and back before going under McCormick Tunnel, out and back around Solder Field, then you headed north on the west side of SF, under the bridge and up the hill to Columbus, and north to the finish line.
+ Mile markers and clocks at every mile.
+ Finish line included your medal and bottled water. After party in Grant Park by Petrillo Bandshell.
+ The medals are city specific and for 15k finishers only. It's a unique and fun medal for sure.
+ Finisher mug filled (blue plastic) with cup of hot chocolate, melted chocolate with dippers: Banana, Rice Krispy Treat, pretzels, marshmallow, and one other thing I don't know the name of, but they are breaded sticks with chocolate inside... if that makes sense haha.
+ Post-race included a kids zone, DJ, and merchandise to purchase.
+ Free photo downloads.

CONS:
- The first mile was SO crowded. It was impossible to run your pace without bumping into people. There just wasn't enough space for the amount of people. I wasn't running for a PR, but would have been mad if I were. I don't know how this could have been helped, but there were a ton of people speeding through pushing others that should have been in a higher corral, and then slow walkers that probably should have been one corral back. Just frustrating that there had to be so much weaving and/or being stuck behind a wall of people and not being able to go the pace you want.