This race was my 3rd marathon and overall I would recommend it to other runners, but there were some areas that could be improved.

Race Expo:
The expo had it’s goods and bads. The BJCC convention center was a nice but confusing location. Thankfully the race had volunteers telling people where to go, because my husband and I unknowingly parked on the far side of the complex and never would have found the expo without those helpful people. The expo itself was pretty small and on the floor of an arena. A plus was that they did have a lot of sale gear available which always gets me excited. Packet pickup was quick and easy, and then we browsed the sale gear for a bit and headed out. I was very happy to find out afterward that my race shirt fits me. This is a rare occurrence as an XS female.

Race Day, Pre-Race
We cut it very close getting to the start on time. We had to park about 0.5 mi away for available street parking, and driving around was a bit difficult since a lot of streets were one ways and many were blocked off for the race. Since the race was on Sunday though, the street parking was free. Once we got to the start, we wanted to take care of business before the race but couldn’t find any Porta-potties. Luckily we figured out just in time that we had to go inside the convention center to use the facilities.

Race
The course was a double loop and went through a lot of downtown Birmingham with the half-marathon for the first loop and only marathoners and the marathon relay runners for the second. It was nice to see a lot of the city, but we also had a rocky stretch along a railroad that wasn’t so great. There were mild hills throughout the course, but nothing too overwhelming. I was impressed with the frequency of aid stations and they were stocked with lots of water, power aid, GU, and friendly volunteers. There weren’t a whole lot of spectators, but the weather ranged from cloudy to misting to down right pouring throughout the race so a nice day would probably have a lot more crowds.

Post-Race
Besides the fact that it’s a car logo, the medals are pretty sweet and very high quality. We were also given race themed towels at the finish which was absolutely wonderful considering we were drenched from the rain. Immediately in the finisher area there were bananas, oranges (my favorite post-race food), power aid, and water bottles. I was a little dissapointed at the lack of cookies or chocolate milk. After leaving the finisher area, runners could walk a short distance to the convention center for the post-race party. This was where having the venue be the floor of an arena became an issue. Walking down the multiple flights of stairs to get to the floor was challenging and slightly dangerous after running a marathon. I definitely almost fell once. But after managing the treck, we headed toward the food. This was a definite plus for the race. Part of the race bibs included a ticket for Jim and Nick’s BBQ, which turned out to be a delicious BBQ sandwich, chips, and coleslaw. Runners could even pick between beef, pork, and turkey. It was wonderfully tasty. The party also had a live band which was cool, but they were too loud for my taste. There was also beer available and additional race gear for purchase. There were plenty of tables available, and we sat and ate our food, recovered a bit and then headed home.

This was the first year for the Rockin Chocolate and the race was an overall positive experience. It was a smaller race, with somewhere between 1000 - 2000 runners total for the two distances (marathon and half marathon). The expo was correspondingly small, but the gear and vendors were good quality and packet pickup was a smooth process. I was also very happy because I was allowed to upgrade from the half to the full marathon at the expo, although I wasn't able to get a new bib so that small detail was slightly disappointing. The race itself was a two lap course around Lake Monona and the views are absolutely beautiful and the most memorable part of the race for me. The aid stations were well stocked with water and Gatorade, but the food options were a bit lacking. They had half bananas, bagels, and animal crackers which are difficult to eat and at some stations it wasn't obvious they had food. The race distances were well marked for both the half and full, however there were one or two stretches along the route where they could have used more general markings to highlight the course. There were two times where I wasn't totally sure I was still going the right way. The race medals were well designed and I liked that they were a bit smaller than typical ones, which meant it didn't hurt my neck after wearing it for a bit. The post race party had the standard offerings like water, chocolate milk, bananas, animal crackers, and my favorite, free beer =) Because of the name of the race, I was really expecting there to be more chocolate related things. Every runner got a box of delicious toffee chocolates at packet pickup, and there were chocolates for purchase from one stand at the post race party, but that was about it. Overall, for the first year I think this race was organized and ran pretty well, with a few places for improvements in upcoming years. I definitely hope they keep having it and would recommend it, especially to runners that like scenic views.