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Post Allstate Hot Chocolate 5k Race Review by a BibravePro

“Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

If you missed my pre-race post, you can check it out here.

Expo Review

Each year the Hot Chocolate St. Louis expo is held in Union Station. I love this location as you may have previously read. It did take a little longer to get into the exhibit hall because of the construction and the access to the back parking lot where I normally park was open but you had to walk around and go through the hotel to get to the expo. Thankfully some ladies in front of me knew where they were going, so I followed them.

Packet pickup was a breeze and I was able to get my goodie bag quickly. I arrived a little before 10am (the start of the expo,) but everyone was already setup.

As you can see, there is an area to try on your jacket and exchange sizes if you need to. I love that they offer this because so many races don’t allow you to switch sizes or you have to wait until after the race and what’s leftover. I didn’t need to switch sizes, so I went on to the explore the booths.

Like I stated in my earlier post, there are always chocolate goodies to nibble on as you browse the booths.

I debated buying a mug at the expo but found a deal on two cute Run St. Louis pullovers and half zips that were 2 for $30. So, I went ahead and purchased those and then headed on out!

Swag Review

I just love the color of the jacket this year. What’s nice about the jacket is that it is fleece lined, but light. It’s warm but still lightweight and not too hot. I most enjoy the softness of it. The outside feels like butter. Once again, good job on the swag, it never disappoints.

Race Review

Flat Sam was ready to go the morning of the race.

I want to start by saying that I love this race. However, I did start it in a slightly cranky mood because I arrived over an hour prior to the start and had difficulty finding a place to park. I will say part of this was poor on my end because I was trying to find a place not miles from the start, but also that I would be able to find after. Forest park can be quite confusing and a maze. All of the spots that I had pre-mapped out with the handy parking map they provided had been either filled or closed off already. I finally found a place to park but I was about a mile away and the race started in 10 minutes. I was frazzled and forgot my gloves, kept my pants on and was pairing my headphones to my watch as I ran to find the start. I could hear the national anthem and worried that I wouldn’t be able to start with everyone. I knew there were corrals but didn’t know how many and figured it would be a rolling start.

My corral was A but I ended up just hopping in the I corral in fear of missing the start. As we stood there, I realized that they were keeping 2-3 minutes between each corral start. I tried to make my way up a little because I wanted to get going. I was able to get up into the G corral and saw the pace of 10:30 and thought that with my knee, this was probably a good place to start anyway.

So, then I was able to relax and get settled and switch my mindset into having a good time. That’s exactly what I did. I ran until my knees started hurting and then switched between walking and running as comfortable. At mile two they passed out these cute chocolate wafers and I walked and ate two and put the rest into my pocket for later.

The course was a bit hilly, but so pretty. I loved running by the zoo, the jewel box and the Muny. I just enjoyed the scenery and had a good time. I also enjoyed the signs 500m away from the finish because that helped motivate me to keep going and that I was almost done. I also started to get my phone out so I could film the finish, because I was having fun and thought I never do things like this!

Food Review

At the finish line they had NUUN and I’m not much of a fan because of the carbonation like taste. I had thought it was lemon lime Gatorade and quickly realized it was not, but I knew the hot chocolate was close! I filmed the post-race party and took advantage of the awesome photo opportunities!

Post Race Food Video

Then I started to get cold and knew I needed to find my car. I was trying to figure out where the start had been so I could remember where I parked. Thankfully the maps on your phone tells you where your car is parked, so I started to follow that. However, it was only .5 miles to the start from my car, but .9 to my car from the finish. I was walking from the other side of where I originally had come from. I started thinking my phone was lying and that I would never make it to my car.

My hands were hurting from being so cold. However, I was standing at the top by the art museum and just embraced the beautiful view and took some photos.

Then I continued knowing I was close to my car. As I continued to walk, I saw this beautiful tree and knew I had to get a picture.

So, I think in the end, I was meant to walk this way so I could experience the views, great sculptures and artwork.

Race Results and Photos

Per usual, race results were instant on Athlinks and I could go on and claim my results right after the race.

I also had an email shortly after the race saying I had race photos up online. This was the fastest turnaround for photos I have experienced. You really do get your bang for your buck. I recommend running this series no matter where you are!

Overall

Overall, I love this race series. I liked running in forest park a lot too. I believe there was just a lot more space for their post-race party in the open field and you weren’t so congested. If I could make any suggestions, it would be more helpful parking. What I mean by this is maybe having signs of where you can park for the race and also how far that location is from the race itself. Then you would know if it was a good spot. This is only for directionally challenged people like myself. I’m sure others had no problem and knew exactly where to go and where to be. Honestly, everything else was great!

To see my Bibrave Review, click here.

Bibrave half marathon racing review running running recap

The Good, Bad & Ugly: KC Half Marathon Recap

“Disclaimer: I received free entry to the KC Marathon race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check outBibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

The Good

Let’s start with the good parts first, shall we? This race was AWESOME! 

We arrived on Friday around 5:30/6ish PM. Union Station was such a cool place inside and we really enjoyed walking around the inside and experiencing the expo. It didn’t take too long to pick up my packet and definitely not long at all to take my pre-race photo! 

I had pre-ordered the Lululemon full tights and shorts that had the race logo on them and that was also super easy and quick to grab! 

We will both agree, that hands down, our hotel and room were one of the best we have ever stayed in. We were on the top floor of rooms and had a view of the start and finish line. It was the best decision to get a hotel right at the start and finish of the race and something I will try to do with every race out of town in the future. 

Here are views from our hotel room at the Westin KC Crowne Center

Seriously, could it get any better? It does. The fact our hotel was at Crowne Center, meant that we didn’t have to go far for food. We walked around Crowne Center and decided on Spin! pizza for pre-race fuel. I got the chicken alfredo and a caesar side salad. 

We had originally planned to stop at a grocery on the way, but I was so exhausted. So thankfully there were a few stores and I picked up some pb crackers to go with my clif kids bar for pre race fuel in the morning. Now it was time to set up Flat Sam and then curl into bed for the night. 

I did end up with a thicker fleece lined black long sleeve because it ultimately fit better under my Bibrave tank. I really wanted my arm sleeves and tank, but that can go under “the bad,” section. This was my first race using BibBoards and I loved them! 

The race itself was set up perfectly and the pro to having the hotel right at the start, was that I slept in until 5:50, took my time eating, getting dressed and was able to use the restroom multiple times in my own room before heading to the start line. First, I met up with a few of the other BibRavePros and we met for the first time! So much fun to meet others you have been interacting with virtually for so long! 

The just like that, I was at the start line and ready to run! The course was absolutely beautiful and this was my first time running in Kansas City, so I  thoroughly enjoyed the scenery.

The best part of the race were the gummy bears at mile 10 or so. I honestly walked and ate my cup of 6, casually enjoying them.

The other good part was having the hotel at the finish because you’re going to find out why shortly. Now let’s get to the next section, because enter bad and ugly.

The Bad

So as I was saying earlier, I wanted to wear my arm warmers/sleeves with just my tank and shorts. I overheat SUPER easily and I get rashes from that and sometimes can get some anxiety. Thankfully I wasn’t racing or I probably would’ve felt the anxiety. But I could only find ONE sleeve prior to leaving Illinois for Kansas City. Therefore, no sleeves. 

We did have a bit of trouble finding the parking garage for the expo. But that’s also because we are not city folk and do not do well in cities with one way streets, lots of cars and puzzle streets. The garage was kind of hidden in a back way from where we were driving. But we were able to park for free for the expo which was awesome (put that up with the good!)

I also forgot my Apple Watch. I started to use the Strava app for running in order to use the Beacon feature for my family to keep track of me out there. Since you can’t send beacons on your watch, I use my phone and keep it in my flipbelt and then will start another run session from my watch. This was an issue because I didn’t want to fumble with my phone and try to run, so I started my app when we counted down the start. So my mile markers were off the whole race which drove me bonkers. 

The only bad part about the race that I didn’t enjoy, was that around mile 4 or 5, I honestly can’t remember, we were running on a road that had a design to it and wasn’t flat. It was hell on your ankles basically and was honestly awful. 

The Ugly

Okay guys, did you really think there was anything ugly about the race itself? It was all my doing. I didn’t train the way I wanted to leading up to this race. I had a solid like 3 weeks of great training and then a month of not running and then maybe like 2 runs leading up to the race of 3 miles. My life was busy packing my apartment and moving to a new state. I was just trying to keep my head above water. Therefore, the ugly was how my body felt during and after. At mile 2 my knees and ankles were already hurting me. I shocked myself by not even walking until mile 5. So there’s that. 

Toward mile 11, my body hurt so bad that it hurt as much if not more to walk than run. And by run, I mean shuffle? I never judged myself once during this race. At mile 12, some guy touched me as I was walking and said, “come on, we can do this together. you can do this.” and in my mind I was thinking, “dude, this is my race. run your own,” but I thought I may as well give it a go. I stayed with him for another half mile or so. But when we hit another hill, I said nope. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a finish line before. THANK YOU FOR THE DOWNHILL FINISH! Seriously. Add that to the list. Because holy hills for this race. I don’t think I could run it again unless I truly had great training. 

I was ready to cry the last two miles of the race, because I couldn’t tell if I was going to be seriously injured for pushing myself this much. I couldn’t even enjoy the post race party because I could barely hold myself up. Kudos to the boyfriend for seeing me in that state and handling my helplessness and indecisiveness which ultimately led to me asking to go back to the hotel.

Final Thoughts

This was a very organized race and I was blessed to get to participate as a BibRavePro and thankful to have my race comped. I loved our hotel, the race and the feeling of accomplishment afterward. I told the bf I would never run another half marathon again after that one.

Last night I said, “remember when I told you I was done running half marathons?” He said “you signed up for another didn’t you?” I responded with, “no, but I’m not done yet. I want to run another in shape again.”

So to that friends, it’s not the end of my half marathon days. Six in and I’ll be back for a 7th some day! 

Q: Have you ran this race before?

Q: What’s your favorite half marathon?

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