What was I thinking? Signing up for a 5K in the winter! Luckily, it was sunny and it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I had a blast running the 5K with my friend Jessie. In this blog post, I share a race recap.
The Cocoa Classic 5K was held on December 8th, 2018 at Deer Park Shopping Center in Deerfield, IL. The course was in the streets around the shopping center , but the start was in the shopping center’s parking lot.
I didn’t take any pictures while running. My friend Jessie and I pretty much ran the whole 5K (which is pretty awesome!). I’m a walk/run runner, so this was a change for me, but it was fun and I realized I can run for longer periods than what I thought.
Or maybe it was the cold? The sooner you cross the finish line, the sooner you can go back to your car haha.
We finished with a time of 38:56.8. We were happy to have run under 40 minutes. Yay! I’m proud of us 🙂
Jessie and her family had to leave right after the race, but I stayed for a second cup of hot chocolate, some pictures, and to get free goodies.
This was my first time hearing about Mane in Heaven. I believe the race’s fundraiser was for Mane in Heaven.
I loved meeting these two ponies. Very well behaved! One of them seemed like he wanted to give me a hug! So cute!
I love hot chocolate! I added a marshmallow to my first one, but nothing to the second one. I don’t like whip cream on my hot chocolate. Too much sugar!
I don’t usually sign up for a race if they don’t give out medals, but I did this one. How cute is this finisher’s mug! I surprised my daughter with it when I got home and she was thrilled!
I love this Christmas tree at Deer Park!
The walk to my car was brutal. My body had cooled down and I was cold!! I’m thankful for a car that has a working heater!
These are all the free goodies that I got from visiting different booths after the race. Those Kleenex came in handy!
In overall, I would run this race again. The course was hilly at a few spots, but not terrible.
Everything was well organized from online information to packet pick and to race day.
The hot chocolate was very delicious, too!
Do you run in less than 20 degrees?
When’s your next race?
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Congratulations! Sounds like an amazing experience.
Thank you, Amanda. I always enjoy a 5K race!
A steaming cup of hot cocoa awaits every participant at our Trader Joe’s post-race fireside party to soothe, refresh, and aid in recovery. If you’re running the 5K, you’ll get an additional boost of cocoa on the course at our Chocolate Tunnel! There’s more too, including our fabulous hot-cocoa toppings bar! Just be sure to sign up soon: the Hot Cocoa Classic 5K Marshmallow Mountain Mile is limited to 500 participants!
ZERO WASTE The event is a Leave No Trace event. Learn more about our race-day recycling and composting efforts here. Want more information about running a great race and leaving no trace? Click here to visit Happy Planet Running!