Type: Run
Distance: 15K
Shwag: Hoodie, bag thingie, post-race fondue, a finisher's medal (which drives me nuts)
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| Shwag |
Yes, I mostly hate finisher's medals! I can understand them for big events - a marathon, an ironman, a half ironman, etc. But they give them out for everything. I mean, come on. This race had candy aid stations and fondue at the end, and you're giving me a medal for finishing? I was basically running from food station to food station. I don't need to be rewarded for that. We also got finisher's medals at the Insane Inflatables race earlier this year, and that wasn't even timed. What is this world coming to?
Anyway...
A few weeks ago I traveled down to Denver with JenSki,
Therese, and Stacie on a chilly Sunday morning for a hot run, the Hot Chocolate
Run. I’d heard good things about the race and had always wanted to do it. But,
in the past, this race has always happened the day after the Great American
Beer Festival and since GABF is an important tradition for me (I went this year,
after a grueling seven hour trail run, because it’s just what you do), I’ve
never been able to do the Hot Chocolate Run.
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| Us |
But this year, the stars aligned and the race took place the
weekend after GABF, which also happened to be the first weekend of my taper.
So, an easy nine mile jog around Denver was perfect. Actually, you know what
made it perfect? It wasn’t the timing, or how well it fit with my training plan. It was the candy aid stations. Each aid station was different: chocolate
chips, strawberry marshmallows (not as terrible as I thought they would be,
although not exactly good either), tootsie rolls, and chocolate/vanilla
marshmallows, all in the course of 9.3 miles.
Under normal race circumstances, I would have been worried
about digesting candy while running but, since I was tapering for my upcoming
50K I wasn’t putting out too much effort. Plus, in training for an ultra, I’ve
also been training myself to eat pretty much anything while running because from what I hear, ultra aid stations are amazing, and I really want to be
prepared to take advantage of that. Therefore, I owed it to myself to try every
candy aid station.
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| Cute Start |
I’m serious when I say I think the candy helped my race. I
was feeling a little sluggish around mile five, when I came upon the tootsie
roll aid station. I snagged a few and, shortly after fueling with…
whatever’s in a tootsie roll, I had noticeably more pep in my step. I’m
thinking of packing a few for my 50k this weekend. I mean, really, aside from
the extra sodium, is there a huge difference between candy and that sports
nutrition crap we eat? Not really.
Aside from the candy aid stations, I don’t really remember too many
details from the race. When you’re used to running for hours and hours on end,
90 minutes goes by pretty quickly so there are only a few things from the race
that I really remember: I passed a bar with a sign out front that said, “Happy
Birthday Chewbacca” and I really took some time to consider whether Chewbacca
has a birthday that we know about and can/should celebrate. And, some guy
harassed me for wearing my Pirates hat. But, that’s what
it means to be an out of town fan. Keep that in mind - if you encounter an out
of town fan in your hometown, be nice!
If I haven't made the point clearly enough, let me directly state that the candy aid stations made
the event. But, even without the candy aid stations, it was a pleasant
little race, or maybe I only thought the race was so good because I had
such low expectations. After a rough packet pickup experience (it took an hour.
An hour!), and after being thoroughly disappointed by the cheap-o quality of
the race sweatshirts, I thought this was going to be another Colorado Women’s
Classic. (Remember the cupcake tower incident, my friends?) But it wasn’t.
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| Yay... Fondue! |
Overall, it was a very nicely run race. They had millions of
kids out there as volunteers. Where they got all these kids, I have no clue, and
maybe don’t want to know, but, it added up to a good race. The gear check was
fast and efficient, there were ample porta potties, and the fondue situation at
the end was very well organized. And, while the sweatshirt material is cheap,
they look good on. It was also great running weather – a little cool, and a
little humid – and it was nice to do a run in Denver for a change. In fact, I think this was the first Denver race I’ve ever done, and I’d definitely go back for
another!
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| Finisher's Medal - I hate these things! |
