Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Virtual Hot Chocolate San Diego 5k/15k 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!

The Hot Chocolate race first debuted in 2008 and now has become one of the fastest growing running races in the country, with events in over 15 cities across the US! It even won as one of the best races with one of the best medals and swag in the BibRave 100!

Geographically I live just outside of Philadelphia and I had heard about this race over the years on social media because they do have one in Philadelphia but I had never signed up for it. I remember seeing the pictures of the sweet jacket and the mug filled with some delicious hot chocolate and fondue that you received at the end and it sounded amazing! I also had heard about the chocolate stations that were placed along the way during the race!! Who knew that come March 2020 most, if not all, races would be cancelled and still now in 2021 most are either cancelled or virtual. Here’s hoping that we can run more in person races in 2022!

When the opportunity came up to run this virtually, I decided I need to see what all the hype was about! When my race swag finally arrived last week, I was highly impressed! The charcoal jacket was so super soft, had 3 different pockets and a removable hood!

The medal was a replica of a piece of chocolate in gold and was gorgeous! Plus, it had a piece of chocolate in the middle, I couldn’t love it more! 

I also received extra chocolate pieces, hot chocolate packets, nuun hydration tablets and a honey stinger waffle!  So many goodies in one bag! 

The nice part about running a race virtually is that you can run or walk it anywhere and at any time. The San Diego race was held on February 28^th, 2021 and that is when I ran it. I tried my best to run up some hills because I heard that the San Diego course is quite hilly, and I wanted to try be as close to the race course as I could!  We had a cloudy day here in the 40’s and it was drizzling for most of my run, which is the opposite of the sunny warm weather they have out in San Diego!  I came home and immediately tried one of the hot chocolate packets they had given me, and it hit the spot!

If you have missed out on running this race thus far, don’t fret! There are plenty more scheduled virtually for the remainder of the year. Head over to their site Hot Chocolate 5k/15K and get yourself signed up!!