NYCRUNS Hot Chocolate 5K Race Report
Woo hoo! I just realized my last race of 2012 – the Hot Chocolate 5K/10K yesterday – and my first race of 2012 – the Cherry Tree 10-Miler Relay – were both in NYC! And, they were both with Gina and her brother-in-law, Greg! And Gina’s husband Steve joined us for the 5K yesterday!
Me, Gina, Steve and Greg – all photos from Gina’s camera, photos taken by a family member. Notice how we all have different bibs? The race recycled bibs from other races for this event. Green effort? Money-saving effort? Who knows. Funny? Yes.
The Hot Chocolate 5K was put on by NYCRUNS, on Roosevelt Island. Roosevelt Island is a small island (about two miles long) between Manhattan and Queens, in the East River. Gina had done a few races on Roosevelt Island and told me how much she loved them – flat course, scenic views of the island and Manhattan (and Queens?), easy to get to from her house, not too crowded… I was itching to join her for a Roosevelt Island race! I am pretty sure I have never raced on an island before, ha ha. Edited to add – derrrrp, Manhattan, Staten Island… yes I have raced in these places before. Thanks, Gina.
Have you ever raced (or run?) on an island before?
So Gina told me about this race well in advance… maybe in October? And I penciled it in my calendar, but was not sure how to make it work – December gets kind of crazy. But one day, I checked flights, saw they were $137 round trip and knew I had to come for this race! You cannot say no to a price like that!*
Blah de blah blah. On to the damn race report!
This race ended up selling out with over 1500 runners between the 5K and 10K (which had two different start times)! Gina, Steve, Greg and I all lined up together in the back of the start chute. The race was chip timed, so I was not worried about delays in crossing the start. However, there was a bit of weaving in the first half mile, which was unfortunate, as I was there to pace Gina for a PR! I tried to get us to run the tangents, and avoid as much weaving as possible, but I am sure we wasted a bit of energy until it cleared up in the second half of this first mile. And after that, we didn’t have any issues (with weaving, that is).
Looking good at Mile 1!
Gina told me her goal was to run A 32:xx 5K. She also told me I had full rein to play drill sergeant. She probably now wishes she hadn’t said that. I yelled at her for exerting too much energy (high-fiving, getting people to cheer for her), walking, slowing down, saying she couldn’t do this… I also told her I expected her to feel like she wanted to throw up, that 5K PRs are supposed to hurt and that I didn’t want her to feel like she left anything on the course.
I don’t think she did.
Wait. Maybe our friendship got left behind?!
Just kidding! I hope. Gulp.
She looks like she still likes me in this post-race picture… right?!
Gina did really well. But! I am going to leave her story of her race and the finish for her** to tell! My story is just of me enjoying pacing my friend in a 5K, in a new location that I loved. And with her wonderful family there to support her (her son, Dad, Dad’s wife, sister-in-law and nephew)!
The boys did well too! Steve came in before us (with a PR!), and one second before his brother! What a surprise! We lost Steve right away on the course, but kept track of Greg… so it’s neat they ended up finishing together despite not starting all that much together!
As the title suggests, there was hot chocolate after the race. And we got mugs instead of t-shirts. I really like them!
Luca is not so sure
I’m happy I got to do a few races in NYC this year! I hope to be back in 2013, for the 10-mile relay that started my racing season last year. This time, we hope to enter TWO teams… stay tuned…
*Ugh. Too bad my flight was delayed over an hour and a half though, and I got to their house at midnight. Sorry, guys!
**Gina, update your blog already!
Themocracy
I did the Hot Chocolate 5k here in Dallas this year! It was a fun race and of course I loved the jacket we got instead of shirts. 🙂 It looks like you guys had a great race! YEAH for PRs!
The jacket for the Running Away Multisport Hot Chocolate looks so nice!
Looks like a super fun race! And you can’t beat the price of those tickets! Great job girls!
I’m glad you had fun!!!
Oooh nice mug!! And I love your shirts. Too cute.
I love the Santa shirts! Looks like you had a lot of fun :).
Wait, you didn’t run in your crazy headbands?? Your outfits are amazing either way, though. So fun.
I hope that even with the re-used bib numbers they made sure they didn’t have duplicates! It’s a good idea, though.
We nixed the headbands, as Gina’s was too loose and kept falling forward! 😉
Sounds like a great race! WTG Gina on a shiny new PR!
I have ran in Hawaii so definitely run on an island. Not sure I’ve ever raced on one though… I take that back… the Wild Half Marathon turn around is on a tiny island. 🙂
$137 to NYC? I think I paid more than that for round-trip CAB fare to/from both airports last time I went there! Looks like a fun run with great views of the city. I want to run there again soon!
woohoo! I love the idea of chocolate mug instead of a medal!
Glad it was great fun!
I am a life-long New Yorker but Roosevelt Island is one place that I only visit for a day trip, or as in the case of the Hot Chocolate race, to run. It was nice to see Manhattan skyline from a different angle. The bridge from Queens got me confused for a minute, as I mistook it for the Queensborough Bridge.
Thanks for commenting! I am looking forward to reading your race recap 🙂
Looks like fun! Way to top off the racing season!
Sounds like a fun day and I LOVE THOSE SHIRTS!
It looks like y’all had a great time with the 5k!! I CAN’T WAIT to read how Gina did!!!
=^..^=
I think you should send her a text prodding her to write her recap 😉 hee hee.
Oooh, I’ve never heard of Roosevelt Island!!! What a great hidden gem that race sounds like!!! You found roundtrip airfare to New York for $137!?!?!?!? WHAT IS YOUR SECRET!?!?!?
Congratulations on yet another fantastic race!!! No better way to cap off your 2012 racing season. =D
You should run there the next time you are there – seriously, one loop around the island is only a little over 3 miles! 🙂 And I have NO IDEA how I got lucky with that airfare but I hope it happens again!
I’m not even gonna tell you how jealous I am that you are not only in NYC but got to run a race there!! Looks like an amazing experience. I need to hunt down these cheap airline tickets so I can make my way back there again…
I LOVE the shirts!!!!! Those are so awesome! Nice mug too!
You are the best drill sargeant ever!!
(I’m still giggling that they used all kinds of recycled bibs. wth is up with that??)
GREAT JOB GINA!! (just in case she updates as often as I do lately)
You both are due TWO race reports. TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love your shirts!! Too cute. And so glad you were able to run such a fun race with one of your best friends. That is awesome! 🙂