Hot Chocolate Run Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
- 15K, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
America’s sweetest run is back for the most indulgent Hot Chocolate Run season yet in Philadelphia, starting and finishing at Eakins Oval! With 5K, 10K, and 15K distances and a post-run party that’ll make you go cocoa crazy, you and your friends will experience the ultimate chocolate celebration! Philadelphia chocolatiers … MORE
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Fun Race Series with Multiple Options
The Hot Chocolate Run Series is currently (2025) in over a dozen cities plus a virtual option. Each event has multiple distance options. I completed the 15k distance for the … MORE
The Hot Chocolate Run Series is currently (2025) in over a dozen cities plus a virtual option. Each event has multiple distance options. I completed the 15k distance for the Philly race.
During the registration process, runners are given the option to have their bib and swag mailed to them (for a fee). I took advantage of this so that I could skip heading down a day early to go to the expo (so I have no intel on the expo). Having my bib in advance saved me the cost of a hotel and it was super easy to take an Amtrak down from NYC to Philly on race morning. It was a 20 minute walk from the Philly Amtrak station to the race start and I was there in plenty of time.
The 5k starts at 7:15 AM and then the 10k and 15k start together at 8:00 AM. All three distances are on the same course and they are all out and back routes. I would imagine that the faster runners encountered some bottlenecking when they came upon the slower participants of the shorter races–this wasn’t a problem for me!
The course is almost entirely flat. I would say that for the 5k and 10k it is entirely flat. Only the 15k had a slight uphill near the turnaround point. Speaking of the 15k turnaround point–it was odd. Less U-Turn and more W-Shaped. I would imagine that would slow down anyone going for a PR or time-goal. Also, the road after the 10k turnaround point was a bit rocky and uneven–this only impacted 15k runners.
The race starts at Eakins Oval (near the Philadelphia Museum of Art) and finishes near the Rocky Balboa Statue. The course runs along the Schuylkill River where you will see many rowing teams practicing.
The race swag includes a full-zip jacket and a nice medal. In the finish area you can pick-up the post-race goodies bowl filled with a cup of hot chocolate (of course), chocolate fondue, dippables, snacks & a banana. I only had the hot chocolate because I saved room to get a Philadelphia cheesesteak before heading back to NYC. It was great!
Delicious Chocolate and Great Swag
I love chocolate and wanted to do one of these hot chocolate races. When they announced they were back I saw the closest one was in Philly. It also coincided … MORE
I love chocolate and wanted to do one of these hot chocolate races. When they announced they were back I saw the closest one was in Philly. It also coincided with a half marathon I was thinking about doing an hour away in NJ so the date was perfect. For packet pick-up there is an expo on Friday or you can pay $25 to get packet mailed. It’s a little annoying for a Saturday race to not have packet pick-up and I had to pay the $25 to get it mailed since I wasn’t arriving in Philly until late Friday night. Packet came about 2 weeks before. It included bib, a really nice well fitted jacket, and a cooler with the race logo. It was very nice swag. I stayed in a hotel outside Philly so I wouldn’t have to deal with city parking and took an uber to the race. There are hotels close to the start and they gave instructions on parking if you do drive to the race. I starts at Eakins Oval by the Rocky Steps. It was a really cool area to start and the start/finish area was set up well with a DJ, a few booths with merchandise and products, blow-up decorations for pictures and plenty of porta-potties. There were absolutely no lines and this is a pretty big race with about 4000 participants total in each distance. The 5K starts 45 mins before 15 K which works out well so there is no overlap of runners from different distances. You were assigned corrals based on pace. Corrals left every 2 minutes or so. It was organized and allowed the runners to be pretty well spaced. I was worried I was in too fast a corral since I put my pace down pre-injury but I was able to keep up with the runners in my corral and actually felt great today. The course itself was kind of blah. The most exciting part is the start. Then there is a lollipop loop and then an out and back along the river. Other than the start there is really no other iconic scenery from Philly so I wouldn’t recommend this race as a tour of Philly. The course though was pleasant and flat. The best parts were shared with the 5K so you aren’t missing much if you do the shorter distance. There was just one hill that wasn’t very big that you go up twice. Course well marked and easy to follow. There were only 2 aid stations. One at around mile 2 and one at the halfway mark. An extra aid station or 2 would be an area for improvement. There was water and electrolyte drink. The first aid station also had marshmallows and the second had M&Ms and gummy bears. I was very happy with my pace and I was worried I started out too fast but managed to have a pretty consistent pace between 11 and 12 min/mil and actually had slightly negative splits. I only walked up the hill and through the aid stations. The finish line had a nice arch and you get your medal along with a water bottle. The medal is very nice and large. The medal itself is not specific to the location but the ribbon does say Philadelphia. I was extremely happy with my time. This was my best run since November and I would be pleased with my finishing time even before my injury. After getting medal and water I then went to get the chocolate. You got a cup of hot chocolate and then chocolate fondue with banana, graham cracker, marshmallow, and oreos to dip in it. It was delicious. If you want healthier post-race snacks this is not the event for you. Overall I thought this was a very fun event. I would recommend it for the chocolate and the swag. While the course was fine it was not the most exciting course in the world. I don’t know if I would regularly drive this far for this race but if I lived closer I would definitely do it again. And I may come back if it is a weekend where there is something else I want to do in Philadelphia.
Great SWAG! Great with Kids!
This is a fun race! My kids love it and we go every year. You get water stations and chocolate- what's not to love! The jackets they give are the … MORE
This is a fun race! My kids love it and we go every year. You get water stations and chocolate- what’s not to love! The jackets they give are the best I have gotten- and last year they started giving out medals for the 5k ( which the kids love even more). They give you a chocolate dip with pretzels, marshmallows, etc. at the end- it’s delish!
Loved this race! Great medal, free pics!
I missed out in the race last year because of the weather, so I was looking forward to it this year. I had searched specifically for chocolate runs last year … MORE
I missed out in the race last year because of the weather, so I was looking forward to it this year. I had searched specifically for chocolate runs last year and this one came up. I was not crazy about some of the items in the plastic mug at the end because I can’t eat or don’t like most of it, but the medal, jacket, hot chocolate, and chocolate during the race sold me. I opted for bib mailing so did not get to the expo, maybe next year. My bib and jacket arrived about 2 weeks before the race. Hooded jacket is soft and wonderful with thumb holes and came in handy for the chilly morning. I decided to wear a short sleeve under it because it was expected to warm up a little and I did not want 2 long sleeves.
The time before the race was nice with a place to buy merchandise and a few other tents. There was an excellent DJ and plenty of porta potties and I was very surprised that there were no lines to speak of with so many people. The start was in front of the “Rocky” steps. I would suggest using Parking Panda or Spot Hero to prepay for a spot. There were no traffic issues even with so many people, construction, and yes, my fear, road closed right in front of me and I couldn’t make my turn to the garage. Be warned…many one way streets.
The corral system worked very well. It kept everyone from getting all bunched up. My sister and her boyfriend did the 5k as walkers and they were in corral Q and took about 30 min to get to the start. I was in corral T of the 15k and it took at least that to get to the start as well. It did not seem like it though because the people were friendly and the announcer was entertaining. I enjoyed the scenery. Museums and statues, trail run mostly and you could see the water with rowers, berry blossoms, a huge field of daffodils, etc. No, there are not huge cheering crowds, but those who were there gave it their all. There was a ton of volunteers…thank you!…I just think there should have been one more water/porta potty station, there were 2. And yes, there was chocolate given at the water stops, along with Nuun, which is my favorite. I thought that they created way too much trash though between the water cups and the little p,astic cups used for the chocolate. I think they need to come up with another idea, to include the large plastic cups at the end with the hot chocolate and fondue type recovery items. I am a turtle and I have been nursing a sore knee and quad, so I knew it might be a challenge keeping the 15 mm pace. There was a pacer for that time and so I had my first experience with that. I loved it! She was wonderful! We did mostly a brisk walk with some spurts of easy running to maintain. I stayed with her for 3 miles then switched to my usual run/walk Intervals and ended up,passing the 14 mm pacer. I knew that a bladder break was coming and I needed to be farther ahead so that by the time I rejoined after the break, I hoped to be back with the 15 pacer, it worked out great! I hate potty breaks because it really throws me off so I spent a few minutes getting back on groove and was able to finish a little ahead of the pacer and without any knee or quad pain! I was so happy about that! Be warned, there is a small incline at the end of the course. And of course, the wonderful chocolate bar medal!!
It was great hearing my name at the end as I crossed the line and unlike so many other races for those of us toward the back, they had plenty of finisher mugs left. They contained a banana, melted chocolate, hot chocolate (which was excellent!), some kind of wafer, a small bag of pretzels, a marshmallow, and a rice crispy treat. I did not eat most of it, but love chocolate and was so glad to be in an event that did not involve beer—I hate beer! The music continued to be great and the atmosphere was lively and fun. My sister, her boyfriend, and I walked a few blocks to a local place to eat. The area is nice and there were people out running, walking dogs, and on the way back to my car, I saw a couple of baseball games going on for children. I can’t recall the name of the restaurant, but I wasn’t too crazy about the food. No buggy though, the day turned out great and the event was very well organized and I am sure I will do it again! And the free pics came in within 24 hours, don’t worry if you get the email link the same day and there are no pics. That happened to me, but they came through the next morning.
Disappointing at times
So this was my 2nd hot chocolate race, but my first one in Philadelphia. We had 5 people all together in our group, 2 were running the 5k and the … MORE
So this was my 2nd hot chocolate race, but my first one in Philadelphia. We had 5 people all together in our group, 2 were running the 5k and the rest of us were running the 15k. When I was first asked to run this race, I was excited because I think that Philadelphia has a lot of cool sites and like running there. The course was easy but so boring- with so many options of running around Philly, it was quite the disappointment that we spent 90% of the time if not more, on the trail. This made for a pretty boring run.
The expo was great- I actually think the HC races have better expos than a lot of races. I really loved the zip up jackets and i love the medals. I do like how the medals are customized for the different cities.
I like the different corrals so the course doesn’t get too crowded. I also thought the water stops were adequate enough.