Lucky you! Thank you to the awesome team at Hotlanta 1/2 Marathon, I have a $5 off coupon for you! Use code FUNNERRUNNER5 to save $5 on race registration. What are you waiting for, come run with me on June 12th!
Welcome Winter Storm Jonas....NOT! While the Northeast was getting slammed with insane amounts of snow, the South got a minor taste of some winter weather. Mind you, most of the state of Georgia tends to panic when the word 'flurry' is even mentioned. We ended up with a slight dusting, some ice, and cold & windy weather for a few days, but that didn't stop the party at the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K expo from happening. We arrived at the Georgia World Congress Center just as the expo was getting ready to open for a second day of fun! Lucky us, there was a HUGE cheerleading competition happening in the GWCC today as well so we made our way through the sea of cheerleaders, parents, and of course all the glitter and hairspray. Once we saw the giant inflatable hot chocolate mug we knew we had made it to the expo. I spent a few hours this morning volunteering at the Sparkly Soul booth. This was my first time working a booth for Sparkly Soul, so it was fun to be on the other side of the sparkly fun. I got to work with my friend and fellow blogger, Amy (Mom's Magical Miles), and Elizabeth. We had a great time talking to fellow runners about the race tomorrow and future races and of course helping them SPARKLE! It was cool to see how many people already love Sparkly Soul as well as introducing people to one of my favorite brands. After working my shift at the Sparkly Soul booth, I made my way around the expo before heading out. I love how Hot Chocolate 15K/5K really keeps the theme going all weekend and it starts when you enter the expo. Upon entering the expo hall, awesome volunteers hand you chocolate samples to get you ready for a 'sweet' time. Snacks? Yes, please. The flow of the expo is very well done. When you enter the expo hall you first walk past the bib pick up. With the way the bibs are assigned (you get assigned to the bib number at pickup), you can go to any line. That means people like me who always end up with the longest line don't have to worry because you can pick any available line. You show you confirmation email, they scan the bar code, a sticker prints out and is placed on the bib, and BAM! Congrats, you now have your bib and are on your way! Ok, seriously, Hot Chocolate 15K/5K has some of the best swag (more on that in my race recap) which gives participants some pretty sweet sweatshirts! The next part of the expo that you go through is the goodie bag pickup with was very quick to go through. You simply go up to the gender and size that you registered for (marked on your bib) and collect your goodie bag. The final stop in the packet pickup is the sweatshirt exchange area. There are samples of all the sizes available to try on and exchange if needed. This is pretty awesome because with ladies' sizing things never seem to fit properly when you select a size. I am super thankful that they have a swap area that is so super easy - trust me, you want your swag to fit! After going through the packet pickup process, you were now free to go shopping and check out different vendors in the expo hall. It was a little bit of a small expo, but it was still a decent sized expo with a good variety of vendors. Kuddos to the Atlanta Hawks for setting up a great kids zone for the kids to burn off some energy (and even the occasional big kid). It was great to see something set up for the kids to do at the expo. Even though I don't have children, I can totally appreciate having something for them to do at the expo too. SHOPPING! Seriously, you name the piece of apparel or accessory and Hot Chocolate had it in the official merchandise area. Some of the biggest hits were turtle-necked shirts which were perfect for the chilly race conditions expected. I forgot to snap a picture, but they even had some awesome Hot Chocolate 15K/5K fleece pajama bottoms! The prices were good on the official merchandise as well. Y'all know it would happen - I can't go to a race expo without registering for a race. My new friends at Hotlanta 1/2 Marathon were running a great deal on their 3rd annual race coming up on June 12th. Well, I now know what I will be doing that morning. I had a great time running this race in 2015 (despite the random and extremely rare storm that came through) and I cannot wait to run it again in June. Lucky you! Thank you to the awesome team at Hotlanta 1/2 Marathon, I have a $5 off coupon for you! Use code FUNNERRUNNER5 to save $5 on race registration. What are you waiting for, come run with me on June 12th! I kept making my way around the expo checking out different vendors. Of course I snapped a selfie with Gummy from JVC. The team at Big Peach Running Company was having an awesome sale on gear and shoes. While I didn't need anything, I must say that they had some great deals. My final booth stop was to say hello to Atlanta Track Club. They have a number of great races coming up this Spring but one of the absolute biggest highlights of Atlanta Track Club's calendar in March is the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon which they recently acquired. I was thrilled to see that they had the medals for the race on display at the booth. They just released the medal designs earlier this week, so I couldn't believe that they were there. Let me tell you, the pictures do not do these medals justice. I really like the "simplistic" design of the medals yet with a few special touches to them. This just made me even more excited to run my 5th Publix Georgia 1/2 Marathon on March 20th! As you exited the expo area, you were given another little taste of chocolate before heading out. Chocolate dipped marshmallows? OF COURSE! That bit of gooey goodness couldn't get in my belly fast enough. Seriously, expoing is tough, and the snack was greatly appreciated. Expo is done. Time to get ready for 15K tomorrow morning! It is going to be a cold one for sure, so it is time to find some cold weather gear pushed in the back of my running gear. Ugh! The way I see it, battling the cold will make the reward of hot chocolate and fondue at the finish line even sweeter!
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BrandiI love to run and most importantly I love to have FUN while I run....I am the "Funner Runner" Feedspot's Top 100 Running Blogs
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