Active Community: Message List - Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:40:43 GMT

I have been running 5k/10K around the country for over thirteen years and this was the worst one I have ever participated in. I appreciated the apology email from the owner of RAM series, however I have to wonder how much research they really did if they thought it was a good idea to hold a race at a venue in the D.C. area that did not have metro access. Everyone I spoke to about the race was in disbelief that they would hold a race for over 20K people and not have metro access. National Harbor is beautiful however we never got to really see it, the big rig trucks on the 5 miles of freeway were our picturesque view. I was really looking forward to this race to kick off the holiday season but it left me with a bahumbug attitude. The one star is for hot chocolate at the end, they loaded it up with marshmellows.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:00:54 GMT

I participated in the Hot Chocolate 5K race. These are just a few of my concerns from this experience:

- There was literally no public transportation to the start. This is highly unusual for a road race in DC, which has plentiful public transportation options and notoriously bad road traffic. The resulting traffic delays leading up to the race have been well-documented by race participants and DC media.

- The race start times were unacceptably delayed, which presented real health risks in the near-freezing weather. My start time for the 5K was at 8:20am, for a race scheduled for 7:30am. After waiting at the start for over an hour in the cold, my legs and back were cramping and I was shaking uncontrollably. There was no communication from the race organizers at any time that we could hear to explain the delay or tell racers when to expect the start, so that we could know if we had time to use the toilet or go someplace to get warm for a bit. Due to the delay and lack of communication from race organizers, participants resorted to urinating in the woods adjacent to the start area.

- With respect to the 5K course, I have participated in 20 races in the DC area and elsewhere, and I have never been on such a narrow course with such dangerous footing. Immediately after the start, with thousands of 5K runners bunched together, we were directed onto a 10'-wide path that was strewn with knocked-over traffic cones, presenting a real tripping hazard. Then we were shunted through a portion of the trail that went through an unlit tunnel - people around me were tripping and stumbling into each other in the dark. Then to a crushed-shell riverside path that was literally crumbling into the water, with no guardrail. The narrowness of the path and bad footing forced us to slow to a walk and stop several times during the first mile of the race. The course then took us through the parking lot of a loading dock, past dumpsters.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:28:23 GMT

I second everyone else and wanted to share some info on the "lovely" course they chose.

The 15K spent 5 miles (you run 2.5 then turn around) on a 6-lane highway: and FOUR of those lanes were for cars....and when I say cars I mean mack-trucks! For an ENTIRE 5 miles, you could smell nothing but exhaust and I constantly had to pick pick pieces of sand out of my irritated eyes (imagine our lungs). Now let's say, the race directors did not anticipate the exhaust, they still chose 5 miles of ugly highway "scenery" when we're near the gorgeous waterfront.

Side note: The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon at the National Harbour in Oct is the most organized and scenic race I've ever run in my LIFE (I've run over 20 half marathons and tons of other races). I ran that race their first year and it was simply amazing. NO chaos and beautiful. So the RAM directors could have used that exact path and followed their organization.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:00:03 GMT

NOT SAFE!!! Too many runners, thought I would be trampled or hit by a dump truck.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:32:03 GMT

RAM has no business being in the race business after this debacle. Transportation logistics could not have been worse. It took me 90 minutes to get there despite the fact that it normally only takes 15 - 20 minutes during weekday RUSH HOUR! Apparently, the race director lied and said there was a bad accident. Um. No. There wasn't. I am thankful that I didn't get there earlier because the people who did had to wait for over an hour in very cold weather. The course itself was too narrow and generally, just a bad course -- 5 miles on the highway right next to trucks (that were only going a few miles per hour) breathing in the fumes. I wasn't going to complain, but then when I saw that RAM racing was deleting negative posts from their Web site, it was time to say something. I will not be doing a RAM race in the future and will encourage others not to as well. They need to get out the business.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:41:48 GMT

Worst race ever!! I will never sign up for a RAM racing event ever again!!! They only care about profit.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:40:46 GMT

Just see everyone else comments, all I would be doing it repeating it.

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:35:49 GMT

I wish I could give zero stars. This was the biggest disaster I have seen in the many races I have done. The RAM racing organization completely unethical and does not care about the safety of the runners. The course was unsafe with 5 miles of it on a open highway where they funneled thousands of runners in 1-2 lanes. Cars were a few feet away with construction vehicles emitting fumes the whole way. The race didn't start for 2 hours after it was supposed to start, leaving us stand in 35 degree weather. The traffic planning was horrendous - with many folks sitting in traffic for hours - never able to even make it to run the race. Part of the race was running on gravel where semis were parked and large garbage recepticles were sitting - classy. Worst of all the company owner "apologized" a day after and basically blamed everyone but himself for the debacle that occurred. Not only are they not accepting responsibility for the dangerous conditions they created, they are trying to delete truthful, appropriate Facebook posts (including mine) from the website. Apparently, the same exact conditions have appeared in the Chicago race - apparently there isn't interest from the company in ensuring a safe fun race for the participants - it s obviously just a mony making machine. Also the "premium" race jackets are a joke. Two sizes too small, and very cheap!! All around disaster and I filed with the BBB to tr o get a refund!!

Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:43:44 GMT

no stars. really. I won't rehash others' complaints but I am guessing that RAM must have made a ton of $ and to RAM, that justifies this complete debacle. Not only were runners running almost HALF of the 15k on a HIGHWAY that was not closed (subject to exhaust fumes and other logistical issues) this RACE had just clogged up traffic everywhere and I was worried that one of the drivers would take it out on the runners. I can't believe I paid $10 to park and committed to carpool (which we did) and even having left Arlington with more than 2 hours to spare, was stuck in bottleneck after bottleneck. The course was terrible (and short) and the volunteers were CLUELESS. One person was DEMANDING that the 15k runners go down to the shell laden path to walk to the start line while ALL of the 5k runners were coming down the same path in the other direction. It was worse than the blind leading the blind. It was the greedy RAM not caring about the racers or anything else. Ghriadelli would to well to choose another race organizer. BOO!!!!!!

Re: Hot Chocolate 15K / 5K Reviews

guest — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:13:08 GMT

I believe most of the posts have captured the problems with this race. I don't directly blame the organizers of the race for the unfortunate accidents that caused the delay in start. I DO, however, blame the race organizer for the ridiculous course layout. A hairpin turn less than a half-mile after the race start can lead to nothing but overwhelming congestion. Running along a busy and dangerous road was not only a significant safety problem, it was just plain stupid. Running on a narrow gravel pathway that couldn't accommodate more than 3 people wide (where if one stumbled to the left they would fall in the river), when there were 22K people entered in the race (I realize not all were running the 15K as some were in the 5K) was so incredibly frustrating. In addition, I witnessed no attempts to make any sort of controlled release of runners at the start, I was passing loads of people walking within the first mile, clearly those people shouldn't have been at the front of the mass of people to begin with.

Very poorly organized, I'll never run another race by this group again and never at the National Harbor again.

This is a zero rating. Actually, it's a negative rating as I want to take some stars away!