America’s sweetest race is coming to Seattle ! Join us for the Allstate Hot Chocolate 5k/15k Seattle Race on March 1st, 2020 .

Prior to Race Day

The Hot Chocolate Experience starts from the minute you register. Keep an eye out for messages that will help enrich your race experience, including customizable fundraising pages and training programs tailored to your running goals. Two weeks before the race, make sure to come back to our website to view the Participant Guide.

What to Expect on Race Day

While marshmallow sweet stations are dotted along course routes and a Finisher Mug encourages the consumption of decadent fondue, don’t write the Hot Chocolate Series off as a race that’s all about the glitz. All Allstate Hot Chocolate 15k/5k events include features that cater to the seasoned runner.

• Each event is USATF sanctioned, with a course that has been certified for accuracy
• Emergency medical plans that exceed industry standards
• Preferred Start Corrals for qualified participants
• Open corral assignment based on estimated pace

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.