The Hot Cider Hustle 5K was a fun race in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio! Bitter cold temperatures made it a challenge but the race was great.
When I signed up for the Hot Cider Hustle 5K, it was supposed to be a fun birthday run. Typical weather for early November in Cleveland is mid-30s to mid-40s. Sometimes a little snow, but not usually. As I tracked the weather during the week, Friday (my birthday) was supposed to be bitterly cold. Like, mid-February cold. But on Saturday things would warm up a bit, so I wasn’t too worried. A fun birthday race could still happen!
Unfortunately for my cold-hating self, this was not the case. Race morning arrived and the “real feel” was 13˚F. Awesome.
If it weren’t for my friends running the race also, I would have bailed. No doubt about it. I love me some hot cider but 13˚F 5Ks are not my thing…
First let me give you a review of the race, because even though I was a popsicle, it was pretty awesome.
Hot Cider Hustle 5K Review
Parking
Parking was a mess. I’m pretty sure the folks over at All Community Events grossly underestimated how many people were going to sign up. I sure did! I was thinking there would be maybe 300 people — tops. Well over 1,000 registered and showed up! Luckily I did manage a parking spot but it was a short walk away from the starting area. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but since it was bitter cold and there was snow on the grass, it froze my big toes. More on that later.
Swag
The swag for this race was some of the best! As I sit here typing, I’m wearing the quarter zip fleece shirt. It’s warm and cozy, and I love it! We also received a mug after the race. The mug is also a new favorite.
Crowd support
There was a surprising amount of crowd support for this race. Not exactly on the course, but at the beginning and the end. I have no idea why those crazy people stood outside in the freezing cold when they could have been snug in their warm beds, but kudos to them for coming out.
Course
I personally really liked the course. It meandered through a local school campus and then took us out on a beautiful, tree-lined neighborhood road. The only part I didn’t love was a gravel portion on campus toward the end of the race. But it didn’t make or break the course for me.
Post-race party
If it had been fifteen degrees warmer, the post-race party would have been awesome. After the race we received our mugs and got to fill them with piping hot apple cider, plus we got a caramel apple and bottle of water. There was music, lots of folks mingling and hanging out afterward. It really would have been a lot of fun had the weather cooperated.
The Hot Cider Hustle certainly exceeded my expectations and I’m really glad I went. Hopefully they come back to Cleveland next year, because we had a blast!
Now on to my race recap…
Hot Cider Hustle 5K Race Recap
As I mentioned, it was freezing-a$$ cold. I was dressed appropriately for the conditions, but not exactly for the standing around part. My friend Julie and I drove together. She had to pick up her packet, and as soon as we did that we headed indoors to the ice rink. Thank gawd it was open, otherwise I think I would have died. My toes got wet and frozen during the walk from the parking lot to the track. I truly couldn’t feel my big toes. Once inside the ice rink, I took off my shoes and put my hand warmers in my shoes to warm up my big toes. I’m so glad I had the foresight to bring hand warmers.
After some time passed and we were warmed up, it was time to line up for the race. Brrrr.
I had no plans to race and neither did Julie. We agreed to stick together and have a leisurely fun run. I should mention Julie is significantly faster than me (her marathon PR is 3:45, mine is 4:44) so my plan was to run her easy pace. We lined up pretty close to the start, which worked out well. For once I felt like I seeded myself properly. There was very little dodging or weaving.
Mile 1
We took it easy and chatted through the first mile and enjoyed the scenery. It was so, so cold. I warmed up a little bit during the first mile, but it was brutal. I glanced at my watch and we were holding steady just under 8:30 pace. It felt easy which was definitely a good sign. We passed a fair amount of runners in that first mile.
Mile 2
I was pretty ready to be done when Julie said we were at the halfway point. We picked up the pace just a bit but kept it easy. I warmed up a tad but I was still pretty cold. My quads were numb and my face was frozen. At least I could feel my toes.
Mile 3
The third mile was good. My core was warm and so were my hands. Face was still frozen, but we were on the homestretch. Almost done! My friend from high school, Heather, recognized me on the course and we said a brief “hi” to each other.
With a half mile left, we picked up the pace considerably. At one point I looked at my watch and saw we were significantly sub-8, which is a rarity for me. At this point my goal was to stick with Julie for as long as humanly possible. Her breathing became more labored and I knew she was going to kick it into high gear for the finish. I hung on with her for almost the entire race and could have run faster into the finish chute except for a patch of ice on the track. I didn’t slow much but enough that I could have shaved off a second or two had it not been there.
Finish line
I came through the finish line and thought maybe, just maybe, I had snagged a 5K PR. I wasn’t sure, but it was definitely possible. Without any 5K training — hardly any training at all over the last few weeks, really — I felt really good about this race.
We saw my friend Heather and caught up with her a bit, then found Candice and congratulated her on her amazing race, too.
When the results were posted, I did indeed snag a nice new 5K PR. So happy!
Official finish time: 24:59
I’m so thankful for Julie. Had she not been there to pull me along, there’s no way I would have even considered running fast. I planned on running a tempo-style run, listening to tunes, and not freezing my ass off. But hanging on to her speed brought me a 21-second PR! It’s amazing having a friend that knows you can do better than you think you can.
I’m really happy with how the Hot Cider Hustle turned out. It was a really fun event made even sweeter with hot cider AND a PR!
xo
Let’s talk!
Have you run a Hot Cider Hustle in your city?
What’s the coldest temperature you race in?
Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run, and HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap. Also linking up with Nicole, Annmarie, Jen, and Michelle for Wild Workout Wednesday, and myself, Debbie, and Lora for the Running Coaches’ Corner linkup.
I received a complimentary entry to this race in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
78 Comments
Congrats on your race and PR! I actually ran my 5k PR in cold weather too. Its so hard to stand around before and after a race when its that cold out!
Thank you!! It was brutally cold. Like, that biting cold that takes your breath away…
Congratulations, Speedy! That is an amazing time!
Thanks, Steph!!!
Wow, Rachel! I’m super impressed with your work this year! Whatever you are doing has paid off. You have to feel so proud. Congrats!
ACE had that race last weekend here. I considered doing it but it poured the entire weekend, so no.
I give all the credit to my coach. He’s the best!
I heard it poured all last weekend for it there. I might have still gone because it was warmer! 😉
Whoaaa! Sub-25 is amazing girl! Congrats!
What a great race swag shirt too. Looks cozy!
Thank you so much! It is SO cozy… I might live in it. 🙂
That is pretty cold for November! Sounds like the perfect way to celebrate your birthday-congrats on your PR
It was SO COLD! Thank you!!
Congratulations Rachel! And you said you were going to have a nice easy race…. look at you, girl! Nice PR! Love the magic that can happen when you run with a faster friend.
That was the plan! I blame Julie for running too fast. 😉 And also thank her for helping me get a PR!
Congrats on your new PR! That’s some awesome swag for a 5K – I’m jealous!
Thank you! The half zip is amazing…
Congrats on the PR!! Sounds like a mess and a big difference from 300 to over 1,000 I think my nerves would have already messed me up just with the parking.
It was a big difference! Luckily I’m very familiar with the area so it wasn’t that big of a deal. But if I wasn’t familiar I think I would have been a nervous nelly.
Wow, now that’s how you celebrate a birthday!! Congratulations on the shiny new PR …very impressive! I’d run in the cold for that half zip and hot apple cider too! 🙂
Thank you so much! It was such a pleasant surprise. 🙂
The half zip is amazing, not gonna lie…
That is some of the nicest race swag I have seen! Also – huge congrats on a well deserved PR!
Thank you so much! It was very unexpected but I’m so happy!
Congrats on your PR! 13 degrees is soooooooo cold. I mean, I would race in it but I don’t see myself doing something longer than a 10k! (and when I say race, I mean plod along in 5 layers!) The zip up is some great swag.
It was beyond cold. I’ll do a long run in those temperatures, but like you said, that’s plodding along in 5 layers. It was SO COLD!
wow, I thought our race in the 30s was cold! Looks like a fun one.
Yep, yep, this was a little too cold for my taste! It was fun, though. 🙂
WOW!!!! Way to go! The cold temps are so brutal, but they do help us run faster to stay warm and finish. My coldest 5K was in late January (a few years ago), and it was low-single digits with the wind. The course was accidentally shortened (turn-around was mis-marked), so it wasn’t quite a 5K, but my pace was around 8:15ish adn I was never so glad as to cross the finish line and get inside.
Thank you! It was really uncomfortable, not gonna lie. I will be hard pressed to do that again any time soon!
Too bad about the cold weather but kudos for getting through it!
Thanks, Abbey!
PRs when you weren’t planning them are the best! I don’t mind racing in the cold when I’m actually running, but waiting for the race to start is pretty brutal when it’s freezing. It still sounds like a lot of fun!
The PR made it so worth it! But brrrrr…!
Wow! What a great time – congrats on your PR! You are much speedier than you give yourself credit for!
What fun race swag!
Thank you! It was a fun, tough race. And cold. 🙂 But the half zip and mug (and PR!) made it worth it.
leisure + fun runs are the best! way to go ladies.
Thanks!
Bravo to endure the cold. It’s always good to have a friend there helping!
Thanks! And yes, it is!!
Wow! Congrats! I can’t get over heading to an ice rink to get warm. 😉 I think the coldest I’ve run is 17F. At some point you can’t really tell the difference, right?
I know, right? But it was SO WARM in there! It was frigid outside.
This looks like such a fun run! Congrats!
Thanks, Mollie!
Congrats lady!!! Sounds like you had so much fun 🙂 despite the cold!!!
We had fun and made the best of it!
This looks adorable! I love cider and I love caramel apples.
The coldest race I’ve done was 35F at the start. It warmed up fast, though.
It was delicious! 🙂
Brrr! But atleast it was a fun race. Congratulations on your PR!
Thank you!! It was worth it.
Way to go! As uch as it sucks running in the cold, it does help with keeping a good pace. Great job! That is some awesome swag for a 5k!
That’s what i thought, too! Thank you!!
That sounds like such an awesome race (when it’s not in the teens, of course). Congrats on your birthday PR! Seems to be a lot of that going around. Sadly my birthday is in the middle of the winter, so no birthday PRs for me (although my second half was around my birthday, and it was a PR).
The fleece! The mug! Now that’s what I call swag.
I’ve raced in the teens — not often, but I’ve done it. I have good cold weather running clothes. 🙂 I’ve run down into the single digits in winter — IF it’s sunny & not windy. The hardest part is always that first step.
Congrats again!
Thank you! It was a pleasant surprise. 🙂
I do my long runs down to 0. But I’ve never raced in such cold conditions before so it was definitely new. And it was bitingly cold for November 11. Brrrr! Not ready for that yet.
This looks amazing and like so much fun! I love the jacket too!
It was tons of fun!
Way to snag a chilly PR Rachel! Awesome! I’ve not done the Hot Cider Race here but ACE also does our local turkey trot that is literally 2 miles from my house. The problem is that they oversell it so parking and the course are impossible. Plus the price has gotten out of hand. Very nice swag though!
Ah yes, thankfully I was given an entry because you’re right, it was fairly pricey! They did a nice job, though, so I think as long as you sign up early it’s a good deal.
Wow, that is so awesome! Surprise prs are the best… congratulations!
Thank you so much!
What a cute theme for a race, and definitely perfect for the cold weather. Congrats on the new PR! I always find it so hard to run fast when I’m cold.
Thanks! I had no plans to run fast. It just happened!
I did a race 2 years ago, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and it was freezing. A front was coming through and the temps had dropped, and the wind was brutal. I took a pretty hot shower after I got home, AND went to Starbucks for hot chocolate since I still felt cold.
Hot chocolate is the best way to warm up! I’m not really looking forward to the freezing-for-hours-afterward runs this winter…
A surprise PR? How fantastic! I think 23 degrees is the coldest I’ve ever raced in (Route 66). I haven’t seen a Hot Cider race around here. I assume this is a franchise of some sort? I love the fleece pullover! That’s pretty good swag for a 5k. AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thanks for linking.
Thank you!
Yes, it’s one of those traveling events. All Community Events puts them on. I guess they do Turkey Trots as well, though not in Cleveland. It was fun — if they have one by you I recommend it!
Brrr. I can’t even. *shiver*
1000 congrats on your PR!! A sub-25, too?! So amazing. 🙂
Haha, right??!! SO COLD!!!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
When you are going in an ice rink to warm up… you know it’s cold. 13 degrees is brutal. You got a nice PR out of the deal, though, so I can’t feel too sorry for you! Nice swag, you earned it.
I know, isn’t that ironic? Lol! 13 degrees IS brutal. At least I got something out of it. 🙂
Looks like a fun race, I love cider. Congrats on your shiny new PR>
Thanks, Toni!
Congrats on the PR! My husband just PRd a 5k trail race last weekend.
How fun! Congrats to him!
Dang girl you are fast! Congrats on the new PR! Boo to the frigid temps…I like the cold, but 15 degrees is a bit much, haha! This sounds like such a fun race, I wish we had something like this in my area!
Thanks, Janelle! It was a really fun race but only because of the PR. Lol. It was really, really cold!!!
[…] festivities with my bestie. And that makes me so very sad. Fortunately Julie and I just ran the Hot Cider Hustle together (which is part of the reason we chose that race). I’m hoping I can rope my husband […]
Sounds like a fun race! Congrats on the PR!
Thank you!
Not a an of cold weather but I do it when I have to. Just don’t like !
Congrats on your awesome birthday gift – a PR!!!
Thanks, Darlene!!
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