The smell of chocolate was in the air Sunday morning as the popular Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K made its annual stop to Denver. The event surpassed last year’s numbers and welcomed over 7,000 runners and walkers in both race distances. Every single participant received a full zip jacket in his and hers styles, and a finisher mug filled to the brim with chocolate fondue, dippable snacks and decadent hot chocolate. What’s more, the relatively flat course starting and finishing at Civic Center Park made for a great race with fast times across the board.
The men’s 15K saw Watkins Fulk-Gray grab the win in 55:19, with a fight for second place between Kevin Ellis and Marshall Zelinger. Ellis out-kicked Zelinger to take second in 56:26; Zelinger finished third in 56:30.
In the women’s race, Ashley Brasovan lead wire-to-wire, not only taking top honors for the ladies, but also finishing second overall in 56:12. Coming in as second female was Kelly Lear-Kaul in 1:01:57, with Lindsay Johnson rounding out the top three in 1:04:20.
The men’s 5K race was won by Lucas Crespin in 17:31, just second ahead of second place finisher Justin Nyberg, who crossed the line in 17:38. Crossing the line in third place was Shane Brown in 19:03.
In the women’s race, Anna Leer crossed the line first in 19:04. Cruising into second place was Kaitlyn Roach in 19:36, and Ruth Waller-Liddle rounded out the podium in third in 20:40.