Sunday's SKECHERS Hot Chocolate Run puts 5K, 10K and 15K fields on Columbus streets, then sends finishers toward a mug of fondue rather than a quiet exit from the course.
The race is scheduled for Nov. 15, according to the SKECHERS Hot Chocolate Run Columbus page, which frames the morning as a choice of distance and a reason to stay for the party.
Early Starts, Three Distances
The 5K is set for 7:30 a.m. The 10K and 15K follow at 8:30 a.m., the 2026 Columbus course map says.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the series holds races in 17 U.S. cities, including Columbus, and also offers a virtual event worldwide. Walkers are welcome.
Riverfront Out, Arena District In
The mapped course starts in the Riverfront District and finishes alongside Nationwide Arena. The Dispatch places the start next to the Scioto River and routes runners through downtown neighborhoods, including the Brewery District, German Village, the Arena District, Victorian Village and the Short North.
Last year's Columbus listing put the event at McFerson Commons Park, 218 West Street, on Nov. 16, 2025, from 7:30 a.m. to noon, Columbus Underground reported. That listing also promoted a partnership with Special Olympics as new for the 2025 season.
The Finish Comes With a Mug
The post-race party is at McFerson Commons, with music, vendors, and a Chocoholic finisher's mug full of fondue, dippables and hot chocolate, the event page says.
The Dispatch describes the same spread: music, vendors, and that mug of fondue, dippables and hot chocolate. The chocolate is the series' closing argument, not a side table.
Packets Before the Start Line
The Hot Chocolate Expo is free and open to the public, and participants can pick up race kits there. The Dispatch adds that the Expo features vendors, merchandise and chocolate, and that runners without packets can collect them on site.
There is no race-day packet pickup. The organizers' instruction is blunt: pick the packet up at the Expo or have it mailed. Sunday morning is not a third option.
A Race the City Has Kept
The Hot Chocolate Run first came to Columbus in 2012, drawing roughly 10,000 runners for its inaugural event, CityScene Columbus reported.
This year's starts are early Sunday. Anyone still waiting on a packet has the two routes the organizers name — the Expo or the mail — and neither of them is the start corral.
