Hot Chocolate 5K/15K Run in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021. Credit: USA Today Ventures
Will it be in the delightfully chilly 50s or depressingly lukewarm 80s for this year’s Hot Chocolate Run? It’s still too early to say, but the chocolate at the finish line will still be sweet either way.
Tampa is one of 17 cities nationwide to host this race sponsored by Sketchers, with 5k, 10k and 15k options all starting and ending at the Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park.
If running (or paying to) doesn’t sound like fun, it’s free to cheer on athletes along the route, which goes over the Platt Street bridge and along the always scenic Bayshore Boulevard. The Hot Chocolate Expo is also free and open to the public the day before at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Registration starts at $59 for the Sketchers Hot Chocolate Run, happening Sunday, Dec. 14 in Tampa.
This article appears in Dec. 04 – 10, 2025.
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Selene San Felice is managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Prior to joining CL in 2025, she started the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter and worked for her hometown paper, The Capital in Annapolis,…
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