What can I say about the 2016 Brewers Mini Marathon that I didn't say last year? Great managed race; so many updates and communication from race organizers all these past few months as race day became closer, nothing was missed. This is only my second time running this race but I love the course, going through close to downtown and then through Miller Valley right between the brewery's buildings. The weather this year was perfect: not too warm or hot, there was a little drizzle here and there during the run and I managed to accomplish a PR for a half marathon. Here are a few more of my thoughts:

T-shirt/Swag: Great; one of the best. A tech shirt, a koozie, a bobblehead, a ticket for a game next year plus a chance to order additional seats early on, two free post race beers

Aid Stations: Plenty of them for the course offering both water and Gatorade at every one. And a bonus shout out goes to the volunteers that only fill the cups half way or less with water; I hate taking a bath when there is too much water in the cup. And the spread at the end of the race is incredible. By far, the best one at any race I have run. Water, chocolate or vanilla milk, Kind bars or granola bars, bananas, yogurt, chips, popcorn, it seemed like there was person after person offering something to get my energy and hydration back.

Course Scenery: As I said above, running through Miller Valley is fun as is passing through the Harley-Davidson museum. City streets and bridges add to the fun (if not the inclines....)

Expo Quality: Good stuff although I was disappointed that the Rock n Sole people must be behind in planning this year since they weren't there. But other races were represented as was a small station selling various runner's products and food/supplements. And it was held in the spacious SKYY Lounge at Miller Park.

Elevation Difficulty: This course has its moments. There is never a "leg-busting" hill with this course but definitely some tough inclines and declines throughout the course. Also, they kept the final small incline at the end of the race just after you leave the Miller Park stadium insides and just before the finish line. Wish they'd get rid of that ending.

Parking/Access: Plenty of parking. Ton of space in the Miller Park lots. And access to park was a breeze once I got off the freeway and took side streets to get to the lots. Freeway was a little backed up so I can see how some might have been frustrated by that.

Race Management: As noted above, they are great at communicating before and after the race. All the pre-race notifications were extremely helpful and they keep helping even after the race is over. I didn't notice (because I didn't open the bag it was in until a day after the race--totally my fault) that my tech shirt was a W-XL and not a M-XL. So after another day or two, I sent an e-mail to their account explaining what happened and asking if anything could be done. I received a message within 24 hours apologizing for the mixup and telling me they were sending out the right size shirt immediately. I was really thankful and surprised by that. I figured at the very least, they'd want the other shirt back or tell me that it was my tough luck on that. How cool is that?!?!

Bottom line, this is a great race and one, that if you are capable of doing, is worth signing up for. I mean, who doesn't want to slap hands with a racing sausage after crossing the finish line.