OVERALL: This was my first time running this race and my husband and I both agree we'll be running it again! The course had more hills than I expected, but you get to run past some of the most iconic locations in the city so it was definitely a trip down memory lane for these two Badger alumni! I'll definitely do more hill training before this race next year though. The corrals were clearly marked and easy to get to, but we were placed in a corral that was a full 20 minutes slower than the estimated finish time we registered for, so we had to navigate through a lot of slower runners and expend a lot of energy catching up to the pacer we wanted to be with. I also wish they offered a bag or something to hold all of the finish line goodies as the water, granola bar, banana, popcorn and chocolate milk were a bit much to lug around, especially when you had to keep setting it down for post-race pictures. It also felt a little cramped and crowded, but the event staff did a good job of keeping people moving through.

T-SHIRTS/SWAG: Someone picked our packets up for us, so I can't speak to the expo, but I think the swag was lacking. I'm not a fan of the virtual goodie bag and most of the offers were for companies local to Madison that we'll never be able to use. The t-shirt is nice - this year's was a really cool blue color - but definitely on the big side. I ordered a medium and next time will remember to order a size down. Other than the shirt, the only other swag provided pre-race was a BMO Harris branded water bottle holder...and I didn't even realize that's what it was until I saw someone using it during the race;) Note to event organizers - you have a huge opportunity in the sponsorship/vendor arena!

PARKING: I see a lot of people commenting on a lack of parking and I will be honest, I was a little concerned about it going in, but we were able to find parking in an open ramp no problem. I do think next year we may try to stay downtown within walking distance just for ease.

AID STATIONS: Plenty of aid stations and the volunteers working them were awesome! The little cheering sections along the route were great too - I especially loved the ones with lots of kiddos. Nothing like a cheering little kid to make you smile through the pain!

RACE MANAGEMENT: Communication pre-race was great - my only suggestion would be to maybe send out some communication about the weather forecast. Of course, as runners we are always obsessively checking it, but even a simple email about anticipated conditions for non-locals might be nice.

I highly recommend this race - especially for UW Alumni. It's so fun to run through a town where so many lasting memories were made. And what better way to kick off the day than with a long run followed by beers on the terrace with a few thousand of your closest friends:)?