The fourth time (and third owner) was the charm for the Milwaukee Marathon! After taking a gap year to find itself in 2018, the race came back with new ownership and a new course.

The expo was held at the Milwaukee Bucks new arena, Fiserv Forum, as the Bucks are one of the new sponsors of the race. If you’ve done Brewers Mini or the Cellcom in Green Bay, packet pickup was similar. Go through security, and the expo was in the lobby, if you will, of the stadium. There was a bit of a line to get in when I arrived, but that’s because I got there around 4pm so it was a busier time. I was pacing the race, so I just had to swing by the Performance Running area to get my packet as opposed to going through the regular line, but I heard that was super easy.

It is worth noting that unless you pay for race morning pickup, you have to pick up your packet at the expo. You can have someone else pick it up for you as well.

Fast forward to race morning. The race promoted the parking garage across from Fiserv, and you could pre-purchase that through the race. The option did sell out, but from what I heard it took a while to park, since a lot of runners did that option. There are plenty of other lots, though, in the city and around nearby MATC all for the same cost (I think) of the ramp the race used.

The start area is in the plaza of the arena (aka: outside). Gear check, the volunteer tent, and bathrooms were all out in this area; along with the stage used for the after party. I did think this space was a little cramped, but I have a feeling once the demolition of the old Bradley Center is complete, the race will have more space.

Since bathrooms are always key, I’ll talk about that quickly. I saw porta pods in three different areas in the plaza. The line in the one I went to wasn’t bad, but again congested with it being closer to the start corral.

The race did have a corral start as assigned by what was on your bib. Runners did have an opportunity to put in their projected pace before hand. I’m not a fan of corral starts, but I totally understand using them.

I’d also like to note that the 5k starts a half hour before the Half and Full. A surprising benefit of this was being able to watch the 5k finish while in the corral waiting for the race to start!

The course itself starts in downtown, and the first mile is down through Water St working your way out to Lincoln Memorial Drive. A majority of the miles in the Half are on Lincoln Memorial, which runs you right along the lake.

Past versions of the race have run up the hill on Lincoln Memorial, but this year we went up the hill by the water tower, through the upper east side, and down the steep hill on LM. I absolutely LOVED the change. While a bigger hill, I think going up Water Tower is a much easier (read: less steep) climb.

To get the distance, once the course winds back into the city, runners turn west up Wisconsin Ave. Its not a steep hill, but it’s a long hill. The Half ran up to Marquette’s campus, and then turned around to get back to the finish. The full keeps going up WI Ave.

At the finish, you get all your standard drinks, snacks, and medal. Naturally, a beer as well. Gear check was smooth both for dropping off and, more importantly, picking up. I didn’t stick around the finish for too long, because it was chilly and most of the people I knew running were done at that point.

And finally, let’s talk swag. All runners received a Finisher’s Shirt which has a simple but sleek design. My only gripe here is that you receive your Finisher shirt at packet pickup and not when, you know, you finish. Whatever. Runners in the Half and Full also received a 1/4 zip fleece. It’s comfy and has a nice design, but it’s not a life changing item, and not one you’d run in. I thought the medal was decidedly ok. Nice, but not crazy. Who am I to complain about that though?

All in all, the 2019 version of the race got just about everything correct! I’m excited to see how the race improved going forward, but I think the MKE Marathon finally figured it out and is here to stay.