This is my third year running this race and my second time running the half marathon. Rock 'n Sole also includes a Quarter Marathon and a 5K.

T-Shirts/Swag: Every participant gets a tech shirt - light blue with white for women, darker blue with white for men. Included in your swag bag is a ticket to summeriest (general admission) and a ticket to Polish fest, which happens on the Summeriest grounds that same weekend. Attached to the race bib was a ticket for a free Redd's Apple Ale at the Post-Race Party, although I wish they would give you the option of either that OR a regular beer, because that apple ale is not everyone's cup of tea.

Aid Stations: Spaced out very well and offered both water and gatorade. Energy at the aid stations was awesome and the volunteers were so nice and cheering us on! Most of the aid stations also had a decent amount of port-a-potties and medic tents.

Course Scenery: The race starts near the Italian Community Center and shoots the runners south, then curves north to cross the Hoan Bridge. While running across the bridge, there are views of downtown and the lakefront/Lake Michigan. This year's race happened to be very overcast, foggy, and rainy, but the views were still cool! Once runners get off the bridge, the course goes north up Lincoln Memorial Drive and into Shorewood, where runners go through a neighborhood full of beautiful old homes before running through Lake Park and turning south to go back down Lincoln Memorial Drive, past Discovery World and the Milwaukee Art Museum and finishing at the Summerfest Grounds.

Expo: Decently sized, easy parking at the Italian Community Center. Very upbeat and helpful volunteers! Performance Running Outfitters had a huge booth, Rock 'n Sole had a booth selling RNS swag (including in training shirts, tank tops, cups, etc) and a few vendors selling lots of running-related clothing, bumper stickers, magnets, etc.

Elevation: Lots of gradual inclines and one sharp incline (at Lafayette Hill off Lincoln Memorial Drive).

Parking/Access: Lots of areas to park that charged less for parking that morning (only $5 from 5-9 am) very close to both the finish and start lines.

Race Management: I really think the management does a great job of running this race. Staff, security, and volunteers are all awesome.

Since this was the 5th year for this race, if you had run previous years you got a second bib to wear! Participants for all 5 years got a Hall of Fame bib and then it went down to 4, 3, and 2 years. Since I ran it three years in a row, I had a platinum club bib.