As other reviews here noted, it was hot that day. The start of the race saw temps in the 70s along with humid weather. What was slightly worse, there was a breeze off the lake, creating the illusion of it being slightly cooler (it wasn't).

The course itself is super nice, as you start heading to the south side of Milwaukee before turning back north and going across the Hoan Bridge. It was neat to run across the Milwaukee landmark, but boy was that a tough part of the course. Heading up a bridge (I think the highest point in the city) and into that wind off the lake was brutal. At least I thought it was brutal. It did come with a perfectly placed aid station at the top, and then a nice downhill down to the lakefront.

The second part of the course weaves you through some neighborhoods before heading back to the lake. There's one hill, I think around mile 8, that comes in steep. If you don't know it's there (I didn't) and you're dying (I was) it's unpleasant. Running down by Lake Michigan and in back of the Summerfest grounds was nice, but at that point the heat was really turning up quickly.

Rock 'N Sole also sports one of the better post race shindigs I've been a part of. Free beer (in Milwaukee...of course) and access to the Summerfest grounds was super nice. It was a great place to relax after a tough race, I thought. Additionally, this race has some of the best gear to purchase out of anywhere I've been. I bought an Adidas shirt that's head and shoulders better than the race shirt.

Speaking of the race shirt, I wasn't a fan. Nice color, ugly design. But, at the expo, runners were able to pick up a pair of Summerfest socks for free, sponsored by BMO Harris. Like any runner, I love me some free socks!

I would come back to this one, mostly because this stands as my worst Half Marathon time ever. Apparently going out at a pace slightly faster than your 10k PR in 70 degree weather isn't a good plan.