The Great Gobble Wobble is the Turkey Trot (one of four in the Milwaukee area) put on by Silver Circle Events. In fact, there is a Gobble Wobble in Oconomowoc and Milwaukee, but this review is for the Milwaukee race.

Let's start with packet pickup for the race, although it was pretty standard. Pickup is either done the day before the race at Silver Circle's race HQ, or on race morning. Either way, it's super easy with dynamic bib assignment the process takes a minute or two at most. If you attend pickup at the HQ, you do have the opportunity to sign up for other races, buy series gear, or old race shirts at that venue.

Fast forward to race morning. Parking at the Botanical gardens was super easy, although admittedly I'm not sure if I properly followed the parking directions.

All of the Silver Circle winter races boast having an indoor area, and this was no exception. Granted, the indoor facility available at the Botanical gardens wasn't huge, but it was still an indoor location. There was also an indoor bathroom, which was another plus to this area.

Let's talk about the race. In our pre race email, Silver Circle called the event "Scenic and sloped." AKA: This is a hilly course. The start/finish is at the top of a hill, which means you can enjoy the downhill start, but be ready for the grind coming back at the end.

Mostly, the course features a lot of short rollers. Nothing too bad, but enough to throw off pacing a little. The challenge on this one came right around the 2 mile mark, with a beast of a climb. While the downhill part is nice, climbing a large somewhat steep hill 2/3 into a 5k is brutal. The rest of the way back is downhill/flat until you charge back up the hill you started on to the finish.

I will note that the roads in the Botanical gardens were not so well maintained. So be aware of potholes, patches, and a decent amount of uneven surface.

The gardens also had all of their Christmas lights and decorations out. This made for kind of a weird ambiance at a Thanksgiving race.

Let's talk swag. I actually really liked the participant shirt in this one! While it's a cotton shirt, I loved the design and color (orange). Definitely something I'll wear moving forward.

All in all, this was a superb race, as with most of the Silver Circle races. If you're in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving and looking for a challenging course, a well organized race, and some post race hot chocolate; you've found it!