I signed up for this race mostly because of really smart marketing. They caught me on my post-Chicago Marathon running high, offering a sweet discount. Check off a new state on the quest to race all 50? Packet pick-up in the Chicago area? Spring goal race? All great factors.

Pre-race: Communication was pretty good. I ended up dropping down from the marathon to the half, and my request was handled quickly and smoothly. I live in the city, so driving to the suburbs for packet pick-up was slightly not-fun, but better than having to worry about getting to Wisconsin even earlier than I already had to.

Day-of: I love that this race starts and ends in downtown Kenosha, a town I've been meaning to check out, but never had a reason to do so. Also loved that the course goes along Lake Michigan and through neighborhoods. It's always fun to have locals out drinking their morning coffee and cheering you on.

The weather that day was temperature-wise fine, but windy enough to make it a bit chilly. Always a possibility when a race runs along Lake Michigan. I had read past year reviews about bad paving on parts of the course, but I think that's since been fixed because there were no issues that I saw.

The full, half and 5K all run the same course for the first two miles or so and then the half and full run together until almost right to the finish line. There was a lot of signage and plenty of course marshals on hand to make sure no one was off track. Color-coordinated bibs made it clear which race you ran. It seemed like the vast majority of participants were doing the half, but the course never felt overly crowded.

Post-race: Coordinated medal distribution, lots of porta-potties, and food right at the finish line. Cheese! There was really, really tasty Wisconsin cheese right at the end. I wish there was a bit more food, which would've bothered me more if I was doing the full. I did get my free brat at the end, which was good, except the bun was a pita (is this a Wisconsin thing? My Midwestern native husband didn't know) and kind of dry. The beer was good, though the chilly wind made it hard to enjoy outdoors. The finish line area is in a nice public green space, with a band playing 90s cover songs. Again, that wind cut our post-race hanging out a bit short, but I really liked Kenosha as a town and plan on coming back for a visit. My son spotted a dinosaur museum, so for that alone, I'll get to enjoy the town again, and hopefully on a less windy day.