This is the third year in a row I have run this race and this was definitely the most disappointing of the three races. Maybe it's because I'm just coming off of running the Madison Mini, which is a beautiful and challenging course, but this year I felt that the majority of the course was blah and uninspiring. The conditions of the roads were awful - I felt like I had to keep my eyes down to avoid spraining my ankle on a pothole! The course is pretty flat, with the most difficult part coming from about mile 10-11 where there are two sizable hills back to back. The best part of the run is cruising through Miller Park at the end!

The T-shirts were awful this year. The first two years runners were given fitted tech tees and this year, while they can maybe technically be called tech tees since they are not cotton, they just seemed cheap and not something I would ever wear to run or work out in. Additionally, the shirt vendor apparently pre-shrunk all of the shirts so event management upsized everyone, and the shirt I received was just odd-fitting. Super short sleeves and the body is really boxy and wide, but also short, which I don't like.

There is no true race expo, but rather just a packet pick up where some of the other races produced by the event management team are featured. Sadly, some of those race representatives contributed to my disappointment this year as they were "hawking" participants picking up their packets trying to get them to sign up for their races. You know those annoying kiosk people at the mall who want to "ask you a question"? Yeah, They were those guys.

I did reach out to event management after picking up my packet to express my disappointment and to their credit they responded to me very quickly and explained that it is not meant to be an expo, just a packet pick up. I offered some suggestions and they will very likely not make any changes just based on my opinion, but they were very cordial and seemed appreciative of my feedback.

I am on the fence about doing this one again. Having run it three years in a row now I may choose to try out a different race in place of it next year. If you haven't run it, it is a fun race and the post-race party is great! Local Milwaukeeans, for sure a race I recommend doing at least once as it hits some of the great downtown landmarks, but be prepared to breathe through your mouth at a few points because our city certainly has some ripe spots (I'm looking at you Potowatomi)!

OVERALL: This was my first time running this race and my husband and I both agree we'll be running it again! The course had more hills than I expected, but you get to run past some of the most iconic locations in the city so it was definitely a trip down memory lane for these two Badger alumni! I'll definitely do more hill training before this race next year though. The corrals were clearly marked and easy to get to, but we were placed in a corral that was a full 20 minutes slower than the estimated finish time we registered for, so we had to navigate through a lot of slower runners and expend a lot of energy catching up to the pacer we wanted to be with. I also wish they offered a bag or something to hold all of the finish line goodies as the water, granola bar, banana, popcorn and chocolate milk were a bit much to lug around, especially when you had to keep setting it down for post-race pictures. It also felt a little cramped and crowded, but the event staff did a good job of keeping people moving through.

T-SHIRTS/SWAG: Someone picked our packets up for us, so I can't speak to the expo, but I think the swag was lacking. I'm not a fan of the virtual goodie bag and most of the offers were for companies local to Madison that we'll never be able to use. The t-shirt is nice - this year's was a really cool blue color - but definitely on the big side. I ordered a medium and next time will remember to order a size down. Other than the shirt, the only other swag provided pre-race was a BMO Harris branded water bottle holder...and I didn't even realize that's what it was until I saw someone using it during the race;) Note to event organizers - you have a huge opportunity in the sponsorship/vendor arena!

PARKING: I see a lot of people commenting on a lack of parking and I will be honest, I was a little concerned about it going in, but we were able to find parking in an open ramp no problem. I do think next year we may try to stay downtown within walking distance just for ease.

AID STATIONS: Plenty of aid stations and the volunteers working them were awesome! The little cheering sections along the route were great too - I especially loved the ones with lots of kiddos. Nothing like a cheering little kid to make you smile through the pain!

RACE MANAGEMENT: Communication pre-race was great - my only suggestion would be to maybe send out some communication about the weather forecast. Of course, as runners we are always obsessively checking it, but even a simple email about anticipated conditions for non-locals might be nice.

I highly recommend this race - especially for UW Alumni. It's so fun to run through a town where so many lasting memories were made. And what better way to kick off the day than with a long run followed by beers on the terrace with a few thousand of your closest friends:)?