I think I will start this off with a statement and then get into the overall review. I believe I got lucky in choosing what must be the best city to run this race in. No disrespect to Charlotte or San Fran, etc but Nashville was the place to be and I look forward to the chance to return to the city.

This was an interesting race in the fact that every aspect of it was awesome..except for the race itself. BUT, that was the fault of an uncontrollable force: the weather. race day was 40 degrees (which is certainly tolerable) but the intermittent pouring rain was not. By the end of the race, I was freezing and shivering; not good combinations. Now that that is out of the way, let's get to the excellent part of all this.

The course was nice but it being an overcast day I think that cast a shadow that wasn't necessarily the true view of the city or the route of the course. Also, there was a lot of construction going on in the city and that was visible, even running directly past an active zone at one point. The streets were quite clean and the elevations weren't extreme but there were enough to keep you honest with your pace and when to accelerate or not. My legs had moments of tiredness but I'm not sure if that was because of the elevation or just my lack of training for this race (I had been battling an injury since the start of the year.) The aid stations were incredible. I can't say enough about the volunteers who were out there, police included. There was one officer who was cheering runners on with such a booming voice you would have thought he had a megaphone. And then there was so much vocal support from the individuals handing out water and NUUN drinks. Simply amazing support and effort for standing out there in those conditions. I applaud and tip my hat to them.

The expo was held in the Musicians Hall of Fame. They had NUUN samples and hot chocolate plus some other sweet treats for you to have. Packet pickup was easy and fast. Walked right up and got my bib, then headed to a separate area to grab my pullover. There were a few vendors there as well and an area with Hot Chocolate race gear from the current series and the past. Some items were on clearance which was tempting. There was also an area to make a contribution to Make-a-Wish if you wanted that allowed you to make a special sign and take a photo in front of the Make-a-Wish backdrop. There was also an area to take pictures in front of a Hot Chocolate series map of the country.

The swag was awesome! A cool pullover with the race logo on it, magnet, a discount coupon for future races and, of course, the delicious bowl of treats at the end of the race. Hot chocolate, chocolate dipping sauce with a banana, pretzel twists, marshmallows, biscotti cookies and some other candy frosted pretzels to dip into. So so good! One of the best end of race treat collections ever. There was also NUUN and water at the finish line. Great way to replenish your electrolytes.

Race management was excellent. Constant updates and reminders as the race date got closer. And, each week, they sent me a training schedule to prep for the race. Four weeks of suggestions on how to train for the race. Loved seeing their updates when they arrived.

All in all, weather aside, I had a great time and I was 100% DEFINITELY recommend running one of the Hot Chocolate series races at some point and I would suggest selecting Nashville as the city to go to. Simply awesome!

Oh what would a Samson Stomp run be without the temperatures taking drastic measures? LOL. The race was on a Sunday morning, 9:30 start time, so that's nice. This year the Thursday before the race the temps were 50 degrees and sunny. Well, for Sunday, the sun remained but Mother Nature thought it would be fun if she made the starting time temp a single digit experience for everyone. Oh joy! I mean, it is January, haha.
All jokes aside, I truly love and enjoy this race, even with the chilly conditions. The race is in honor of a very popular gorilla, named Samson, that died at the zoo back in 1981. They've been doing this race since then and it draws a decent crowd. Besides the 5K run, they also have it as a 5K walk with people starting out well after the runners. There is also a 2K run, a 1K for the kids and even a 1/4 mile jog for even smaller children. There is no expo to comment on. You show up the day before to pick up your packet and that's it. The swag is a long sleeve t-shirt and free parking and access to the zoo the day of the race. One thing I like is that the proceeds of the run go back directly to the zoo and they really push bringing old cell phones to recycle for the benefit of gorilla habitats. Race management is well done. There are reminders for sign up and the approaching date of the race and then two days before the heads up for packet pickup either on race day or the day before.
The course is something I really enjoy because you run throughout the zoo and get to see whatever animals may be out. This year there were views of the penguins, polar bear, caribou, macques and seals. Normally there is more to look at but currently the zoo in under going some construction for new homes for some of the animals. The elevation changes are both ways. There is one decent incline right near the start point and one major decline that is repeated twice during the race. And then at the start line/finish line you have an up/down part (which is a drag for a finish line but personally I'm used to it.) There was only one aid station this year. I'm not sure if that was because of how cold it was, but I still it wouldn't have been bad to have had a second one, maybe.
When you finish you slap the hand of the costumed gorilla and then head into the zoo's welcome center to check your results and see if you placed. Also, grab a water, yogurt bites, granola bar, Gatorade and a cup of coffee.
I was disappointed I didn't place (once again) but maybe next year. And as always, I definitely recommend this race, just for the cause and I have a fun time, even in the frigid temps.

I ran the half marathon distance last year with this race so I had hoped for a similar experience with the 10K this year. The reasoning behind the 10K was that I was going to be coming off of running the Chicago Marathon (my first marathon) one week earlier and wasn't sure where my legs would be. Smart choice by me. :)
I'll start by saying the race management team does a good job of sending updates and emails talking up the race and encouraging participation. They are very good at doing that. Also, they have a large presence on Facebook and Instagram, from what I saw, with many ads promoting this race. Now, we'll come back to them in a little bit where there will be a better explanation for just the two stars.
The expo was quite lively and I imagine that had to do with the fact it was pouring rain and all in all a crappy day outside. The place was packed with people picking up packets, checking out the Saucony center, the State Farm tent or listening in to a course expert go over the marathon course. Packet pickup was a breeze, even with my getting my packet and a relative's, who was running the half distance. I wasn't able to stay as long as I would have liked but I did get to enjoy checking out the Harley-Davidson cycles on site!
The course itself was relatively low impact. Pretty flat with slight incline/decline moments but nothing huge. It takes you from the start point thourgh some city streets over to the lakefront and past the Milwaukee Art Museum. You head past the marina and then take a U-turn just before Lafayette Hill by the Colectivo Coffee shop. After that you are retracing your steps for the most part to get back to the finish line. Other than being a dreary day with sprinkles and such, the course is truly a nice one to run. At the finish, you are welcomed with your medal, water, pretzels and bananas.The swag with this race is a nice long sleeve tshirt, various coupons and a free beer ticket. This year the beer was provided by Milwaukee Brewing Co and they provided excellent choices. There were four food trucks and a Fuel cafe providing free samples of coffee.
Now to the bad part of the race management. I had to grab my medal on the run as I continued running through the finisher area to get to a clear spot to keep running since the 10K course was marked short. I crossed at 5.72mi instead of the necessary 6.2. This is the second year where this race has had an issue with course markings and distance. This is going to be a giant detriment to the future of this race, I believe. One year is bad luck or just a mistake, but two years is not a good reputation to have, especially when you market yourself as a Boston Qualifying race. No good. Even with that, I would say this is a race running but it needs new management first. This city deserves this race and it really shows off the beauty of the city. It's just too bad that it has been marred by a giant error.

What can I say? This was my first ever marathon experience and it went great. I mean, sure my time wasn't anything world class but I finished and I was very happy about that! Now, I do have some pain and soreness now but during the race nothing major ever came up and I did have a fear that it might. So I was lucky. But, back to the race. I loved the experience! I've never felt that way during any run ever before. The energy the crowd provided was insane and amazing and I am forever grateful for all the fans and the volunteers which made it an event that I will never forget. And they were celebrating their 40th anniversary this year so as a separate piece of bling, they sent anyone that turned 40 or was turning 40 this year a patch to iron on or clip on your gear for the run. Another cool memento from an awesome race!

T-Shirt/Swag: Basic honesty here. The tech shirt is great and all the coupons are great and the edible inclusions are a nice extra touch that not a lot of races do. The post race beer from Goose Island was a perfect ending along with all the goodies (bananas, water, cheese popcorn, other salted crisps, etc) plus my beer ticket for the post race party netted me a Goose Island IPA. But the main swag that I care about is that oh so sweet medal!

Aid Stations: Awesome! As were all the volunteers at them. Water, Gatorade Endurance drink at all of them. People filling your portable water bottles if you had them. Sometimes people with hoses spraying water to cool people down. Later on, at a few stations were quarter pieces of banana. Also at one station were Gatorade gummy Bloks and a couple of stations after that were Gatorade performance gel packets. Plenty of ways to hydrate (or overhydrate too) but also making sure all runners were fueled up.

Course Scenery: Not much to look at really. I was so focused during part of the race that I didn't get to see out over the river when we crossed it a few times, but I did enjoy going through the tall buildings. But mostly city streets and concrete to look at. Nice finish line and great area (Grant Park) for the post race party.

Elevation Difficulty: None really. Some small points of incline and decline throughout but relatively flat until the very end before the finish line and even that was a very subtle rise before leading you around a corner to that magic ending.

Expo Quality: So I didn't get to this until later Saturday just a few hours before it was ending so I think I missed out on some of the excitement. But there were a TON of vendors with nice merchandise to purchase or just to check out. Lots of shirts, shoes, energy supplements, testing out areas, places to sign your name and take pictures, areas to check out your gait, etc. The expo was easy to get to as well; bus service from select hotels made it simple to get to and fro. Also, packet pickup was a breeze. No wait. Went by quickly and then onto all those vendors.

Parking: Meh, I stayed at a hotel and did the valet thing at a "great" $71 for one 24 hour cycle. Ugh, Chicago....

Race Management: Great, great and great. Constant updates for months leading up to the run. And the week of kept me updated with possible weather changes and whatnot. Really great information being provided constantly. No excuses to say you didn't know what was going on or when something was going on.

All in all, I had a great time and am glad that I was accepted to run this race and make it my first ever marathon. It was amazing and I would tell anyone who has not run Chicago to definitely run it and if it will be your first, all the better!

The 2017 Brewers Mini decided to change up the course and it was for the good, even if it didn't agree with my body, lol. It was a fun race with a lively atmosphere, runners having fun and volunteers keeping the spirit alive. The course changes added to the enjoyment. There was a little more course added to the early stages around the Harley Davidson museum area and less boring city street scape. Then after mile 10, they changed up the course to have you go up an incline, then a decline, past a park, a U-turn and then up and through a different park (with another incline) which made the end of the race challenging, at least when you are battling a hamstring strain. As always, they had you finish with a lap around the Miller Park warning track and into the parking lot. And of course, you get that sweet medal at the finish! The course has great supporters throughout it, not just at the start/finish. And I enjoy heading through the Miller Valley past the brewery; it makes for a pretty view in the morning hours.

SWAG: The medal of course, a Brewers ticket to a future game, virtual coupons and this year's tech shirt in Brewers blue, which I love! And then there is a post race party with a band where you get you 2 free beers! Plus food options (at a cost) if you are still hungry after eating the banana, yogurt, popcorn and granola bar they had you at the finish line, plus bottled water.

Expo Quality: Kind of weak this year, IMO. Not many vendors up stairs, some tables just with samples out but no one there to talk to and the volunteers for the other races weren't that energetic or eager to sign anyone up, IMO again.

Parking: Piece of cake. Get there early enough and there is plenty of room in the parking lot surrounding the stadium. Doesn't get any easier than that.

Aid Stations: Plenty with water and Gatorade. And lots of helpful volunteers handing out the water and cleaning up.

Race Management: Plenty of race updates and information leading up to race day. They just toss emails and Facebook posts for several months before the race.

Another year down, I would definitely recommend this race to someone looking to do a half marathon or once of the shorter distances. You will enjoy the whole experience.