The Madison Mini Marathon has been on list for a few years now. I have always been concerned by the weather due it being mid-August and knowing it can be quite warm that time of year. Since my race calendar was on the lighter side this year, I decide why not and signed up. This race did not disappoint.

Weather: The weather was pretty good considering the time of year. It was humid but, not to the point of it being unbearable. It started out in the high 60s/low 70s and rose to about low/mid 80s by the time I finished the race. (Side note: Even though the weather conditions were not extreme, do not forget to hydrate and there is no shame in walking or stopping if you do not feel well, myself and 2 other runners assisted another runner who had a heat related emergency)

Expo/Packet pickup: The expo/packet pickup was at the Alliant Energy Center. It had plenty of free parking and was only open Friday from 11-8pm. The expo itself was fairly small and you could easily see everything within 20mins.

Race day parking: Since the race starts on the UW-Madison campus, there are a decent amount of parking garages around however, some of them do get crowded and lines form for entering the garages.

T-shirt: For the 10th anniversary, the race decided to do a tri-blend cotton shirt instead of the usual tech shirt. I actually appreciated this since I have quite a few tech shirts from other races.

Aid Stations: They were placed about every 2 miles for the first 6/7miles. Then it seemed like they were placed every mile after mile 8. They were staffed by a various community groups and each group did a good job cheering on the runners.

Course: I thought the course itself was a good course. It had a good mix of running through the city and running through a more natural environment. The course had a few more hills than I was expecting but, I enjoyed the challenge.

Medal: I do not know if this was specific for this year or not but, my aunt ran the 5k and the medal she received was almost identical to the one I got for running the half. The only difference between the 2 medals was the half medal has the ability to stand on it's own.

This was my first year running Rock N Roll New Orleans half marathon. In addition, this was my first Rock N Roll marathon series race with the new 2018 improvements. The new improvements that were noticeable were the new corral signs and the increase in music. The medal was much better than last year's. Overall, I thought it was a good race experience. The post-race eats in New Orleans are outstanding

Expo: Compared to other Rock N Roll race expos I have attended, I thought this one was lacking. It did not have many vendors, race groups, or other races.

Course: The course itself was pretty flat. The camber of the road itself was a bit more than I was used to. If you ran on down the trolley tracks or the side closest to the tracks on St. Charles, you would not have even noticed the camber. The aid stations were about 2 miles apart. They were well spaced out and never seemed too congested.

Course atmosphere: The overall atmosphere was a little more subdued than what I was expecting. I didn't notice a large crowd presence along the course (apparently, most people are partied out from Mardi Gras) The bands along the route were a good taste of New Orleans music.

The Big Ten 10K had been on my list of races to run since it's inaugural year. Unfortunately, I was busy every year until this past year. The post-run tailgate and the shirt/medal are the best thing about this race. The weather for the race started as warm and humid. As the race went on, the temps continued to rise and it felt even more humid.

Expo: There was no expo. Packet pickup was at the Fleet Feet Store in Old Town.

Course: The race is run along Lake Michigan's lakefront path. The lakefront path while scenic offers little shade and can get congested in areas. The course is not closed to the public. Unfortunately, this means you do wind up with bikers trying to make their way through the crowds of runners which could potentially be a bit dangerous.

Post-race: The post-race tailgate is a lot of fun especially if you are a fan of the Big Ten. Each school has a tent and some item to take pictures with (rivalry trophy, mascot, etc.) The post race beer was from Revolution Brewing (a local Chicago brewery). In addition, there were some others tents, games, and activities to create a fun tailgate atmosphere.