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Marathon Details - Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > WI > Milwaukee > Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon

Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon

Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K

Milwaukee, WI USA

April 12, 2025

http://www.runmilwaukee.com

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Race Details

Beautiful urban course through the streets and parks of Milwaukee

Contact Information

Name:	Chris Ponteri
Address:	27351 Foxhaven Drive Wind Lake, WI 53185
Phone Number:	262-758-9226
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (20)

Course 4.1

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.5

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Number of comments: 20 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

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Rob Klein from Paradise, Michigan (4/9/2019) "Bucks & Chaos" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race showed up on race calendars earlier this year, and appeared to be a new marathon event in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has several marathon events, and so far I have run all the ones that I knew about. When I did some research and wrote some e-mails to ask questions, it appeared that this might just be the old Milwaukee Running Festival. The race official I dialoged with told me that this was effectively a new race. There was a new sponsorer (the Milwaukee Bucks Basketball Club - and their facility), a new start/finish line, and a new race course. So I am listing this as a new marathon that I had not run earlier. I knew up front that they were expecting a big crowd because they asked what your expected finish time was, so they could assign you to a corral - where the faster runners get to go first. To me that is the wrong philosophy, but you have to play their game, or you will automatically get stuck in the back corral. Hats off to the Milwaukee Bucks for sponsoring us. The Bucks have a brand new facility where they play basketball, which they share with Marquette University for basketball games. It is called Fiserv Forum, and my GPS did not recognize it. Constructed last summer, some of the street names were changed from number streets (6th, 7th, etc.) to streets named after people. Again, my GPS did not recognize these names as they were perhaps only a year old. And the search I did on Fiserv Forum showed a construction site, not a gymnasium. I got assistance from other resources and people to get a picture of what I was driving into, and I was able to get to the geographical location. Then the old Bradley Center - that Fiserv replaced, was being torn down - and it was a massive structure. All this to say that there was construction going on everywhere, parallel parking on the streets was extremely limited. And they already seemed to have the roads alongside the Forum, blocked off for the race. I got to the area okay, and found a parking place, but saw no signs pointing to the expo location, so I just started walking. Eventually I got to the front doors. Inside, we had access to a very small section of the lobby, and it was like going to the airport. They were physically searching everything that anyone was carrying (laptop, backpack, purse, etc.) So there was a line out the door. Once inside, it was pretty smooth. The gal looked up my name and gave me my bib/number, then at another table they were handing out the shirts and fleeces. State Farm had a booth/table and was giving stuff away. There were a couple of other vendors trying to sell you stuff. It was a really small expo for several thousand runners. Then on race day morning they had guards/inspectors checking anything you were carrying before they'd let you into the area. It was nuts. Marquette University was down there handing out stuff to promote their school. For the runners, they had drop bags provided for warm-up clothes. That worked really well. Then they had food vendors down there trying to sell food and drink. The 5K people left a half-hour before the marathon started. Then the half and full marathoners were all corralled together (a bad choice; too many people). Also, this race was all on roads that had been closed for the event. There was a time limit of 6.5 hours for the marathon. However, they released the runners in the 5 corrals at about 5 minute intervals (a,b,c,d,&e). If you were in the back, you started 20 minutes later. So for the slow runners (like me) the clocks on the course (a clock at every mile-marker, was 20 minutes off). Then it was uncertain if the race end time was actually 1:30 pm, or if we got an extra 20 minutes. We simply did not know. If they announced this over the P.A., we could not hear it. If the course was to be shut down at 1:30, it would have been nice to know that up front. The course was decent. We started heading toward the waterfront, then an out and back loop took up about 8 miles. Then it seemed we went northwest of downtown for a ways, then there were out and back spurs that we did - some of those included several turns on city streets. Honestly, I had no idea where in town I was until we headed back to downtown. One of the out and back routines was on Sherman Blvd, and I did recognize that from years earlier. The last mile or two were through downtown proper, and it was amazing to run between the skyscraper buildings and look straight up. The weather was great. It was low 50's, and overcast most of the day. I still got minor sunburn through the clouds. The race organization provided uncut bananas (a great choice!) bottled water, and single serving size granola-type packs. Hot food cost money - if you had money with you. Parking was a disaster. There were several parking garages near-by. Daily rates seemed to be about $8.00 from what I saw; for the event they were charging $15.00 per vehicle; one I saw charged $20. I parked on the other side of the Interstate and walked ½ mile over the bridge to save parking fees. Street parking downtown had 2 hour time limit - enforced on Saturdays. How convenient. There was an absolute abundance of volunteers over the whole course, providing for the runners. They were great, but with paper cups and gel-packs, there was litter everywhere. This race has potential once construction is finished and the area is cleaned up.
Heather Berken from Milwaukee, WI (10/22/2017) "Great urban race" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run this race twice and this year was my 53rd marathon. This is the third annual Milwaukee marathon. As a resident of the city I really enjoy running a course that showcases so many various neighborhoods in Milwaukee. There was some negative press surrounding the race this year because the actual distance came up as 25.5 miles. There was a mistake made at the cone placement of the turnaround and hence the error. Last year there was an issue of someone either intentionally moving the cone or again a mistake being made making the course slightly longer. Maybe .2 or something. I don't recall. I have faith that they will get it right next year in terms of the distance. This isn't really the race to run if you are looking for a Boston qualifying time or a PR. There are a lot of twists and turns and some elevation. The twists and turns is what I enjoyed - going in and out of neighborhoods. The race was very well supported. Aide stations were plentiful. Police along the course and at intersections was also plentiful. This race had 585 finishers in the full this year so once the half marathon breaks off, it becomes a little more sparse. There was also a 5k and 10k distance as well. The finishers party was decent - at the Harley Museum - outdoors. The expo was also on the property of the Harley Davidson museum which is pretty cool. It's a fun race to do if you want to check out areas of Milwaukee on foot. The streets are closed down for the race. Spectators are a little slim but hopefully will increase as the course grows. The creator and first race director of this event wanted to recruit people from the communities we run through to participate. I found that this race had more diversity in the runners than most races I have done. I liked being a part of that effort.
R. V. from California (10/16/2017) "Loved it." (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I couldn't find much not to like about this race. The expo & packet pick up were easy. Plenty of good hotel options all within easy walking distance of the start. For a bigger city race the people were about as friendly and nice as any of the small town races I've run. They started on time, good on course support with a lot of aid stations and friendly volunteers encouraging us along the way. I found the course interesting and really enjoyed the variety of scenery along the way, along the lake shore, through the parks, and various neighborhoods. plenty of spectators out there cheering us on. I found the course well marked with adequate volunteers, police and public safety folks pointing the way and controlling traffic. We had wide open streets with no traffic so I never felt any concern for runner safety. The only thing lacking was perhaps the post race stuff - I really wasn't clear on what was available or where (like food, etc.) probably partly my fault for not looking at the details ahead, also the area was soggy from rain the night before so I didn't make a lot of effort. Bottom line: I really enjoyed this race and I would absolutely recommend it.
L. N. from Vancouver, Canada (11/15/2016) "Great (too long) course!" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 10th marathon and first Milwaukee Running Festival. This will be a fantastic race, but needs a little help. Good: The course was a delightful tour of Milwaukee! While I've not lived in Milwaukee for 10 years, it was a hometown race for me and it was a treat to come back and see the city from the streets. The volunteers were wonderful and engaged and super supportive! Weather! It's a great time of year in Milwaukee. Nice medal Start was easy and controlled. (A tad late, but who cares. Blame the Sherriff's Dept.) Hills! I actually liked these hills. I didn't find them overwhelming, but long easy climbs. Hill training will pay off! Not good: The course was too long. My Garmin showed 27.5. Not cool. The mile markers were grossly inaccurate. There is no excuse for this. It really screwed with my head and pacing. Hair pin turns. Lots of them. Yikes. Ghost town support in many spots. I had to ask a sheriff who was sitting in his car which way to go because there was NOBODY around in sight. Course marshalling volunteers need to triple, at least. All that said, I'll be back! I have the utmost confidence in this race and know all the glitches will be fixed. These things take time. So much potential! I'll look forward to seeing it grow in size (it was lonely out there!!) and working out all the bugs.
Rob Klein from Paradise, Michigan (11/12/2016) "A Mixed Bag of Stuff" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon These guys offered a discount to folks who ran the Lake Michigan Marathon a couple months ago, so I took advantage of the offer. When I arrived in town Saturday afternoon, GPS got me right to the Harley Davidson Museum for check-in. Checking in was a breeze, and an information person there discussed event parking with me, and assured me that parking at Veterans Park was free (that was not correct information!) After leaving, I drove to Veterans Park to familiarize myself with the area. This is the same place the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon run a month earlier ended. Since I was told there would be no charge for parking, I did not bring cash. Of course, they were there collecting fees for parking. They let me in anyway. The start-line staging area was a short walk through wet grass. Just before 7:00 a.m., the National Anthem was sung, and after a brief delay for a clearance from law enforcement, we were off. The first two miles or so were along Lake Michigan, heading north - beautiful! Then there was a steep hill, we made a course reversal and then were heading south through a neighborhood with some really nice homes, and the sun was starting to warm up the day. After a turn or two, we were running through a little town called Brady on Brady Street. Then we were on Wisconsin Avenue, the parkway that went through The Marquette University Campus, soon having the half-marathoners break away. Then we went through the Miller Brewery complex. Being Sunday, it was pretty quiet there. Then we entered Washington Park briefly, before being routed on to a parkway Sherman Blvd. where we did an out and back on the parkway, where both sides of the road were closed. On the way back we crossed the half-way point. Then back to Washington Park. Sometime after leaving Washington Park, we ran on a bike path along a river. Then coming over a bridge spanning the river and another out and back on another bike/foot path (the official map does not show this out-and-back, and this is perhaps where the extra distance was, that caused the course to be too long). Coming back, we got to see the Milwaukee Brewers baseball stadium. It was huge. Heading back toward downtown, we ran past the Harley Davidson complex. Eventually, we passed the Harley Museum, then headed toward the lakefront area. By then I was running with a lady from the Milwaukee area who had a GPS watch, and she kept indicating that the mile markers were off (according to her GPS data). Back at the Lake Michigan shore, we were running on area that had been reclaimed from the lake, dotted with art, museums, and places to eat. It was quite spectacular. Winding along the shoreline, we eventually returned to Veterans Park and the much anticipated finish-line. Post race food was provided to the runners: bottled water, bananas, pretzels, & chocolate milk. Outside the recovery area there was beer and root beer being served too. This was a really good race, and they really promoted and show-cased the Milwaukee community. The hydration stations were abundant - though only one - early in the second half, had gels. The others only had Gatorade and water, but no other food. Porta-potties were not abundant, but were never-the-less adequate. The weather was a cloudless sky with a temperature in the mid 60s. It was a beautiful November day. Later, the race staff acknowledged that the course was in fact a few tenths of a mile long. I personally have measured and certified a marathon course, and I simply do not understand how they could have got this race certified by USA Track & Field with the errant data they collected and submitted. That was the blemish on an otherwise perfect marathon event. I am sure that they will correct the course for subsequent years. It is a great course and is very worthwhile.
B. B. from Pittsburgh,Pa (11/10/2016) "Did I Run a Different Race?" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 After reading the complaints I wondered if I ran the Milwaukee Marathon this weekend. I really liked it. The expo was a good size in a cool facility. They had nice reasonably priced race merchandise as well. Race day was great. The staging area was surrounded by parking options and was a beautiful setting with sunrise over Lake Michigan. I thought that there was ample port o potties as well. There was a delay as another post noted, but it was 5 minutes at most. The course was beautiful and interesting with enough hills but none that were too bad. The last two miles were among the prettiest that I've ever seen on a marathon course. I liked the finish area and the food selection was good with chocolate milk. We took advantage of a free Taxi-bike ride back to our parking lot. It was a great surprise. The medal and shirt were solid. Free photo downloads too! Two issues however: while I liked the distinct starts for the half and full, the merge was a little messy. I also felt that there should have been another water stop after the bike trail. If you're looking for the perfect race keep looking. If you want a very solid race with a beautiful course this is a good option. Milwaukee is a great city. If you want to enjoy what it is famous for, head to MobCraft or Brennan's Brewing both a short walk from the expo.
A. A. from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (11/9/2016) "Not awful, needs improvement" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 First off- this is only my second full marathon, so take my comments with a grain of salt. My first marathon was a highly respected event that has been running for decades- so coming into this young race I knew already that it most likely wouldn't clear the bar set by my first race. 1. The course was weird. I'm a Milwaukee local and I loved the beginning- really highlighted great parts of the city. It had some really weird stretches through parks that were TERRIBLY marked and had no volunteers to help. One women I finished with ended up going 15 minutes off course because of poorly placed markers/cones. They need to either get lots more volunteers or alter the course. 2. The volunteers that were there were great. I just wish there were more. Aid stations were fine. 3. Swag/ expo was fine. Nothing spectacular but acceptable. I love this city and I want this race to become something great. I have a feeling it will improve. They've already made quite a few changes from their first year (this is only their second). I will give it another shot in the future.
C. B. from Minnesota (11/7/2016) "Good and nice for a young marathon, few..." (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Improvements needed. the first part and the last 2 miles are gorgeous, running close to the lake and with a beautiful day we had. Then we headed into the city and crossed downtown, good support also due to the half marathon, then we run between parks, trails and residential part with very little support. Even the 13.1 miles was completely deserted, just a track with the timing wiring not even a volunteer! The worst part was no food for the entire race, only at mile 17-19 not sure, there was the only possibility to get some gel fuel, I have been asking every single water stop for a banana only to see the volunteers expression, sad surprised and apologetic. Even at the finish line there was no real food besides bananas. On the good side I need to mention also the parking, great, cheap and close to the start. Medals will improve for sure once the race will gain more participants. The expo is in a good place, beside the Harley Davidson museum, but it was really small, I think it is because the , marathon is new so we need few more years to see more sponsors, but there was plenty of bagels, cheese and jam, just what we would have needed at the finish line. I see a great potential.
N. S. from Hopkins, MN (11/7/2016) "Lots of potential but a few problems" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Milwaukee, who knew? Interesting place to see. Really great people volunteering and enthusiastic spectators. Would have been exceptional except for some problems: Late start- due to roads not cleared by Sheriff- not a big deal if this was the only issue Some people got lost when someone changed cones in a park and ran 28 miles not surprised. You need to keep a volunteer at each tricky turn of a course and some of the turns were unmanned Half marathoners joined in for part of the course which can be fine but in this case it was a bit off.. They were started 15 minutes or so later and joined in about mile 3.. this meant faster runners for the marathon were hitting a bit slower 1/2 marathon runners. This alone wouldn't have been a big deal except the course at these parts was narrow so until you found the pace of the half marathoners that was the same as your marathon pace there was some weaving and bottle necking Not enough porta potties sorry no excuse for this one too crowded for this as a race grows you need more at the start and more on the course would be good as well Lots of potential for this race... perfect weather this year as well.. will-call packet pick up was terrific as I was able to fly in late the night before
N. S. from Milwaukee, WI (11/7/2016) "Beautiful But Poorly Planned Course" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Some aspects of this marathon were wonderful: the course was very beautiful, the spectators were pretty good, the after-party was fun, and the volunteers on the course were great. However, there were some problems. First, it seems the course was planned by city organizers instead of runners. It ran through wonderful parts of the city, but the course was convoluted and featured a great number of hairpin turns on trails and out-and-backs. The former really slows the course down, and the latter makes the course a drag. Also, this course is really quite hilly. That's alright, but be prepared! Second, the course was long. In most marathons, runner's GPS watches will log a little over 26.2 (perhaps 26.4), but on this marathon most watches measured 26.8-27.0 miles. Third, the finishing chute was really sub-par. Well-run marathons have support volunteers there to walk with you and check how you're doing. But support people here were talking to each other and not interacting at all with the runners. This could potentially be a safety concern. I'm proud that there's an urban marathon in Milwaukee, but some improvements are needed.

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Rob Klein from Paradise, Michigan (4/9/2019) "Bucks & Chaos" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race showed up on race calendars earlier this year, and appeared to be a new marathon event in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has several marathon events, and so far I have run all the ones that I knew about. When I did some research and wrote some e-mails to ask questions, it appeared that this might just be the old Milwaukee Running Festival. The race official I dialoged with told me that this was effectively a new race. There was a new sponsorer (the Milwaukee Bucks Basketball Club - and their facility), a new start/finish line, and a new race course. So I am listing this as a new marathon that I had not run earlier. I knew up front that they were expecting a big crowd because they asked what your expected finish time was, so they could assign you to a corral - where the faster runners get to go first. To me that is the wrong philosophy, but you have to play their game, or you will automatically get stuck in the back corral. Hats off to the Milwaukee Bucks for sponsoring us. The Bucks have a brand new facility where they play basketball, which they share with Marquette University for basketball games. It is called Fiserv Forum, and my GPS did not recognize it. Constructed last summer, some of the street names were changed from number streets (6th, 7th, etc.) to streets named after people. Again, my GPS did not recognize these names as they were perhaps only a year old. And the search I did on Fiserv Forum showed a construction site, not a gymnasium. I got assistance from other resources and people to get a picture of what I was driving into, and I was able to get to the geographical location. Then the old Bradley Center - that Fiserv replaced, was being torn down - and it was a massive structure. All this to say that there was construction going on everywhere, parallel parking on the streets was extremely limited. And they already seemed to have the roads alongside the Forum, blocked off for the race. I got to the area okay, and found a parking place, but saw no signs pointing to the expo location, so I just started walking. Eventually I got to the front doors. Inside, we had access to a very small section of the lobby, and it was like going to the airport. They were physically searching everything that anyone was carrying (laptop, backpack, purse, etc.) So there was a line out the door. Once inside, it was pretty smooth. The gal looked up my name and gave me my bib/number, then at another table they were handing out the shirts and fleeces. State Farm had a booth/table and was giving stuff away. There were a couple of other vendors trying to sell you stuff. It was a really small expo for several thousand runners. Then on race day morning they had guards/inspectors checking anything you were carrying before they'd let you into the area. It was nuts. Marquette University was down there handing out stuff to promote their school. For the runners, they had drop bags provided for warm-up clothes. That worked really well. Then they had food vendors down there trying to sell food and drink. The 5K people left a half-hour before the marathon started. Then the half and full marathoners were all corralled together (a bad choice; too many people). Also, this race was all on roads that had been closed for the event. There was a time limit of 6.5 hours for the marathon. However, they released the runners in the 5 corrals at about 5 minute intervals (a,b,c,d,&e). If you were in the back, you started 20 minutes later. So for the slow runners (like me) the clocks on the course (a clock at every mile-marker, was 20 minutes off). Then it was uncertain if the race end time was actually 1:30 pm, or if we got an extra 20 minutes. We simply did not know. If they announced this over the P.A., we could not hear it. If the course was to be shut down at 1:30, it would have been nice to know that up front. The course was decent. We started heading toward the waterfront, then an out and back loop took up about 8 miles. Then it seemed we went northwest of downtown for a ways, then there were out and back spurs that we did - some of those included several turns on city streets. Honestly, I had no idea where in town I was until we headed back to downtown. One of the out and back routines was on Sherman Blvd, and I did recognize that from years earlier. The last mile or two were through downtown proper, and it was amazing to run between the skyscraper buildings and look straight up. The weather was great. It was low 50's, and overcast most of the day. I still got minor sunburn through the clouds. The race organization provided uncut bananas (a great choice!) bottled water, and single serving size granola-type packs. Hot food cost money - if you had money with you. Parking was a disaster. There were several parking garages near-by. Daily rates seemed to be about $8.00 from what I saw; for the event they were charging $15.00 per vehicle; one I saw charged $20. I parked on the other side of the Interstate and walked ½ mile over the bridge to save parking fees. Street parking downtown had 2 hour time limit - enforced on Saturdays. How convenient. There was an absolute abundance of volunteers over the whole course, providing for the runners. They were great, but with paper cups and gel-packs, there was litter everywhere. This race has potential once construction is finished and the area is cleaned up.
Heather Berken from Milwaukee, WI (10/22/2017) "Great urban race" (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 2 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run this race twice and this year was my 53rd marathon. This is the third annual Milwaukee marathon. As a resident of the city I really enjoy running a course that showcases so many various neighborhoods in Milwaukee. There was some negative press surrounding the race this year because the actual distance came up as 25.5 miles. There was a mistake made at the cone placement of the turnaround and hence the error. Last year there was an issue of someone either intentionally moving the cone or again a mistake being made making the course slightly longer. Maybe .2 or something. I don't recall. I have faith that they will get it right next year in terms of the distance. This isn't really the race to run if you are looking for a Boston qualifying time or a PR. There are a lot of twists and turns and some elevation. The twists and turns is what I enjoyed - going in and out of neighborhoods. The race was very well supported. Aide stations were plentiful. Police along the course and at intersections was also plentiful. This race had 585 finishers in the full this year so once the half marathon breaks off, it becomes a little more sparse. There was also a 5k and 10k distance as well. The finishers party was decent - at the Harley Museum - outdoors. The expo was also on the property of the Harley Davidson museum which is pretty cool. It's a fun race to do if you want to check out areas of Milwaukee on foot. The streets are closed down for the race. Spectators are a little slim but hopefully will increase as the course grows. The creator and first race director of this event wanted to recruit people from the communities we run through to participate. I found that this race had more diversity in the runners than most races I have done. I liked being a part of that effort.
R. V. from California (10/16/2017) "Loved it." (about: 2017) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I couldn't find much not to like about this race. The expo & packet pick up were easy. Plenty of good hotel options all within easy walking distance of the start. For a bigger city race the people were about as friendly and nice as any of the small town races I've run. They started on time, good on course support with a lot of aid stations and friendly volunteers encouraging us along the way. I found the course interesting and really enjoyed the variety of scenery along the way, along the lake shore, through the parks, and various neighborhoods. plenty of spectators out there cheering us on. I found the course well marked with adequate volunteers, police and public safety folks pointing the way and controlling traffic. We had wide open streets with no traffic so I never felt any concern for runner safety. The only thing lacking was perhaps the post race stuff - I really wasn't clear on what was available or where (like food, etc.) probably partly my fault for not looking at the details ahead, also the area was soggy from rain the night before so I didn't make a lot of effort. Bottom line: I really enjoyed this race and I would absolutely recommend it.
L. N. from Vancouver, Canada (11/15/2016) "Great (too long) course!" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 10th marathon and first Milwaukee Running Festival. This will be a fantastic race, but needs a little help. Good: The course was a delightful tour of Milwaukee! While I've not lived in Milwaukee for 10 years, it was a hometown race for me and it was a treat to come back and see the city from the streets. The volunteers were wonderful and engaged and super supportive! Weather! It's a great time of year in Milwaukee. Nice medal Start was easy and controlled. (A tad late, but who cares. Blame the Sherriff's Dept.) Hills! I actually liked these hills. I didn't find them overwhelming, but long easy climbs. Hill training will pay off! Not good: The course was too long. My Garmin showed 27.5. Not cool. The mile markers were grossly inaccurate. There is no excuse for this. It really screwed with my head and pacing. Hair pin turns. Lots of them. Yikes. Ghost town support in many spots. I had to ask a sheriff who was sitting in his car which way to go because there was NOBODY around in sight. Course marshalling volunteers need to triple, at least. All that said, I'll be back! I have the utmost confidence in this race and know all the glitches will be fixed. These things take time. So much potential! I'll look forward to seeing it grow in size (it was lonely out there!!) and working out all the bugs.
Rob Klein from Paradise, Michigan (11/12/2016) "A Mixed Bag of Stuff" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon These guys offered a discount to folks who ran the Lake Michigan Marathon a couple months ago, so I took advantage of the offer. When I arrived in town Saturday afternoon, GPS got me right to the Harley Davidson Museum for check-in. Checking in was a breeze, and an information person there discussed event parking with me, and assured me that parking at Veterans Park was free (that was not correct information!) After leaving, I drove to Veterans Park to familiarize myself with the area. This is the same place the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon run a month earlier ended. Since I was told there would be no charge for parking, I did not bring cash. Of course, they were there collecting fees for parking. They let me in anyway. The start-line staging area was a short walk through wet grass. Just before 7:00 a.m., the National Anthem was sung, and after a brief delay for a clearance from law enforcement, we were off. The first two miles or so were along Lake Michigan, heading north - beautiful! Then there was a steep hill, we made a course reversal and then were heading south through a neighborhood with some really nice homes, and the sun was starting to warm up the day. After a turn or two, we were running through a little town called Brady on Brady Street. Then we were on Wisconsin Avenue, the parkway that went through The Marquette University Campus, soon having the half-marathoners break away. Then we went through the Miller Brewery complex. Being Sunday, it was pretty quiet there. Then we entered Washington Park briefly, before being routed on to a parkway Sherman Blvd. where we did an out and back on the parkway, where both sides of the road were closed. On the way back we crossed the half-way point. Then back to Washington Park. Sometime after leaving Washington Park, we ran on a bike path along a river. Then coming over a bridge spanning the river and another out and back on another bike/foot path (the official map does not show this out-and-back, and this is perhaps where the extra distance was, that caused the course to be too long). Coming back, we got to see the Milwaukee Brewers baseball stadium. It was huge. Heading back toward downtown, we ran past the Harley Davidson complex. Eventually, we passed the Harley Museum, then headed toward the lakefront area. By then I was running with a lady from the Milwaukee area who had a GPS watch, and she kept indicating that the mile markers were off (according to her GPS data). Back at the Lake Michigan shore, we were running on area that had been reclaimed from the lake, dotted with art, museums, and places to eat. It was quite spectacular. Winding along the shoreline, we eventually returned to Veterans Park and the much anticipated finish-line. Post race food was provided to the runners: bottled water, bananas, pretzels, & chocolate milk. Outside the recovery area there was beer and root beer being served too. This was a really good race, and they really promoted and show-cased the Milwaukee community. The hydration stations were abundant - though only one - early in the second half, had gels. The others only had Gatorade and water, but no other food. Porta-potties were not abundant, but were never-the-less adequate. The weather was a cloudless sky with a temperature in the mid 60s. It was a beautiful November day. Later, the race staff acknowledged that the course was in fact a few tenths of a mile long. I personally have measured and certified a marathon course, and I simply do not understand how they could have got this race certified by USA Track & Field with the errant data they collected and submitted. That was the blemish on an otherwise perfect marathon event. I am sure that they will correct the course for subsequent years. It is a great course and is very worthwhile.
B. B. from Pittsburgh,Pa (11/10/2016) "Did I Run a Different Race?" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 After reading the complaints I wondered if I ran the Milwaukee Marathon this weekend. I really liked it. The expo was a good size in a cool facility. They had nice reasonably priced race merchandise as well. Race day was great. The staging area was surrounded by parking options and was a beautiful setting with sunrise over Lake Michigan. I thought that there was ample port o potties as well. There was a delay as another post noted, but it was 5 minutes at most. The course was beautiful and interesting with enough hills but none that were too bad. The last two miles were among the prettiest that I've ever seen on a marathon course. I liked the finish area and the food selection was good with chocolate milk. We took advantage of a free Taxi-bike ride back to our parking lot. It was a great surprise. The medal and shirt were solid. Free photo downloads too! Two issues however: while I liked the distinct starts for the half and full, the merge was a little messy. I also felt that there should have been another water stop after the bike trail. If you're looking for the perfect race keep looking. If you want a very solid race with a beautiful course this is a good option. Milwaukee is a great city. If you want to enjoy what it is famous for, head to MobCraft or Brennan's Brewing both a short walk from the expo.
A. A. from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (11/9/2016) "Not awful, needs improvement" (about: 2016) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 First off- this is only my second full marathon, so take my comments with a grain of salt. My first marathon was a highly respected event that has been running for decades- so coming into this young race I knew already that it most likely wouldn't clear the bar set by my first race. 1. The course was weird. I'm a Milwaukee local and I loved the beginning- really highlighted great parts of the city. It had some really weird stretches through parks that were TERRIBLY marked and had no volunteers to help. One women I finished with ended up going 15 minutes off course because of poorly placed markers/cones. They need to either get lots more volunteers or alter the course. 2. The volunteers that were there were great. I just wish there were more. Aid stations were fine. 3. Swag/ expo was fine. Nothing spectacular but acceptable. I love this city and I want this race to become something great. I have a feeling it will improve. They've already made quite a few changes from their first year (this is only their second). I will give it another shot in the future.
C. B. from Minnesota (11/7/2016) "Good and nice for a young marathon, few..." (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Improvements needed. the first part and the last 2 miles are gorgeous, running close to the lake and with a beautiful day we had. Then we headed into the city and crossed downtown, good support also due to the half marathon, then we run between parks, trails and residential part with very little support. Even the 13.1 miles was completely deserted, just a track with the timing wiring not even a volunteer! The worst part was no food for the entire race, only at mile 17-19 not sure, there was the only possibility to get some gel fuel, I have been asking every single water stop for a banana only to see the volunteers expression, sad surprised and apologetic. Even at the finish line there was no real food besides bananas. On the good side I need to mention also the parking, great, cheap and close to the start. Medals will improve for sure once the race will gain more participants. The expo is in a good place, beside the Harley Davidson museum, but it was really small, I think it is because the , marathon is new so we need few more years to see more sponsors, but there was plenty of bagels, cheese and jam, just what we would have needed at the finish line. I see a great potential.
N. S. from Hopkins, MN (11/7/2016) "Lots of potential but a few problems" (about: 2016) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Milwaukee, who knew? Interesting place to see. Really great people volunteering and enthusiastic spectators. Would have been exceptional except for some problems: Late start- due to roads not cleared by Sheriff- not a big deal if this was the only issue Some people got lost when someone changed cones in a park and ran 28 miles not surprised. You need to keep a volunteer at each tricky turn of a course and some of the turns were unmanned Half marathoners joined in for part of the course which can be fine but in this case it was a bit off.. They were started 15 minutes or so later and joined in about mile 3.. this meant faster runners for the marathon were hitting a bit slower 1/2 marathon runners. This alone wouldn't have been a big deal except the course at these parts was narrow so until you found the pace of the half marathoners that was the same as your marathon pace there was some weaving and bottle necking Not enough porta potties sorry no excuse for this one too crowded for this as a race grows you need more at the start and more on the course would be good as well Lots of potential for this race... perfect weather this year as well.. will-call packet pick up was terrific as I was able to fly in late the night before
N. S. from Milwaukee, WI (11/7/2016) "Beautiful But Poorly Planned Course" (about: 2016) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Some aspects of this marathon were wonderful: the course was very beautiful, the spectators were pretty good, the after-party was fun, and the volunteers on the course were great. However, there were some problems. First, it seems the course was planned by city organizers instead of runners. It ran through wonderful parts of the city, but the course was convoluted and featured a great number of hairpin turns on trails and out-and-backs. The former really slows the course down, and the latter makes the course a drag. Also, this course is really quite hilly. That's alright, but be prepared! Second, the course was long. In most marathons, runner's GPS watches will log a little over 26.2 (perhaps 26.4), but on this marathon most watches measured 26.8-27.0 miles. Third, the finishing chute was really sub-par. Well-run marathons have support volunteers there to walk with you and check how you're doing. But support people here were talking to each other and not interacting at all with the runners. This could potentially be a safety concern. I'm proud that there's an urban marathon in Milwaukee, but some improvements are needed.

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Marathon Details - Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon