Milwaukee Marathon Reviews & Race Reports
12 reviews from runners who've completed this race
Reviews & Race Reports
Rolling Course — Several runners noted that the course is not as flat as they expected. Rolling hills can take a toll, especially in the later miles.
Fueling Strategy — Many struggled with energy levels around mile 20. A few runners relied heavily on Clif Blocks and Gatorade, so plan your nutrition accordingly.
Crowd Energy — The crowd support grows significantly near the finish line. Reports highlight that this energy can give you a much-needed boost when you need it most.
Mental Challenges — A common theme is the mental battle in the final miles. Prepare for tough moments, especially around mile 22, where hitting the wall is a shared experience.
Struggled with humidity and rolling hills, but still BQ'd.
Miles 1-8: I quickly found out that Milwaukee is not as pancake flat at Chicago. Its surrounding neighborhoods have a bit of rolling elevation change. On top of this, the air felt incredibly thick/sticky with humidity around 85-90%. A little past mile 2, I lost a soft flask of Gatorade that I had tried to stuff into my shorts side pocket. Oops. I just stuck with the pace group and didn't look at my watch.
Struggled with heat and humidity, relied on willpower to finish
Miles 17-25 were the worst physical sensation I have ever experienced when exercising. I feel like I had to walk every quarter-half mile, and even walking hurt. The sun and humidity were in full force, and I had some concerns of heat stroke at some point. I had thrown out any notion of any time goal at this point and was just relying on sheer willpower to finish.
Fought loneliness on a fast, net downhill course
The course was fast (net downhill, I think - and certainly more long downhills than climbs) but quite lonely. Lots of running on the shoulder of rolling highways. Honestly, as boring and mentally challenging as it could have been, I do think I've become a good rhythm runner, so just being able to lock in to a pace/cadence and not have to think for a one-mile stretch of turn-less, hill-less road is sometimes a good thing.
Hit the wall at mile 22 but finished strong
At mile 20, I was down to my last pack of Clif Blocks. And I needed any energy I could get my hands on at this point. I was following a general strategy of eating 2 every 2 miles. With how much I was trudging along, I took them all at the next water station.