Trailbreaker Marathon

Nice variety of trails. Bike trail around lake to start, asphalt trail in good condition and dirt trail with hills for variety. I liked the tower turn around point very fun. A small well organized race with race day pickup. It was nice to wait inside before race started. The showers were also very nice before your drive home.

I did this race as a last-minute supported training run for my marathon coming up next month. I really wasn't too picky or looking for anything in particular other than an affordable race in a state I hadn't checked off yet. This race was totally acceptable. The good: 1) Organization was great, no expo, but race morning pickup was completely smooth, and we got to hang out in heated rec center literally until seconds before the gun went off. Course may not have been well-marked in previous years, but was fine this year. 2) Very affordable entry fee. 3) Plenty of hotels/restaurants very close to race start. 4) MOSTLY flat course (except where it wasn't!) 5) Going to the top of the observation tower and ringing the bell at the turn-around: definitely unique, still not sure whether having to climb all those stairs was cool or annoying, but the view was great! Cons: 1) Really, really cold (14 at start line, though sun and absence of wind made it not so bad). 2) Almost 17 miles of the race were on boring bike path. 3) The 4 or so miles on trail... mud, mud, mud. And the mud got worse as the temps climbed and more people churned up the trail. It seriously slowed down my pace and was completely unenjoyable. 4) No spectators! I may as well have been on a training run on that bike path. I saw as many recreational runners out there as marathon participants. Even the last 2 miles through town there was absolutely no one out at all, to the point where I was thinking, don't any of the other marathoners have family, or anything? Overall I can't complain about the race, but there's no way I would choose this over other more urban Wisconsin marathons if I hadn't had to consider time of year, distance, finances, and other stuff.

This was a good marathon to get the ball rolling again after being away from distance running for a spell. The park was easy to find; but GPS was still very helpful in getting there. I stayed with a friend in the Milwaukee area the night before, so I only had a short drive. Check-in was all done race-day morning at the recreation center/gym. It was very organized and streamlined. There was a mini-expo there (kind of). Some were handing out free stuff - like water bottles, and it looked like a race committee person was selling Gatorade. The start line was in front of the recreation center - in the road. Everybody congregated there as 8:00 a.m. approached, then the race director spoke his lines before the race started. One thing he said was that the race course was a deviation from the climax at the highest point in the county, because there was ice/snow there that made it unsafe. Hence, Plan B. Another was that the course was asymmetrical, which, he said, meant the end was different from the beginning (but I - and other runners I spoke to - had no idea how that was laid out or defined. I will get back to this shortly). So the race began. To me, the course was not precisely defined - early on, as well as near the end. The first few miles were in town. We started out following walkways along the river, and for the most part, there were orange cones periodically, marking the way through town. On a couple of occasions, I confirmed that with a support person or police officer. And by the way, the portion of the course in town - in both directions - was effectively staffed with police officers for traffic safety. Great job! Eventually, we left town, turning onto a bike and pedestrian path. It looked to be an old railroad bed that had been given up by the railroad and converted for recreation use. There was a pair of porta-potties earlier (before the 1/2 marathon turn-around). The path was an uphill grade that eventually came through an old Welsh town. Here, there were public toilets that were locked (dumb). Then with a few bends and curves along the way, the path headed out along a highway. Perhaps half way through the remaining distance there were two more porta-potties). It was really pretty lonely out there. Finally, we reached the half-way/turn-around point, got our number recorded by a race official, got to ring the bell! dAfter a U-turn, we were headed back. They said it was all downhill going back, but that simply was not the case. A couple of other things bear mentioning at this point. There were some refreshments available about every 3 miles, it seemed. But on the way back one station ran out of Gatorade. Another station - probably close to mile 22 - where a sharp diagonal road crosses the path, had everything packed up and had been abandoned. It was very disheartening. There were two porta-potties here too, and at least they were still available. The other thing: There were no gels (GU, Clif-shots, or the like) available for this entire marathon. I did not become aware of that until perhaps ½ way back - when I finally asked. Anyway, when the paved trail rejoined the sidewalk, back in town, is where confusion set in. There were arrows painted on the sidewalk from both directions, pointing onto the trail. There were no arrows pointing out the return - from the path onto the sidewalk. Also, there were multiple arrows - on the sidewalk - pointing past, and away from the trail, and, as it were, scribbled out! There were no cones visible and no person stationed there to direct the runners. I saw one guy actually go the wrong way! Finally, I saw a runner way in the distance, and opted to follow him (the other guy then followed too). Then, where the return course deviated from the outbound course was totally unclear. I had to ask some police officers - on multiple occasions - where to turn to ensure I was staying on the 'correct' course. Finally, about the last mile or so, a volunteer said, 'just follow the river the rest of the way to the finish-line'. I made it. I think the 8 or 10 people still behind me figured it out too, but it should have not been so difficult. People get really spread out at the end, and you are kind of on your own. And that is when volunteers might tend to get bored, think they are done, and leave There were adequate refreshments at the finish line, but no Gatorade. Apples, bananas, bagels, and bottled water. The last word is about the weather. It probably started out in the mid-30s, and warmed to the mid-40s. So it was a race for long sleeves, and warmer running clothes, though I did see some in short sleeves. It briefly rained about mid morning - on and off a couple of times, and more briskly once, but not for very long. I did not get soaked, but was still on the cooler side. So this was a pleasant alternative to the blistering heat and high humidity that some races have during the year.