Awesome race! Particularly impressive since it was an inaugural event. This is the prettiest marathon course in Wisconsin - certainly a good choice for 50 staters. Great organization, plentiful aid stations and great finish line food. Ice cream? Meat? Freaking fabulous! The only totally nitpicky comment I'd have for a possible improvement would be to upgrade the medal. This is a great race!

If you're a 50 stater or Marathon Maniac, this is a great race. all the details are covered well, and not crowded. Plentiful port-a-potties along the course, great aid stations, easy parking. Lots of post-race food, even for the back of the packers. Fun!

Wow! What a great inaugural event! It was clearly evident the race director and his team are seasoned runners. They put on a race like all runners dream a race should be done. I felt like I was running a marathon 'Rave Run'.

Course - Absolutely beautiful! You run along the Lake Michigan Shoreline out and back and you will not get bored with all the beautiful scenery. The views for me were reminiscent of Big Sur and Grandma's Marathon without having to travel to a far away destination.

Water stops were evenly spaced. Water and Gatorade were provided at each stop. Water first, then Gatorade. The water was even refreshingly cold! GU was provided at mile 18 as promised. Nice signage all along the course offering motivating support. The national athem was sung by a participating runner. Each runner was provided with post-race sandwich (brat, burger, hotdog) and a Dairy Queen frozen dessert.

The Race Director & Team were very thorough and communicated via emails leading up to the race date and were very reponsive to my email inquiries.

Runners - There was a very nice friendliness and comaraderie among the group. Runners exchanged support to each other as those who were on their way back passed those on the other side of the course.

Spectators and Volunteers - The spectators and local community should be proud!!! I was not aware of how beautiful Manitowoc is and how nice the crowd was. There were not many spectators, but those that were there, were so supportive and welcoming. The community and city as whole is well maintained. The volunteers did a great job communicating with the runners and monitoring the course. This was my 3rd marathon in the past 3 months. I will do my best to run this race as often as I can. It is a MUST DO!

I would be fine with the race continuing in the same manner. But if I could make a few changes, here is what I recommend:

1. Start line - Set up pace markers for runners to line up with expected pace times for a more even paced start.

2. Start Line - The race was chip timed. However there was not a mat at the start. Everyone had the same gun start time. Mats were only at the half and finish. If you were trying to qualify for Boston, you might lose a few seconds getting to the start after the gun goes off.

3. Food - Would like to have seen a vegetarian option (cheese pizza, veggie wrap, cheese sticks or something similar?)

4. Award Ceremony / Medal - There was no age group award ceremony. All age group winners received the same exact medal and it didn't indicate age group winner, etc. Could have had a few more details included on the medal. It looked almost identical to the finisher medal.

5. Restrooms - Would have been nice to have access to the the UW Campus where the race started and finished, especially after the race to freshen up. Ample porta-potties were available, but not conducive for freshening up post-race.

The weather was perfect and the course, well, almost perfect - about 60% along the shore of Lake Michigan. The organisation was very good for a first time - no complains from me.
However, I would like to make just two suggestions:
1. Please, consider to move the start time to 6 AM. This is summer, even in Wisconcin! The same beatiful course along the shore will turn into a killing zone if the weather turns hot - there is no shade whatsoever!
2. If there is a run day packet pickup, please, indicate it on the Web site.
Other than that, it has been a very pleasant experience and I will definitely come back again.
Did I mention that we have taken a dip into the lake after finish? - It is a couple hundred yards from the finish line.

For an inaugural small marathon, the race organizers did a fantastic job! The race was everything as promised, plus more.

The course was mostly along Lake Michigan on a very nice bike path. In Two Rivers, you had a little of everything, which included streets, packed gravel path and a small section of path through some woods. I actually enjoyed the small 'variety' of the course. The only reason I didn't give the course 5 stars is because of small sections of the course with road construction and we had to run on the sidewalk. The race organizers made it very clear there was construction, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

I was surprised how many spectators were out cheering us on. I didn't expect that much support. A very pleasant surprise.

Organization was as good as it gets!! Top notch!

Post race was amazing. After getting my beer, I walk over to a table and I'm asked 'peanut butter cup or oreo cookie blizzard?'. You kidding me? Then, I was asked 'Cheeseburger or Brat?'. Wow, I love these small marathons!