Brew City Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K
Milwaukee, WI
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Join for the annual Brew City Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K & 5K. Celebrate the end of your run by enjoying brats hot off the grill and ice cold beer at the finish line. This event helps raise funds for Hunger Task Force.
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Cool Little Race in a Great City
The Beginning - there is no expo. Just a bib and shirt pickup at a sporting goods store. Everyone there was super kind and welcoming. The store has lots of … MORE
The Beginning – there is no expo. Just a bib and shirt pickup at a sporting goods store. Everyone there was super kind and welcoming. The store has lots of cool stuff if you are interested. The T-shirt is very nice.
The Race & Course – marathon started at 8am. You do 2 loops pretty much all contained within a paved trail in a park. I had no issues with the course. It was flat. The park is pretty. You traverse several pedestrian bridges. I can see how some may see the scenery as repetitive but I enjoyed it.
The race was a tiny bit crowded at first as a 5k and half start at the same time. The 5k group quickly goes another way and you stay with the half marathoners until the end. The crowding was strictly in the beginning. After those doing the half finishes, it really thins out quite a lot. For a small race contained within a park, I felt there was some decent crowd support. There was one running club that was very enthusiastic and I appreciated them. Overall, I believe there were about 250 marathoners. The weather was 40s to 50s and pretty much perfect. There was water and Gatorade and Gu provided on course. It was adequate but maybe it could have used 1 or 2 more hydration tables.
Post Race- you are given vouchers for a free brat and beer. There is water, snacks and oranges also. The medal is very attractive. Really well done! There are also some bands playing.
Overall – the course is easy. I wish I were in prime shape to have taken advantage of the course but unfortunately I’ve been dealing with injuries and limited training. The race is small but mighty. I totally enjoyed the race and Milwaukee is a really beautiful city and I felt welcome everywhere I went and people seem really nice. So I leave Milwaukee with much gratitude.
I stayed at a hotel in West Allis maybe 15 minutes away. There are plenty of hotels. There is plenty of free parking near the start/finish. Parking area traffic was heavy so get there early. Potties were available near the start of the race and I recall seeing a few scattered throughout the course.
I wholeheartedly vouch for this race and this town. A great race option for anyone looking to do 50 states.
Decent race
It was a decent race. Some cheering here and there. From what I experienced I would not consider doing the full marathon. It may have been the weather but there's … MORE
It was a decent race. Some cheering here and there. From what I experienced I would not consider doing the full marathon. It may have been the weather but there’s was hardly any people supporting the runners. I think it may make it just a place to train. Free beer and brats. The lines were super long, so can’t tell you if they were good or not. My daughter enjoyed the brat while I was still running.
It's Milwaukee, but it's a good race
This was a decent race. I drove up from Tennessee and didn't know how late I would be getting in so I chose to have my packet mailed to me … MORE
This was a decent race. I drove up from Tennessee and didn’t know how late I would be getting in so I chose to have my packet mailed to me ($17). I met brother in Milwaukee and he went to packet pickup and it was easy. But it was held at a running store about 10 miles west of the race location. Thats 10 miles across Milwaukee.
Late April in Wisconsin is still not warm, so don’t expect to be. It was about 35 degrees when we started at 8am. The only issue with the start is its on a trail in a park down on the marina. But the line to the start line, which is supposed to be corralled but it isn’t, immediately turns right into the park. So as the race starts, everyone makes a left turn into the starting arch. Its narrow so the bottleneck is real.
You run around the park somewhat and then over a walk bridge to get to the greenway. You then run on the greenway for a number of miles before entering a park where the eventual turn around is. The greenway is pretty flat and the park has short, simple rolling hills- nothing to fuss about. But running through the park on a regular size sidewalk with runners going both directions can get pretty narrow quick. After you get back on the greenway, you quickly exit to run around another park that goes along the river. This definitely helps break up the monotony of an out and back. The only part of this that sucked was exiting the park, to get back on the greenway, was a decently steep switchback that zapped my energy pretty good. From that point its a 5k back to the finish. And the last half mile is down hill and flat through the park to same arch we started in.
This course is definitely one for going after a PR.
There were plenty of water stations along the course. I didn’t really pay attention to bathrooms because I didn’t need to. The only issue I had, and this was a first, one of the water stations had a “no cups past this point” sign. The sign was RIGHT AFTER the water station- like 20 feet. I am a rule follower so I had to turn back to throw my cup away. I recommend just putting the trach can a little further down the course.
The finish line was fine. They have brats and beer, but, like a lot of races, there is ONE line for beer. And that line is WAY too long. My brother and I were headed south to Wrigley Field for an afternoon Cubs game so we didn’t stick around.
Swag: The medal is cool and indicative of Milwaukee. You have the choice of a quarter zip or a cotton t shirt. I chose the t shirt (bring back cotton/poly shirts!) and its simple and nice. Its definitely something I’ll wear when running around home.
If I was in Milwaukee (not sure why- sorry Milwaukee folks) I would run it again. It definitely was a good race to cross Wisconsin off my list of 50 states.
Well organized event
Course was well set up. Clear communication prior to the event. Nice out and back for the first 13 with one additional loop for the full marathon. Oak Leaf trail … MORE
Course was well set up. Clear communication prior to the event. Nice out and back for the first 13 with one additional loop for the full marathon. Oak Leaf trail is nice. Plenty of water and porto’s along the course. Brat at the end was cold and beer ok but no complaints.
Great Race in Milwaukee
Very nice course, well organized for a slightly inexpensive race. Great gear. I really do think All Communities does a great job with races for a small location. No charge … MORE
Very nice course, well organized for a slightly inexpensive race. Great gear. I really do think All Communities does a great job with races for a small location. No charge race day packet pickup was great. Great course for any local or first timer.
This year it was a quarter zip jacket which was amazing. Last year it was a nice sweatshirt hoodie that was not thick material.
Only thing is I was wish that All Communities would get rid of the post race entertainment. The bands are always loud & annoying. You want to enjoy the end of the race but you are forced to listen to music at a blaring volume that it unbearable
Well run out and back
Overall, a perfectly normal course and a large-ish, well run operation. There must have been 1,000 half-marathoners and only about 75 marathoners so it really cleared out during the second … MORE
Overall, a perfectly normal course and a large-ish, well run operation. There must have been 1,000 half-marathoners and only about 75 marathoners so it really cleared out during the second loop. Good option for a fast spring race.
Nice local race
This run from the lakefront to Glendale on the Oakleaf trail. A lot of it was in the shade. The rest stops had bottles of water and Gatorade. It was … MORE
This run from the lakefront to Glendale on the Oakleaf trail. A lot of it was in the shade. The rest stops had bottles of water and Gatorade. It was nice but harder to run with the bottles for 2 miles or throw away a half full bottle. The course was pretty flat and the only issues I had was the mile before and after the turn around. The sidewalks there were in pretty bad shape. It was mostly an out and back with a bit of an offshoot for a few miles. The medal was top notch and the beer and brat after is always a welcome bonus.
Fun town to spend a race weekend
This race is typically in April; however, the race was pushed to September in 2021 due to covid. The race starts at a marina and follows a paved path with … MORE
This race is typically in April; however, the race was pushed to September in 2021 due to covid. The race starts at a marina and follows a paved path with tons of shade from the September heat. I loved that it was not on any open roads. The route had plenty of water stops, but few porta potties (plenty at the start). The swag was great – zip up hoodie and large medal. Milwaukee is a fun town to spend a weekend.
Fun, Flat Race, but Man was it COLD
I had a really good time at this race, it is still a pretty new race but they are doing a lot of things right so far and with a … MORE
I had a really good time at this race, it is still a pretty new race but they are doing a lot of things right so far and with a few tweaks they could make it great. This race seems to be getting more popular. For the half in the 4 years they have gone from 350->700->750->1000. There were also nearly 1000 people for each of the 5k and the 10k.
I flew in for this race from Seattle a few days early so that we could visit my wife’s family near Madison. Driving to the race the morning of was seamless and easy, we tried to arrive at the start area an hour before the race.
EXPO/Packet Pick Up: I can’t comment on the expo because I was staying so far away so I elected to pick up my packet the morning of the race at the start line. For this race there was no bag given away with goodies and advertisements. You just walked up to the gazebo with your bib number (which they provided on both a big pin up board and via email), and they gave you your bib with safety pins and your shirt. I was there an hour before the start and this process took me less than 1 minute. They made a point of saying picking up the day of is not recommended but with the size of the race still being ~1000 people it really wasn’t an issue. Maybe it would be harder if I was trying to pick up my packet 10 minutes before the start but personally I’d recommend picking your bib up at the course.
Parking/Access: Getting to the start line couldn’t have been easier, it was less than a mile from the interstate and parking was directly next to the start area. Again I was there early so parking was still available but the closest lot was probably full 45 minutes before the race, they had maps posted on their website with other free lots which were all pretty close and they supposedly provided shuttles.
T-Shirts/SWAG: I really liked the shirts and Medals for this race. The shirt was a half zip pullover which is really soft and would likely be great for colder training runs and races. It is very simple with just a small race logo in the top corner so it is easily something that you could wear around outside of a running event and not feel out of place. Looking at some of the past medals for this race I was not really a fan but I really liked the medal this year. It was in the shape of Wisconsin (as someone trying to run in as many states as possible I really appreciate this) and had the roof of the very unique Milwaukee Art Museum on it. There is also a picture of a beer and a bratwurst which were things they were giving away at the finish line. I was fortunate enough to place third in my age group which also earned me a much smaller version of the finishers medal with a description of what it was for on the back. The only minor critique I would make on the medal is that they all say 5k/10k/Half, the smaller the distance the smaller the medal they gave out and the medals for the half had some color on them that the 5k medal did not. I would prefer that my medal just said half marathon so it was easier to distinguish what it was for, but that is really nitpicking.
Aid Stations: The Aid stations were spaced at 1.5 miles and then about every 2 miles the rest of the way. I had no issues with the stations but I was up front with few people around. The volunteers all did a great job calling out who had Gatorade and who had water. The aid stations were a bit small though in terms of number of volunteers so (just assuming no first hand knowledge) things would have gotten a bit crowded and the volunteers would have trouble keeping up when the big part of the pack of runners was showing up. My other critique of the aid stations was that they need to put a big garbage can with a volunteer ~100 feet past the water stations so people would toss their cups there. With no obvious place to throw things cups were getting tossed everywhere which would be a pain for the volunteers to clean up and it just felt weird littering like that in a park.
Course Scenery/Elevation Difficulty: At this time of year the course is not especially pretty because there are no leaves on the trees. You start in a park on Lake Michigan then quickly run up an overpass and are then on a greenbelt along a river for ~12 of the 13 miles. The bike path is nice and so is the river but until the trees start to come alive this place isn’t anywhere near as pretty as it will be during the summer. The course itself is extremely flat which makes it pretty fast. It is an out and back with most of it along the exact same path which I assume led to some traffic issues near the turn around point which the larger pack of runners were going through. It is a slight uphill on the way out which pays you back with a downhill on the return, very gentle so nothing that really hurts your stride or pace too much.
Weather: The temperature and the wind did add a degree of difficulty. 15-20 mph gusts, probably expected so close to the lake. The temperature at the start was also a brisk 35. I had a running hat and running gloves which after getting warmed up a few miles in I tossed the hat to my family at mile 4 then tossed the gloves to them on the way back at mile 9. Very few spectators were on the course so that option wouldn’t be available to most people which probably made running in that temperature pretty tough due to either carrying gear back or being cold to start. I’m not from the area so I’m not sure if those temperatures are the norm for mid April, but the past 4 years the weather has been. 70 and sunny, 30 and snowing, 40 and raining, 35 and sunny so be prepared for anything.
Race Management: Lots of good things to like about this race, a few things to improve.
Things I liked: T-Shirts/Swag, Lots of Port-o-potties, they had everyone lined up by goal pace then called everyone who was <8 min mile pace (indicated by the color of the numbers on your bib) inside the start corral to start before everyone else I really appreciated the attempt to allow the faster people start more easily, Beer, Brats, and Cheese Curds at the finish, very tasty and very Wisconsin, top 3 by age group medals for all events
Things to improve: The trail was not closed for public use, this wasn’t an issue during this race because it was so cold but people riding their bikes into a 1000 runners in the opposite direction can be dangerous, the finish line was a bit of a mess after you got your medal-they tried to combine all 3 races towards the same finishers area to get food and freebies but it was very hard to figure out what was where. All of the races started at the same gate, the half marathon people returned to the same gate while the 5 and 10k people used a different nearby gate to finish, all of this is fine but at least according to my wife who missed me finishing it was not made clear who finished where (in all fairness she could have not been listening but either way it could have been clearer for spectators. They also need to add some garbage cans near the water stations which I mentioned earlier.
This was overall a very fun race that I would recommend, I feel like they are doing very well for a race that is only 4 years and with a few changes could be great.
Beware the early Spring in WI
The freezing temperatures and rain made this the toughest race I've ran!! The beer and brats at the end helped with my moral tremendously. The course was on an urban … MORE
The freezing temperatures and rain made this the toughest race I’ve ran!! The beer and brats at the end helped with my moral tremendously. The course was on an urban paved trail.
A bit cold but still a blast!
This year's Brewer's half had a dash of freezing rain but the race support was still there in strength to support us! I loved the new Oak Leaf trail route … MORE
This year’s Brewer’s half had a dash of freezing rain but the race support was still there in strength to support us! I loved the new Oak Leaf trail route this year.