The organizers of this year's Milwaukee Marathon knew they had a lot to prove coming into this year's race based on the previous issues with the distance. Based on my own personal experience, I would say they exceeded expectations.

Just about everything about this year's Milwaukee Marathon was about as good of a race experience as I've had. The price was fair, plus everyone running the half marathon or marathon got not one but TWO shirts -- a technical shirt as well as a quarter zip fleece that was incredibly warm. Not bad for the price we paid -- $59, because we signed up early.

Organizers were incredibly communicative before the race -- almost too much so, in part because they apparently wanted to drive word of mouth signups from those who were already registered. That being said, there was never any question as to where you needed to go to pick up your stuff. All directions were clearly communicated.

The expo was small, but it was incredibly easy to pick up what you needed and get out. Plus, the location -- at the Bucks' arena -- gave us participants a chance to check out the start and finish area, while at the same time encouraging us to explore downtown Milwaukee. My one -- minor -- gripe with the expo was that it was so small. There weren't a whole lot of vendors there, to the point where you could see everything you needed/wanted to see within about two minutes if you were so inclined. Complaining about the lack of vendors at an expo may seem strange, but that's part of the fun of these races, is being able to check out and buy new products.

The start of the race was a bit of a cluster. Half marathon and marathon participants were all grouped together in all but one corral. Might have been nice to stagger the start of the two races, but that's a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things because the crowding wasn't terrible throughout the race.

The course -- If you want to see Milwaukee then this course was tailor made for you. The course was an out and back format that started at the Bucks' arena and took you through downtown and along the lakefront before finishing at the start line. The finish line festival had plenty of room to mill about and ample amounts of post-race beer and music.

Overall, this was a really great experience. I'll be proudly wearing my Milwaukee Marathon swag throughout the year because it is so high quality. If the same people are behind next year's race, I will very happily sign up to run it again, and I would highly recommend that you sign up for this one as well.