44th Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon 2026

On October 4, 2026, I ran the 44th Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. The full race FPV/POV video can be viewed on YouTube here:

For this race, I mainly continued to train by following a Garmin Coach plan. This race was not the training plan’s goal race. I was also in MCRRC’s First Time Marathon (FTM) Program. I mainly stayed true to the Garmin plan, but distance adjustments were made depending on where FTM long runs were held since sometimes not possible to adjust distances due to nature of point-to-point runs with no shortcuts. But I was never short mileage.

For this trip, I also signed up for the 5k as part of the Own the Hoan Challenge. I signed up because it was only about $30 extra. A lot of other races that have challenges have fees that make it not worth the price for the additional distances. $30 extra to add a 5k is a bargain from race fees I have seen. The 5k took place the day before the Marathon and FPV/POV video can be viewed on YouTube here: Milwaukee Lakefront 5k 2026 Full Race FPV/POV

The day before the race, I walked too much due participating in the 5k and subsequent walking tour of the area including Historic Third Ward, RiverWalk, and Public Market, along the way back to hotel.

At registration, you got a ticket to Oktoberfest that took place walking distance from the finish line. I had to go back to hotel first because they did not allow bags and water bottles. I rewarded myself for finishing the marathon with some good eating!

Travel

I flew from DCA to MKE direct via Southwest Airlines on October 2. I had the option of either American Airlines or Southwest. I originally booked American but comparing average flight delays, it seemed Southwest was a better option so I switched. The downside is that I could get a first class seat with American at the same price of Choice Preferred with Southwest, so it was a downgrade in that regard. I originally booked with American because their flight was originally in the morning but later moved to same time as Southwest flight.

To get into the city, I rode the Green bus of Milwaukee County Transit System. I also used it go to other parts of the city, including Urban Park, where the 5k is held. Each trip cost $2.75. There is daily fare capping which is nice, not that I rode enough to make use of it.

I stayed at Hampton Inn & Suites Milwaukee Downtown. I stayed three nights. The hotel has complimentary breakfast which is convenient; it is why I picked it over the race partner hotels which did not have free breakfast.

Because I was tired of the never ending saga of disliking hotel pillows, I purchased a Purple Back Cushion to use as a travel pillow. Unfortunately, it did not solve my issue of not sleeping well. But at least my head was more comfortable. Definitely infinitely better than hotel pillows.

The travel home was fortunately uneventful. I took the Green bus back to MKE airport Monday afternoon and flew back to DCA.

Expo

The expo was held at Baird Center. It was my first destination leaving the airport. I arrived around 5:30pm local time. When I entered the Center, security inspected my bags. There was a seemingly long line I joined to get into the expo. However, some person announced that Marathon participants could follow them to a shorter line for pickup. Signing up for the challenge, I picked up Marathon bib then picked up 5k bib after. There were some vendors at the expo like usual. The expo area was not that big, but it was probably similar in size to other non-super-big races I have attended in past.

Carb Loading

Since the race was Sunday, I started eating extra Thursday morning. I tried to count the amount but a lot of items were not prepackaged so it was difficult to ascertain a number for each item. My estimates for each day:
Thursday: +470g
Friday: +450g
Saturday: +530g
The issue with Saturday was that I had to make sure to not eat too much before the 5k in the morning or risk having issues during the race.

Race Day

Weather

Saturday 5k:
Even though the 5k started late-ish, at 10:30am, the weather was nice with temp of 60F and 50F dew point.

Sunday Marathon:
The weather was nice at start and warmed up at finish time. It was a sunny day. This made it a bit warm for long sections with no shade.
At start around 6:33am, the temp was 52F with 48F dew point.
At around 11:22am, the temp was 64F with 52F dew point.

Extra Stuff

Saturday 5k:
GoPro Hero13 Black with Ultra Wide Lens Mood and Headstrap 2.0

Sunday Marathon:
As per usual, I was wearing my recording gear:

• GoPro Hero13 Black with Ultra Wide Lens Mood, Headstrap 2.0 and Contacto
• Anker Portable Charger

Nutrition

Saturday 5k:
I ate like usual, eating breakfast at 6:00am, but tried to avoid anything too heavy since I knew I would run 5k. I tried to maintain my progress of carb loading for the REAL race the next day.

Sunday Marathon:
Before the race started, I ate a serving of licorice which is about 24g of carbs. I ate about a cup of crispy rice cereal which provided about 30g of carbs.

Carry:

• 1x Bonk Breaker Green Apple Energy Chews
• 3x Sport Beans(R) Jelly Beans Assorted Flavors
• 8x Mott’s(R) Assorted Fruit Flavored Snacks

On the course, I skipped the first few water stops but then did start visiting them a few times after mile 12. I skipped any food stations as usual though. I relied on the water stops near the end due unable to eat anything due to queasiness. In the end, I still had the Bonk Breaker and two Motts uneaten. I also decided to not carry LMNT with me, only carrying water.

Race

Saturday 5k:
The 5k was held at Urban Park which is about 1mile from my hotel. I could walk the distance but I wanted to reduce the time on feet since marathon is the day after. I was able to take the bus partial way to the park. On my remaining walk, I took in the sights, including the Milwaukee Art Museum exterior. When I got to the park, it was a little confusing to get to the event area due to road construction blocking areas. I arrived around 8:30am, which was 2 hours before the start of the 5k. While waiting, I spun the prize wheel at a Scheels booth and won a hat!

The start was packed since it was about 2,000 people for 5k. I could not hear the announcements. During the race, my plan was to take it easy since the real race was the day after. I wanted to go slow but I was still hoping for a time below 30:00. It was fun going across the bridge and back. Nothing particularly special but it was fun to see around the area. My official time was 29:45; I met my goal.

Sunday Marathon:
From my hotel, I walked to the start line very near by, about 1/3 mile away. I think I left my hotel around 5:52am and got to the start line around 5:56am. Since the start was at Baird Center, you could wait inside before the start of the race.

I started the race at slightly above 9:30/mi. My heartrate stayed steady throughout the race, since my goal was to keep a steady not-hard effort throughout the race. Early on in the race, ~3mi, I felt I needed to use the restroom. But I held it in since I didn’t want to wait in a line for potty. I held my pace steady until I reached the point where I decided I needed to stop at the next potty. Unfortunately, after I emptied my bladder, I discovered I had stomach problems. I guess holding urine was distracting from the digestive issues. I did my best to press forward and avoid vomiting. For the last few miles, I relied exclusively on Gatorade from the water stops. I knew I was close to PR time, but I decided it was not worth the effort since there are many opportunities in the future.

Some other thoughts:

• My left foot was hurting at the start of the race and aching a bit throughout the race.
• I dropped a gummy pack but had enough time to pick it up before passing it.
• The race course has some terrain changes as it traverses both roads and trail paths. I disliked the cobblestone-like part. The most transitions were running east from Baird Center for the start. I tripped somewhere but was able to say upright.
• While on the bridge there was a REALLY bad smell. It was not there during the 5k. My guess because the wind was blowing the opposite direction. The wind was blowing north for the 5k and south for the marathon. So annoying to have wind resistance on the climb up the bridge to the finish line.
• I briefly had knee pain that went away. This is one of the reasons I tried switching to zero-drop shoes.
• I stopped at a potty on the race course which added about 1:17 to my time.
• After I finished, I went and got the marathon medal and walked away. A nice person followed me to check if I also got the Own the Hoan Challenge medal. I completely forgot about it.
• No cramping this time, but I also didn’t try too hard either.