This was a fun run that I signed up for very late in the game and close to the race date. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to drive to the location but it ended up being a fun time as I had signed my two sons up as well. I couldn’t get them to dress in costume for the run (full disclosure, I didn’t either) but there were plenty of others who did dress up which made for a festive atmosphere. It was a very chilly Halloween morning but at least the sun was out shining so that helped. The race was called the Fore Miler because it’s original location in Milwaukee County allowed it to have that distance but when it moved to this location, there was only room to safely make it a 5K distance.
Expo Quality/Aid Stations: I am including both of these in the same column since, due to COVID-19 restrictions and precautions, there was not an expo nor any aid stations. Packet pickup was done the morning of the race, just aside from the starting line. Very efficient.
Parking Access: Pretty easy to find a spot. Ample free public parking around the area and was close by to the starting line and downtown Oconomowoc.
Course Scenery: I give this four stars but the start and finish of the race really earn all of that. The mid point of the race you find yourself running through a suburban neighborhood that wasn’t blocked off (we were told it would be that way) so there were a couple of drivers looking perplexed at all these runners, lol. But the start and finish point had you run across a bridge in between Lake Fowler and Lake Lac La Belle; just some beautiful looking scenery going across that bridge. The water was so blue and calm. Some of the trees in the area still had their colorful leaves. Just a nice sight to run through.
T-Shirt/Swag: Fun looking orange t-shirt with Milwaukee Monster Fore Miler written across the front in a design but just above the loop where it says “Fore Miler” was the actual location of Oconomowoc listed, so I thought that was cool. The medal has a runner running away from a spooky tree a and there are bats on it with an orange background; nicely done. They also threw in some Halloween candy with the packets. Yum! Also a free beer from SteelTank Brewing! Free beer is always good, lol.
So, overall, I liked this race; it was fun and if it returns next year, I will be happy to run it again. They say they will return to the original location so it can be four miles again but I’d almost say that this was a much more beautiful area to run through, just my opinion. The Silver Circle Sports Entertainment group did a fabulous job putting this race together. They have been excellent taking care of social distancing for these races and making sure people follow the rules so that they can keep putting on races. Bravo to them!!
Any questions or comments, feel free to give a shout!! As always, happy running!!
thelaterunner 