New owners of the Milwaukee Marathon are hoping to rebuild trust in the running community on Saturday after previous course length issues plagued the event.
7,500 runners are signed up to give the Milwaukee Marathon a third chance.
"I hope it will be exactly and precisely measured along with everybody else," said Joseph Frederick of Wauwatosa.
Frederick is a first time participant, but he's no stranger to the race's previous struggles.
"There's nothing worse than running 26 point something, but not enough you know," Frederick said.
In 2016 the course was roughly a mile too long, the following year it was about a mile too short, then last year it didn't happen at all. Frederick still feels bad for those who were hoping to use their times to qualify for other races.
"I try not to make the same mistake twice personally, so I was just really shocked that that occurred," he said.
This year the event is under new ownership; a group out of Boston.
"We own and operate over 60 endurance events across the country every year," said Rugged Events president Brad Scudder. "(We're) one of the largest event producers of this type in the country."
Scudder said only the race's name remains the same.
"Convincing people in the community that we're going to put on a quality event has been a little bit of a challenge, but we have a lot of experience producing events like this and it's going to be a great day," he said.
Frederick hopes this year's Milwaukee Marathon turns the page on its troubled past and one day becomes a world-class event.
Here are the road closures for Saturday's Milwaukee Marathon:
"The new ownership, if you don't give them a second chance, we might not have this event," he said.
The marathon starts Saturday at 7 a.m. through early afternoon so be prepared for heavy traffic congestion downtown.
