Nov 23, 2024
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Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon) Runner Comments
Back to Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon) Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 3.8
Number of comments: 223 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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N. S. from FL
(11/16/2024)
"Excellent All Around!" (about: 2024)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The most important aspect of a race, to me as a former marathon director, is the organization, and this one hit high marks. Good expo, good scenic course well marked, staffed. Ample water stations, great medal, nice shirt. The amount of people was more than we were expecting...there were over 1800 finishers in the full marathon! Well done, Madison. I recommend this race to anyone wanting to do a Wisconsin race. Madison is a cool town - be sure to see the state capitol building. The botanical garden, zoo, and arboretum are all worth a visit too. | |
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P. C. from Richmond, IN
(11/18/2017)
"Nicely Done Madison" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was a great low key marathon with about 1000 participants, and a last minute day before registration at the expo for me. The course offers easy access parking and corals, uncrowded and pretty course through a mix of parks and residential areas, and good community support through most of the course. The hills make this a less than ideal course for a PR but add enough challenge to keep it interesting. The frequent fluid stops are uncrowded and well staffed with friendly volunteers, and the cups were plenty full enough to hydrate. Other marathon organizers should look at Madison for the innovative use of the MARATHON BACK HALF for the Half marathon. This is great for the runners and spectators, the field was wide open as a result. If I need to have a con or 2, I would point to the Expo - easy in and out, but not much in terms of vendors or shopping options. I would have liked to see a a bit more stuff, and spent more time and money. Also, given the relatively late date for a race at this latitude, this race has the potential for weather to be a factor, though we were pretty lucky this year. Overall a great marathon, with lots of smiling runners and fans I am glad I decided to run it, and happy with my time. | |
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A. A. from Milwaukee
(11/14/2017)
"Possibly the best race in Wisconsin" (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first time running the Madison Marathon. The course was a great mix of urban and scenic/wooded roads. There are a couple of brutal hills but plenty of declines that balance it out. Fans were mostly at the start/finish line; however, many people around town would cheer as they went about their day. It was super fun to start and end at the state capital. Warning- mid November in Wisconsin is cold. I, personally, prefer the cold, but I heard plenty of out-of-towners complaining. | |
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K. W. from Richmond, IN
(11/13/2017)
"A high quality small marathon" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Madison really delivered on the things that matter to me as a runner. I like things to be easy and low key. At the expo I want to get in, get my bib, and get out. At the start I want to be able to get there easily, without onerous and illusory security, and have plenty of porta-johns without crazy long lines. On the course the volunteers were great and at the aid stations it was a breeze to get a cup. Being a small race made it so nice as there's no congestion at the aid stations or while running for that matter. There weren't a lot of spectators, but what do you expect at a race with only a little over 1,000 participants in the full? The folks who did come out to cheer were very supportive of all the runners. The course was hilly, but still very nice. You just have to run it smart. A free beer post race is a really nice amenity and much appreciated. Free race photos are another perk that make this race a real stand out. Everyone in Madison was super friendly. | |
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T. L. from Minneapolis, MN
(11/13/2017)
"Scenic, Challenging" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I signed up for this because I love visiting Madison, and I've gotten tired of marathons that advertise themselves as 'fast and flat'. That said, it's a surprisingly small event and the course is unapologetically tough. We stayed in the BW Park Hotel on the Capitol Square, so our car stayed in the lot and we got everywhere on foot. I've never run a marathon where businesses at the starting line were unaware it was happening the day before, but the Madison Marathon played third-fiddle to a Wisconsin basketball game Friday night and a Wisconsin football game Saturday. The 'expo' wasn't really an expo - just a packet pickup with a couple vendors. It was quick and smooth. Getting pre-marathon food was easy enough, but surprisingly expensive, as the less expensive places were all packed due to the sports events. Race morning was fantastic - the race is so small and the hotel so convenient that I literally walked out of the hotel ten minutes before the start and walked into the start corral - no need to wait for port-a-potties, no throwaway clothes despite the 30 degree start temperature. The course is absolutely the star of this event, or the demon, depending on your attitude. It's beautiful and gives a nice scenic tour of the city, but it's the most difficult course I've run, much more challenging than Boston. There are plenty of hills, but the bigger issue is that there's lots of short but very steep inclines and declines that wear on your muscles and force you to slow down. Locals have a definite advantage, as they seem to be used to this type of terrain. I know Madison well enough to have been training for it, but the hills where I train tend to be long, slow inclines, so they only somewhat helped. The course was pretty well marked with cones and signs and I was never concerned about going the right way, though there were some intersections that could have used to have a volunteer directing the racers. The mile markers were early from the start, despite the fact that the timing mats (at 10K, HM, and 20 miles) were set in exactly the right place. The mile marker issue was especially odd given that the 20 mile sign was probably .2 miles before the 20 mile timing mat. My guess is that the timing company placed those mats very carefully, while some volunteer using a GPS set the signs wherever his/her GPS said the distance had been reached. The course registered as 26.38 miles on my GPS, meaning it was definitely the right length, so there's no excuse for every mile marker being early through marker 24. The volunteers were boisterous and helpful, but water stations were a bit chaotic, with water and gatorade dispersed somewhat randomly through the aid stations. I like to take a little gatorade and then wash it out, and I was able to do that when I wanted to but I had to pay attention to get the right thing from the right person, as the stations weren't laid out really at all. Madison is not a small town - I've run marathons in much smaller places - but it had a surprising lack of spectators along the course. I like quiet marathons, but would have appreciated the occasional boisterous cheering section, and there really wasn't, aside from the enthusiastic volunteers. Even the finish was pretty sparse, despite being right on the Capitol square. I don't really care about race amenities, but I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by going straight from the finish line back to my hotel - there was some water, bags from Panera, and terrible Michelob Ultra beer, but no real energy at the finish. I like the shirt's design, but wish it were a real technical shirt, as I like to wear my race shirts on my hard workouts to remind me what I'm training for. This shirt will see little use. All in all, I'm really glad I ran this race, and I appreciated the challenge of the course. It's not one of my favorite marathons and I'm unlikely to run it again; it certainly won't become one I run on any regular basis, despite being in a city I love that's not too far away. | |
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R. R. from Northwest Suburbs Chicago
(11/15/2015)
"Better than Chicago in many ways" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this race in 2015 and was pleased with the water stops having well organized volunteers. There was many hills on this course and it was challenging. The only negative thing I can say about this race was that I was disappointed in the actual race shirt given away, and the shirts offered for sale at the expo were not very well designed. The course was beautiful with many great views but as far as spectators there was not many at all. I did feel that that is was a very well organized race and the food Panera provided runners after the race was awesome. I have run Chicago many times and like that this race was more personal and had a more local small town feel to it. You didn't need to be in the start corral a long time before the race started and the finish line area was well organized. Everyone was very friendly before, during, and after the race. I rank this even with the Indy Lawrence Marathon race in that the smaller field makes the race more personal. The race directors did a fine job this year. My suggestions for improvement is better design race shirt, and possibly add some music to this race. | |
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M. M. from IL
(11/14/2015)
"Perfect!" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Absolutely no complaints! I registered for this race at the last minute due to a disappointing race a month before & because it was close to home. Course was beautiful, hills were challenging but manageable, spectators were great, & organization was perfect! Of the 25+ races I have ran, this was one of, if not the, best. Absolutely no complaints! | |
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J. A. from Wisconsin
(11/13/2015)
"Not a good marathon for first timer" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon with a family member for her first marathon. Needless to say not a good choice. This is a very challenging marathon. It has more hills then you may think would be in Wisconsin . Also, the pavement in much of the middle of the course was uneven and very slanted. If you like a challenge this marathon is for you, but if you are running your first marathon I recommend a different one. | |
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J. S. from Colorado
(11/11/2015)
"Scenic & Hilly Tour of Madison" (about: 2015)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 There have been mixed reviews on this race from previous years which set my expectations lower. But having completed the Twin Cities, Detroit, and Ogden marathons I thought Madison was terrific! Madison in 2015 was like a hilly version of the Twin Cities race, albeit with far fewer spectators. That said, there were more spectators out than I'd been expecting. I think due to the gorgeous fall weather there were plenty of people on the course cheering with signs and lots of cow bells! The volunteers for this race were amazing- there were official race volunteers on bikes constantly plus bike EMT/Fire, too. There was a water/gatorade stop almost every mile and multiple port a potties at each one of these water stops- I used the potty twice and didn't have to wait at all. The course was really scenic- I grew up outside of Madison and enjoyed the tour through town. The arboretum was pretty, the run back through town and past Camp Randall was cool, then through Warner Park and past the Gov's Mansion in Maple Bluff before the awesome finish up State Street to the Capitol. Nailed it! That said, this was a hillier course than I'd imagined, especially in the last 10k. Ouch. Lots of walking for me. I still pulled out a PR by 7 minutes and broke 4:30 for the first time, so I'm very pleased. Another major pro of this course was that the organizers designed for the half marathon to do the back half of the marathon course- so the marathoners run without the half racers, which was really nice. Two totally separate races, but I felt completely supported the entire time. Loved the addition of the 'PR bell' at the finish line, too. Great medal, shirt was a cool design but sheer material, could be better. On a whole, I was totally impressed with Madison- no reservations at all. Two thumbs up, way to represent my home town!! | |
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T. P. from Whitewater, WI
(11/10/2015)
"Nice Destination Marathon" (about: 2015)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I signed up for this one closer to home just the week before after plans were changed to keep me from an out of state one I had planned to do the following week. I was able to find adequate lodging in Madison at a very short notice. The course is very scenic and will give you a nice tour of the city. I would not recommend this race for anyone to do a BQ or a PR, the course is very hilly. Madison is not known as a hilly town but the course says differently. One suggestion I might make for folks coming in from out of town: There is lots of free parking just off the square downtown (especially the northside) so it will be worthwhile to take a short walk to Monona Terrace for your packet pickup. Plenty of parking on race day all over no fee is required on Sunday. The entry fee I thought was a little pricey but for most of you it may be well worth it for a good well managed fall marathon event. Just don't plan on a PR. |
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