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May 16, 2024

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: 222 [displaying comments 181 to 191]

More Comments: [ < 1 .. 17 18 19 20 21 .. 23 > ]

J. L. from Rockford, IL (10/10/2003) "Great Race" (about: 2003) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My first marathon and really enjoyed it. Very well organized and lots of people to help out with questions. The course was pretty flat and fast. Lots of specators to cheer you on and a beautiful city to run in. Definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a smaller race size, but still lots of attention to detail.
A. T. from San Francisco, CA (7/3/2003) "Nice scenery, okay course, where's the gel/food?" (about: 2003) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The course was scenic, and you get a good tour of the city of Madison. However, too much of the course was on concrete sidewalks, and as several reviewers have mentioned, the notorious pedestrian bridge near the end. The volunteers were nice and helpful. As this was my 52nd marathon, I was disappointed to discover that the promised gel at mile 13, 17, and 23 did not exist. Furthermore, there were no bananas or bagels or oranges or any food (except for what looked like leftover pasta from the previous night's pasta dinner) at the finish line. There was no water or Gatorade (or any other sports drink) at the finish line area (except for the one bottle each particpant received after crossing the finish line). Even though the website and the race program I received at the marathon expo promised camp showers at the finish line, no race officials at the finish line knew anything about them. There were none. A note to MCM organizers - please don't make any promises that you cannot deliver. I came even though I read a lot of negative reviews of MCM. I am not coming back.
S. H. from Wisconsin (6/23/2003) "Very nice experience" (about: 2003) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran the half in 2003. It was a very nice course that really showed off parts of the city. Not a lot of fans, but the ones that were out were very good. A lot of kids looking for their parents who high-fived everyone - very cool. I'm sure some of the comments about organization in the past may have been warranted, but this was my sixth marathon experience, and I had no issues whatsoever. Madison in May is absolutely beautiful!
T. C. from Madison, WI (6/4/2003) "Does it deserve its bad reputation?" (about: 2003) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Madison is a beautiful town filled with athletic and active people. So why does the marathon have such a bad rap among runners in town? The bad reputation is partly deserved. Last year the organizers admitted after the race that the 'half' marathon was actually 12.4 miles. This isn't the first time this has happened, either - a few years ago the associated 10K was mis-measured. Two years ago when I ran the half, they ran out of water on the course. That said, I think the race organizers are trying to improve the race. This year seemed to be fairly well organized. The course itself is pleasant enough, and it goes through some nice parts of town. The half marathon has a different start time than the whole marathon, which I like, and which wasn't always the case in years past. The full and half 'thon are small enough that there's no crowding even at the beginning. The small number of racers, though, seems to translate into a small number of spectators. In short, this is a perfectly servicable marathon, but is not spectacular by any means. Mis-measurements have been a problem in the past, so they may be a problem in the future, too. Keep that in mind if you decide to run. Madison is a great city (I'm biased - I live here), so if you felt like making a long weekend trip to someplace fun, come on down.
G. F. from Overland Park, KS (5/30/2003) "Value added marathon" (about: 2003) COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Ran Madison for the first time and had a good experience; you will too. Great spectators (one of the few races where every kid treats you like you are in first place and gives you a high five), great scenery, few hills from my perspective, and one lousy pedestrian bridge! I'll be back, and hopefully next year I won't be waiting in a long bathroom line when the gun goes off.
jeff hess from indianapolis, indiana (5/30/2003) "Beautiful Course" (about: 2003) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I love Madison....what's not to love about it? And I thought the course did a great job of showing off the city. The organization was okay. It could've been better, especially since it is still a pretty small race. The fans that came out were great, but it's hard to believe that in such a strong athletic community more people don't come out and show support. I think this has the potential to be a major marathon, like Chicago, or Grandma's, or Boston. There's so much character there. I'm sure I'll be back. Being from Indy, I'd love to see the race moved back or forward one weekend so that I can still go to the 500... but that's just me.
Kenneth Hyllberg from Kenosha, Wisconsin (5/27/2003) "The MCM was my first marathon, but not my last!" (about: 2003) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A beautiful course that starts in front of the capital building and wraps around two of the lakes in Madison. Not too many spectators, but the ones that were there were great! I'm looking forward to next year already!
M. S. from Minneapolis, MN (5/27/2003) "Great fun!" (about: 2003) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have run several big-city marathons. This one was low key, but very well organized. The start at the Capitol can't be beat. The water stations were well staffed with cheering volunteers. The shuttle bus from the finish to our downtown hotel was superb. My only complaint: that pedestrian bridge towards the end. Pretty tough to go up that ramp so late in the run! But a great race overall. Thanks, Madison. I'll be back.
Venkatesh Iyengar from Santa Clara, CA (5/27/2003) "Great course, terrible organization" (about: 2003) COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 My first marathon, and I had a great time - I went to school in Madison so I loved it all the more. Wonderful course, but then Madison is so beautiful it is hard to find a bad course :). Organization was terrible - ran out of gel at the first two gel stops, and completely out of food at the end (when I came in at 5 hours) - it is probably the late finishers who really need these more!! I have read these comments from previous years and cannot believe it still repeats! Volunteers were wonderful, as were spectators, but there were not many spectators.... maybe the smaller number of participants is the reason.
P. B. from Baton Rouge, Louisiana (5/26/2003) "It was a hilly but beautiful race. Worth repeating" (about: 2003) COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I loved this marathon. For a 'flat lander' like myself it was extremely challenging, but the beauty of the course was outstandinng. It's extremely hilly but that made it interesting and there was a lot of pretty scenery to take in while I was struggling to get up yet another hill! Aid stations were great, but they definitely need MORE port-a-potties!! It would also be nice to have the date/year somewhere on the finisher's t-shirt. Other than that, I do not have anything seriously negative to say about it. I would recommend it to my fellow running friends. Really enjoyed it. The people were extremely friendly, as were the traffic police.

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