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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: 222 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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j. b. from Milwaukee
(8/21/2009)
 "Enjoyable, but could be better" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The race was fine, but it just wasn't the same. The expo was small. A few water stops were missing. The start and finish were boring. There are better races, but it's close, so that helps. | |
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r. d. from wisconsin
(8/18/2009)
 "OK race" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The race was ok. We started and ended in a parking lot. This race has had issues in the past, but for what you get, it's OK. I may run other races if I have a choice. | |
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D. K. from Minnesota
(7/19/2009)
 "Pretty course - but add more water the last 6 mile" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The course was very pretty and showed you the whole city - the hill at mile 17 was very challenging. My main complaint was that the water stations were limited after mile 20. It was getting warm, and having water every mile after mile 20 is something they should have covered. It was a bit confusing at the start, but I found my way in plenty of time. | |
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K. E. from Chicago Area
(6/7/2009)
 "Great race, but hilly and few bathrooms" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon, and I would definitely go back, but like others have said, there is certainly room for improvement. The fans were great, as were the water stations, and the course was absolutely beautiful. Just be sure you train with plenty of hills in your route because this town has a lot of them and it definitely impacted my time. My only two complaints are that there were too few bathrooms at the start line and water stations, and there was a lack of crowd control along the Monona Terrace. Having to run in and around pedestrians and people on bikes was rather bothersome. While I don't terribly mind waiting for the bathroom, the 30-minute line at the start was too long, as I didn't even have a chance to go before the race started. Also, when I did stop, there was only one port-a-potty at each rest stop. | |
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M. S. from Madison, WI
(6/6/2009)
"Good Event - Could be a Great Event" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 3 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 As a Madison lifer, I've seen the rain, the heat and everything in between for this race. Even though I understand why the course was reversed and the start changed, it was always special to start at the Capitol. That being said, there actually were more porta-potties this year. Unfortunately, they were spread out across the two starting areas. The course itself is all Madison - three lakes, campus, isthmus, and Maple Bluff all provide beauty and challenge. The finish could use a little shade; large tents would be fine. Also, not using Quann Park for the last two miles would be for a more memorable finish. I always enjoy race day and the enthusiasm of the city. Keep it going, Madison. | |
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M. C. from Madison, WI
(5/29/2009)
"Not an improvement from last year." (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I thought that, with a new director and new course, this year would be better than last year, but I was wrong. Reversing the course did nothing really for the hills. They still had some major ones in the 16-19-mile range. The end of the course is awful. It feels like we are sneaking in the back door rather than finishing a marathon. Lots of twists and turns in the last 2 miles, and not much crowd support at the end. The finish area had nothing. No chairs, no shade and only pretzels and cheese sticks for food. Last year they had tons of good stuff, like yogurt and granola bars, etc. The shirt this year was good but they gave the same one to all participants. I think they should give different colors to the 3 different races. Overall, it is an ok event. I do it every year because I live there, which makes it really easy to run it. I think they went really cheap this year and I hope in the future that the finish area is better. | |
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L. J. from Florida
(5/29/2009)
"Great marathon; would run again!" (about: 2009)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my third marathon and I loved running Madison! I BQ'ed and improved my time about 20 minutes (not sure if its because its a fast course, or if I just amped up my training that much). The course is absolutely gorgeous - I would say it's prettier than Twin Cities. The hills were killer around mile 18, but hey, that's part of running a marathon; if it were all flat, it would be boring (I run in FL with no hills, and hate it). Few suggestions: more porta-potties at the start. I didn't have an issue, but many people around me were complaining. One more water stop between mile 22 and 26 would be helpful, since most of that part of the race is in the sun. Gatorade at the finish would be great; I think its cute to have the WI food (wahoo, cheese!) too, but I was in desperate need of bananas and Gatorade. The traffic didn't affect me much, since I just had someone drop me off, and it didn't seem to be an issue for people who got to the race early. Oh, and showers at the finish are a GREAT idea. Perfect for cleaning up and heading over to the brat festival! I would definitely recommend this marathon. | |
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Richard Park from Colorado Springs, CO
(5/29/2009)
"Room for improvements" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 1) Race organizers need to double the number of porta-potties at the start/finish. 2) Some of the volunteers at the expo were clueless about runner village amenities, etc. 3) Provide water at the start/finish area. I asked several race volunteers pre-race where I could find water and all I got in response was, "I don't know." I did get a bottle of water in the finisher's corral after the race, but then there seemed to be none available in the runner's village. This was a major problem area that needs fixing. 4) After-race food consisted of chocolate milk (very refreshing) and pretzels. Real food beyond pretzels would be a great improvement. 5) The course was nice except, for when the streets were only half shut down, and you had to run alongside a city bus spewing its exhaust in your face and breathing exhaust fumes. That was absolutely TERRIBLE. 6) The aid stations were plentiful, and the volunteers that staffed them were awesome. 7) Having the name of the participant on the race bib was a nice touch, especially because it let you have your name called by the race fans along the course. 8) Nice finisher's medal, but no year was printed on the medal. 9) The shirt was okay, but having a big, rubberized decal of the marathon logo on the front defeats the purpose of a tech shirt. | |
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L. R. from FLORIDA
(5/28/2009)
 "HAS POTENTIAL" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The Mad City Marathon has potential. Add more porta-potties at the start; doubling the existing number would be a good beginning. Get the parking under control. We sat in line for over 30 minutes. There were numerous runners running down the interstate to get to the start on time. I was with half-marathon participants, and every one of them started 12 minutes late. I, fortunately, was running the full, and had used the facilities at the Holiday Inn Express (thanks to them) while we inched along in traffic, so I wasn't late for my start and didn't have to stand in the long porta-lines. Fix those two major problems and this will be a great overall experience. The course was very nice with great scenery. Even the hills weren't that bad and I'm from Florida (the flat part). | |
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E. M. from Columbia, Missouri
(5/27/2009)
"No-excuse weather..." (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 10th marathon, and we selected Madison so that we would have an excuse to see Camp Randall Stadium and celebrate the finish of the marathon by being part of the Madison Brat Fest! The Good: * Challenging but fair course. The elevation chart is accurate; I knew where the hills were and they were as advertised. * Madison. A very good city, lots of nice lakes to run around, and a very scenic course. Good city to spend a long weekend in. The bad: * Finishing area needs work. They had "volunteers" that were regulating the number of bottled waters I could have, and they served chocolate milk and a small cup of pretzels. That was it. Cell-Com in Green Bay had bagels, bananas, cookies, beer, and all were very plentiful. Also, you finish in a parking lot, completely exposed to sun and more heat. I finished in the top 75, and while waiting for my friend to finish, they tried to keep me from a second bottle of water, did not supply any solid food to graze on, and made we wait in the sun. Not good. * Traffic control. I had cyclists passing me on either side during different parts of the course. I think that, for one day, we can afford to tell the bikers to wait until later while runners take to the streets and trails. It's just not safe. Overall: I would recommend this race and run it again. Madison is a solid city; and the course is pretty, scenic, challenging and fair. The few drawbacks are easily correctable, and even if they are not corrected, they are not horrible. |
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