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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 201 to 211]
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ran_it_in_2002 from Michigan
(7/24/2002)
"Enjoy the town, would like to enjoy the marathon" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Madison is a running, biking kind of town. But, the marathon doesn't really show it. The course is feable with too much nasty concrete, curbs, parking lots, sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, etc. You could call it suburban adventure running. The organizational setup is another adventure. The host hotel is in a difficult to find area of another town. Go figure? When the start is downtown surrounded by many nice hotels. Find another marathon if you demand a bit more precision. | |
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A Runner from Milwaukee, WI
(6/4/2002)
"Inaccurate course" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I ran in the half marathon and the course was well over a mile SHORT of the 13.1 miles. It's hard to believe that a race that attracts 1,100 runners wouldn't prompt someone to double-check the mileage. Mile markers were also misplaced making it difficult to determine one's pace. The course is nice but this race never seems to get organized. Not sure if I'd return--they never seem to get their act together. | |
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A Runner from Wisconsin
(6/1/2002)
"Potential" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This Race has potential with nearly 3000 runners from all their races. Full,1/2,10 and 5k it has the chance to be a much bigger and better organized event. The Races mgt. has changed the past three years and the current organization is on the right track, but needs continuity. I understand from the race mgt. the course needed to be altered again, because of construction. In time this race could be very good with the right sponsors and promotion. In time. | |
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A Runner from Runner in Wisconsin
(5/28/2002)
"Great Event" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great event. Food, music, people and course were great. Water stops very good and outstanding volunteers. Good job. I hope it continues to grow. | |
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A Runner from Milwaukee, WI
(5/28/2002)
"Great course; organization needs some help." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course is wonderful: great scenery which shows off the many different faces of Madison. My only complaints concern the amenities. Gatorade needs to be available earlier and more often. More port-a-johns (first one is at mile 5...and lots of people are thinking the same thing by then). At the finish line, the organizers ran out of cookies, sandwich stuff, and sauce for the pasta. How on earth do you run out of cookies?? The expo is embarassing - - get some vendors in there and make it a big deal. Finally, why is the host hotel for the Madison Marathon in Middleton? It ought to be on the square or at least near the start or finish lines. | |
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A Runner from Ellicott City, MD
(5/28/2002)
"Lots of turns." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Small, well run, marathon. Course has many turns that are pretty well marked, but I find them hard late in the run. Scenic. Plenty of waterstops and medical. The expo is little more than packet pickup. Lots of concrete... Cruel bridge crossing at 23 or so. | |
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Doug @ from Minneapolis, MN
(5/28/2002)
"Charming, with one major problem" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It's somewhat surprising that this marathon--in it's 7th consecutive year -- drew fewer than 1,000 entrants. Madison is a beautiful, active city with tremendous spirit; it seems organizers could recruit over 1,000 runners just through the UW alumni network. I believe this race stays small because the organizers just can't get the kinks out. Despite feedback from past years, this year's race still included misplaced mile markers, which made accurate pacing impossible. This seems like it would be very easy to fix. Complaints about the last few miles of the course might be tougher to fix, but this challenge is well worth the effort. The majority of the course shows off the diversity and beauty that make Madison great; but the last few miles snake around countless corners, mostly on sidewalks, in a desperate attempt to stretch the course to 26.2 miles. Were it not for the many helpful volunteers, I have no doubt that many runners would have lost their bearings. | |
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MEGS DADS from Madison,Wisconsin
(3/4/2002)
"Not a course for whiners" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is a great course for not getting bored. You will see everything that makes Madison, well Madison!! From the lakes to state street. Come run and lets make this race one of the biggest and best in the United States. Stay a while and enjoy the city, My only real complaint is that the date doesn't work well with the other area marathons and road races. | |
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A Runner from Spring Valley, Minnesota
(2/19/2002)
"Scenic marathon" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I'm from Minnesota, which is slightly flatter, and thought the hills were somewhat difficult. Most of them were early, but a killer was going over a pedestrian bridge near the end. The course was very scenic with stretches around lakes, and through the city, UW campus and an arboretum. The organization was good, except the mile markers were off in many cases. The crowd was pretty good considering it is a smaller marathon. I stayed in a motel on State Street, which has reasonable prices and was within walking distance to the start. I was already familiar with Madison, so am not sure how complete information provided was. | |
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enjin davis from College Station, Texas
(8/6/2001)
"Great race for first 23.5 miles" (about: 2001)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. So having nothing to compare it to, I thought it was excellent. I've completed bunches of triathlons and shorter road races and in comparison, the expo was small and limited. Check-in was a breeze. The course was great, especially the first half. The second half, except for the last 3 miles were just as good, except they started the 1/2 marathoner's an hour after the full marathon runners, and they started at the 1/2 marathon point. In short, we had to run in, around, and through, the back half of the 1/2-er's, of which most were running 6 across and made passing nearly impossible. The final 3 miles were a hodge-podge of sidewalks, pedestrian bridges and mazes of people. So, bottom line, course was very good, nearly flat and fast, but organizers really need to address end of course and not having full and 1/2 marathon runners merge together for the end. Would I run it again?... Absolutely, the positives greatly outweigh the negatives, and hopefully the negatives will be improved upon. |
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