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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 41 to 51]
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E. D. from Milwaukee, WI
(6/1/2010)
"Heading in the wrong direction" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This is my fifth Madison Marathon, and unfortunately, I have to say that it's heading in the wrong direction. Still, a decent race, but it could be so much better in a city like Madison. The Good: The spectators, while sparse compared to some of the bigger-city marathons (as you would expect), were great, especially those with their hoses spraying the runners, and especially the lady around mile 24-25 handing out the cold sponges. Chocolate milk at the finish was great! The Bad: The weather was hot, of course, but you can't blame the race director for that. The walkers were really annoying, especially towards the end when you had to run around walkers who were three or four abreast; sometimes you had to run into traffic to get around them. I was tempted to just push them over at times. Bad idea to mix runners and walkers. Plus there was a lot of bike/pedestrian traffic the last 2-3 miles that you had to dodge. Not fun when you're exhausted after 4+ hours in the hot sun. Post-race organization - a shaded area to sit would have been nice, or even a shaded area to stand, but there was none. Timing - I don't know why but initially my "official" time on the results website was about 2-3 minutes over my gun time and even more than that over my chip time. I just checked again and it looks like they have it fixed, but it still only shows my gun time not my chip time. And it looks like results are based on gun time, not chip time; had I known that I would have lined up closer to the start. I didn't like the change to have the race finish at the capitol. Running the last half-mile or so uphill struck me as the race director taunting us! I was perfectly happy finishing at Brat Fest in years past. | |
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J. J. from Minneapolis
(6/1/2010)
"Packet pick up was a joke." (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The packet pick up at the Alliant Energy Center was frustrating! They lost my bib number; they ended up giving me a walking bib number and told me that, if I ran (I had registered for the half marathon run), I might get "yelled at." Not good. I ran Madison last year and really enjoyed the city. I probably will return... but I hope it is organized better. | |
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J. W. from Pittsburgh, PA
(6/1/2010)
"Could be better...." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 A little disappointed with this one. The organization was not up to par. The packet-pickup was bad - they basically gave us the shirt, the bib and the timing chip, but no bag to put it in. So I had bib pins, a race bib, a shirt and a timing chip in my hands as I ventured though the expo. As for race day, it was warm and humid. Nothing you can do about that, but I was disappointed that close to the end of the race, the aid station folks were telling us, "You should walk - the official timing has been shut off." It's very discouraging at Mile #23 to hear that. Oddly enough, my finishing time is up as of last night. The shirt and medal are both nice. The best part of this race were the folks from Madison - amazing and friendly people! I had a number of people hose me down with water or give me ice - thank you! I am not sure I could have finished if it weren't for you! Overall, this was a disappointing race, mainly due to poor organization. This could be a better marathon. | |
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A. G. from Edgerton
(6/1/2010)
"I'll Be Back" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 I enjoyed the 2010 version of the Madison Marathon. The course was very scenic and in some areas challenging. I knew there were hills and was prepared to run them. Great to start and finish at the capitol. Good fan support througout the race and outstanding volunteers. Packet pick-up was quick (no bags to keep with the green theme), although I'd like to see a race-day option. Concerns include congestion with halfers and walkers. Ideas might be to have a bigger gap in starting, educating walkers about staying to the right, or adding more tables with aid (both sides of course?) when possible. There were really only a couple of water areas where I thought it was bad. Some comments about previous complaints: it was very hot, but I felt the race director did everything right. I saw several aid tents and officials on bikes. Please don't complain about having to grab your own water - you're a marathoner; you can handle it. Race course maps and parking options were available on line for weeks, if not months, before the race. | |
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D. S. from Downers Grove
(5/31/2010)
"Fun, with problems that need to be addressed" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 The Good - Running through the neighborhoods, the residents were totally into it and many had their hoses on to cool off the runners. Passing out ice was also helpful. Despite the problems listed below, I had a lot of fun. The Bad - The course ended on a long uphill; it was neat running toward the capitol building, but the uphill after mile 26 was brutal. The packet pickup was horrible - they didn't have any bags; they just gave you your chip, safety pins, bib and shirt all loose. The Ugly - There were too many bike riders on the course (especially the last few miles)! This was dangerous and needs to be corrected before someone gets hurt!!!! At an aid station, I was almost hit head on by a rider coming at me while I was reaching for a drink. After 20 miles, dodging bike riders is not what you want to worry about. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE either figure out a way to fix this problem or reroute the course. | |
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J. V. from Madison, WI
(5/31/2010)
"Disappointing" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This is my ninth marathon, and first time running Madison. The full marathon course blends with the half marathon walkers (most wearing iPods). VERY frustrating having to thread through oblivious traffic; many were not respectful of the full marathon runners. There were many hills, some steep. Water stations were overworked where the half and full were together. Hot weather this year did not help matters. | |
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K. E. from Milwaukee
(5/31/2010)
"Not enough support - bad organization" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Just ran the 2010 Madison Marathon. It was pretty hot, but they shut it down early - at 11 a.m. - but they really didn't shut it down; they just turned the clock off so that all of the people who worked so hard to train to get there - or who came in at 4:05 to qualify for Boston - were given a DNF. The announcer kept calling names, and no one was ordered off of the course. Everyone was complaining. Also they did not have enough support, and there were many times that you had to grab your own water from the table. (There was not enough Gatorade; however, they did have ice, which was nice.) The public (not the organization) had water sprinklers out. I did not see a medical tent throughout the entire marathon. Later I was told that they were there but not identified - with no red cross, nothing. They had run out of maps of the course and parking by 3:00 the day before!!! I heard so many people from Milwaukee saying they would never run this race again. No wonder they can't fill it; they need a new director - maybe someone who's actually run a marathon before. | |
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C. R. from Milwaukee, WI
(5/31/2010)
"Disappointing overall experience." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 If you are looking for a well organized and executed marathon, you should consider another race. The expo was poorly marked for where the runner or walkers should go, with long lines and poorly informed volunteers. They ran out of my shirt size and course maps, and it had no energy. The start did not have enough porta-potties. We waited in long lines behind many runners starting later than us and spectators. Also, at the start there was no water to be found, especially on a hot day. The water stations on the course were poorly staffed and marked. I do appreciate the volunteers time, but when the cups are only 1/3 full and filled with warm water it gets frustrating. The ice at the later stations was appreciated, especially when the official race was stopped. Many marathons I've done is have an official from the race calling times at each mile. The Milwaukee Marathon does this well. This was not present at this marathon, nor was there any type of official race clock on the course. Typically there is a clock at least at the half, but not here. The later mile markers were gone for the full marathon. One runner told me they had blown down, but there was no wind, and no race volunteer to put them back up. It was frustrating from miles 20-26 that there were only a few miles marked. Thanks to the spectators that stayed out and sprayed water, provided ice, and support on such a hot day. I was so surprised that a beautiful city like Madison could put together such a poor race. I think one problem is that there were too many races: full marathon, half marathon, half marathon walk, and quarter marathon. Really? They had the marathoners dodging the walkers on a path that only one lane of a two lane road was available for the run. The comments posted from past years were accurate and I should have listened. | |
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J. K. from Madison, WI
(12/29/2009)
"Beautiful race but room for improvement" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first full marathon. I ran the half marathon in Madison the previous year. While this is a beautiful and challenging race, there are things that could be improved. I'll start with those so I can finish on a positive note. As some others mentioned, the water stations were not as plentiful or well-stocked toward the end. There was actually one that I couldn't get water at and the bananas had run out long before I got there. At about mile 23, along John Nolen Nolen Drive, there are about 3 narrow bridges over the water. No organizers were there to assure that pedestrians stayed out of the way of runners. Consequently, there was a logjam of people on the bridges. Pedestrians with strollers were blocking the way and runners literally had to stop and wait for people to slowly amble their way across the bridge. It was unforgivable! The finish line was unsightly; coming in on a dirt path that isn't particularly spectator friendly is an inauspicious way to finish such an epic event. Finally, there was almost NO food for finishers. In 2008, there were sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, chips, pasta salad and beverages. This year we got small pretzels and string cheese! It was ridiculous! But there were great things about the race too. The spectators were awesome! They were as excited if not MORE excited about the race than the runners. Streets were lined with fans shouting words of encouragement and calling runners by name because the bibs had our names on them. That was a nice touch. And Madison is gorgeous. The course was diverse with segments running through the arboretum, Maple Bluff and along Observatory Drive. It was amazing, though for me it was far too hilly. That hill at mile 17 was a killer! Despite the difficulty (which I heard several people say would keep them from running this race again), I finished a full 25 minutes ahead of my anticipated time, and I completed the first half 14 minutes faster than I completed the half marathon in 2008, so that made me very happy! I'm doing the half marathon again here this year, since it's my hometown, but hopefully some of the unfortunate aspects will have been corrected. In the end, this is a great race for great people with amazing people cheering us on! | |
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j. r. from Wisconsin
(11/2/2009)
"Boring" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)s
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Very uneventful race. The expo was small, and the course and race had no excitement to it. Good town, but not a good race. |
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