Fantastic course. Many beautiful stretches. The start and finish at the capitol deserves 10 stars. Perfect location - much better then last year. Last 0.2 miles being uphill is tough for most people, but it is a good trade-off for having such a great location. For me personally, the adrenaline of running the final stretch lined with spectators got me sprinting effortlessly in that last section. Medal is much better now. Food at finish was on the level of the best marathons: chocolate milk, pizza, subs, bananas, beer, and more. Nice. Weather was tough this year, 86 when I finished. Organizers did prepare fairly, I would say. They had plenty of ice, which was nice. People had sprinklers going, which was so, so nice. My biggest problem was getting water on sections when the marathon and half-marathon shared the course (especially the first such shared section, where there were a lot of very slow half-marathoner just hanging out at water station table in no hurry to move on). I wish they had tables on two sides at these sections, clearly labeled for marathoners and half-marathoners. Overall, I think the organizers and volunteers did a fantastic job (despite the very difficult weather). There were huge improvement in my overall experience from 2009 (I ran the quarter-marathon then). Scenic, mildly to moderately challenging course, great WI marathon.

I have mixed feelings about this race. As others have mentioned or you may have already heard, the 2010 edition of the Madison Marathon was run under extremely hot conditions and had to be sort of closed down after 4 hours. I was fortunate to finish in fewer than 4 hours, but my performance was negatively affected by the weather, as was everyone else's. I say, "sort of closed down" because, although they stopped the clock at the finish line at 4 hours, they did in fact keep recording official times and I think handing out medals well after the 4-hour mark. Only 335 out of 1369 (24.5%) runners finished in fewer than 4 hours this year, compared to 2009 (which did not have the exact same course and was slightly easier, I am lead to believe) in which 589 out of 1542 (38.2%) runners completed in fewer than 4 hours. Also, note that there were fewer finishers in 2010, likely due to people dropping out and not finishing. I applaud the directors for trying very hard to keep the runners safe, and I hope no one out there was seriously hurt. It really felt dangerous and scary to be running a marathon that day. A lot of people were hurting, and many had to drop out completely. If you ran this race this year, I salute you for displaying uncommon toughness!

I actually took the time to look up the weather records from race day from a weather station on the UW campus, situated at the 8.5 mile-mark of the marathon. Here are the weather readings at various hours:

6:00 a.m., 65 degrees, 87% humidity
7:00, 66, 84%  marathon start
8:00, 69, 75%
9:00, 74, 65%
10:00, 78, 59%
11:00, 80, 56%  course closed (sort of)
12:00, 83, 43%
1:00, 85, 38%

I make two conclusions from this:

1: It could have been worse! At least the humidity stayed reasonably low. I think Chicago 2007 was worse.

2: Starting the race earlier, say, at 6:00 a.m., would have helped. For a 4-hour marathoner, that is substituting one hour at or around 80 degrees for one hour at or around 66 degrees (albeit with higher humidity, but more shade too). I would take that swap.

There is another really good reason to start the marathoners at 6:00 a.m. The marathon runners had a heck of a time navigating the slower half marathon-runners and walkers from mile 7.5 through mile 12.5. the half marathon started at 7:20 and they were at mile 1.5 when we were at mile 7.5, meaning we had to run up the back of and wind through a significant chunk of the teeming masses of half marathon-runners and walkers - over 4,000 of them! I think with an hour head start on the half marathon-runners, much of that collision would have been avoided.

Also I think some thought should be given to hosting the race earlier in the month. Madison also had to shut down the race early in 2006. Once is bad luck; twice is a trend. Green Bay, which is farther north, has their marathon earlier in the month. I would consider doing the same with Madison, if possible.

While I'm on the subject of things that I did not like about the marathon, I have one more complaint. They really need to have more aid stations along the course, particularly in the last 6 miles. I thought the aid stations were ample until then, although they really needed larger aid station between miles 8 and 12.5 where the half and full runners were together. After mile 20 there were only 4 aid stations, and considering the conditions, another 2 stations would have really been nice to have.

Now having said all of that, I really had a great experience in Madison, and I want to give credit where it is due. I really liked the course, the half marathon issue notwithstanding. Starting and ending at the capitol is absolutely the way to go. The final hill is tough but I thought that was kind of fun actually. The course shows off the city very well, and the only parts without much support were early on in the arboretum (which was fine because it was early and very scenic besides), and the northern loop around Maple Bluff (which was tougher but understandable). The neighborhood around Monona Bay at mile 24 - God bless them - had a multitude of sprinklers and hoses with which they were joyously spraying all of us as we ran and shuffled by in the heat. They were probably literally lifesavers! I got so soaked that my shoes were squeaking, but it was the only way I was going to finish the race.

And the not inconsiderable masochistic part of me really enjoyed the challenge of running a marathon in the heat, to see if I could do it. I was able to hold on to my pace through the first 17 miles, but once I realized that it would be suicide to continue to run fast, I slowed down, drank as much as possible at the aid stations, and just told myself to run tough. I was trying to run a 3:20, and having slipped that I even got passed by the 3:30 pacer at mile 24. The humorous part was that the pacer was completely alone. I have never seen a race where the pacers lost all of their runners! The conditions were that brutal. I told myself to at least try to hang on to the solitary 3:30 pacer, and I was largely able to do that, coming in just under 3:31. But the time really didn't matter this day; he was just something to chase at the end of a very hot day. So of course the heat created some disappointment that I could not meet my goal time, but it was offset by the notion that I was able to face down a significant challenge and run tough. But it is not the sort of thing I would like to experience very often, all the same. If the organizers move that start time back and maybe move the date back, I would consider running this race again. Until then, and I hate to say this, overall, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this marathon.

Even though this was only my 3rd full marathon, I have run over 50 half marathons. So I know what works and what does not in an event.

What Worked: The course layout was great - shady and scenic, and the hills (which there were not many of them) were not that steep. Even the finish with two blocks up to the state capitol was not that bad. For runners who train on flats, even a small rise is a hill. It was an excellent idea to start/finish at the capitol - better than the Brat Festival. Also great: the spectators who handed out water, ice and turned on their hoses. Thank you.

What Did Not Work: First off, the packet pickup was a total mess. We got to the expo about 1 hour after it opened and the lines to pick up the numbers were long. I attempted to check in only to find that I had to go to a special resolution line as no number was assigned to me. I registered three weeks prior and online, but had to wait to get a number? Apparently, if you registered within a month of the event, there was no number pre-assigned. Some runners had to wait in the one line for 30 minutes only to be redirected to the resolution line for another 30-minute wait. And others received homemade bibs as they ran out. That is unacceptable and I have never seen this issue at an event. No reason was given for the problem. However, my guess is that they wanted to have the first names of the runners on the bib and the print shop gave them a deadline 4 weeks prior to the event and no one thought of how to address all of the other registered runners. I could understand if this were the first time they ran this event, but it was not. Suggestion: assign everyone a number and instruct them to look up their number prior to checking in. Check in by number and not by last name.

Second, the layout of the port-a-potties. Now you may ask how the layout could cause a problem. Well, there were two lines for 25 port-a-potties lined up on a sidewalk - one line on the left and one line on the right. Each line watched about 5 potties. No one was watching the ones in the middle. So, you could just walk behind the potties in the street, come through the middle, and they were all open. Great for me and my wife, who figured this out, but bad for the hundreds of runners standing in line. Suggestion: place the potties in the middle of the street or have them face the street.

Third, it was a very hot day, which was out of everyone's control. It was 69 degrees at the start at 7 a.m. and 89 degrees at the finish at 11:30 a.m. The race staff made it a point to place the red flag out at about 11 a.m., stating that the race clock was turned off and that we should walk the rest of the way in. Good call, as many of us heeded the red flag and slowed up. However, if they turned off the clock, why did I get a finisher's time the next day with age and overall rankings? If you make the decision to turn off the clock, then I do not want a finisher's time. I have my own watch, so I know what I did. Suggestion: red flag means clock off and no time given (period).

Fourth, the new timing company (J-Chip) was supposed to supply race splits. About half of the runners got a 10K split, a quarter 20K splits and none got a 30K split. Suggestion: if you do not have the mats or equipment to set this up properly, then do not advertise that you are going to provide splits.

Fifth, the medical staff that was stationed on the course were not as visible as they should be. They blended into the crowd. Suggestion: the medical staff needs to have a sign or banner showing where they are stationed.

All of these issues are correctable. However, in reading some of the previous years' posts, it seems that they may not get addressed, which is sad. I really enjoyed the course, and even the extreme weather conditions. It is the details that are lacking in this event. As we say, this was a one-and-done event.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.