Very bad experience. I will not be back ever again. It's too bad because I am in Wisconsin.

I ran the half marathon recently. I enjoyed the course, the spectators were out in good numbers and encouraging, and the organization seemed good. My only issue was the medical tent. I finished with a strained IT band, bad enough that I had to swing my leg around like it was wood just to walk. I went in the tent, and they told me to sit and wait. There were a handful of other runners there, but the cots were only 20% full. Five minutes later, I politely asked one of the not-very-busy looking young people if I could just have some ice; he said, "Yeah, I guess." (???) I continued to sit on a cot, icing my painful, pulsing knee, and one of the young women helping people kept walking by me, glowering at me. Why? I don't know. There were people there with more serious issues, for sure (heat issues), but I was waiting patiently and was definitely injured. The last straw was when some woman walked in the tent, and the only official doctor then on-duty went and greeted the woman as her friend; they started gabbing like it was a lunch date. I watched 3 minutes of this, and realized I would not be helped any time soon. I got up and hobbled out the tent best I could, right past the doctor, who didn't notice me, and had never noticed me. That was a bit disgusting, but it was still a good race. I just hope most people have a better time in the med tent than I did.

I have run 4 marathons and 13 half marathons, including Madison in 2008. I came back in better shape, hoping to PR. Between the heat and the new course with more hills, this did not happen. Madison is beautiful and the fans are great. The course is tough, especially the new finish, uphill for the last mile. The timing company seemed to have trouble, the weather was unseasonably hot, and even Brightroom still doesn't have race photos posted after over a week! I also thought it was strange that we had to use a plastic band strapped around wrist or ankle for the timing chips. Madison is so great that I would still come back, but I don't think this is a PR course. Admittedly, I live in a really flat area, so any hill training is a challenge. Fans were great - especially with the hoses in the last few miles.

This race was the worst I have ever seen. Ever. The marathon met with the back of the half-marathon pack at about 7 miles - there was no way to get through without weaving through, stepping out of the marked lane, or stopping completely. There were actually LINES at the water stations during this part of the course. The organization of this race was completely inexcusable. Yes, it was hot, but there is no excuse for this kind of total debacle. No reason to even think about running Madison again with so many other good spring/early-summer races.

I concur with all the comments about the course and half marathoners. But my big complaint is that they weren't prepared for the heat. Here's the email I sent the race organizers after the event.

"I ran yesterday's Madison Marathon. Your organization's closing of the course was haphazard and disorganized, and I and other runners could not get information on the situation. Given that this was the second closing due to heat in five years, you should have had better contingency planning for the closing.

"I understand that the conditions are out of the control of the organizers, and agree that steps needed to be taken to deal with the heat and humidity. I have run 8 marathons previous to this one, and one other in similar extreme temperature conditions last year (Grandma's Marathon). So I take no issue with the decision to close the course.

"Somewhere between 18-20 miles into my run, the red flag came out. I understand and support the decision to do this. I had already been alternating running with walking.

"At the water stop at the end of John Nolen Dr. (approximately mile 23?), officials rode up on bicycles and told us to stop running - the race had been canceled and black-flagged, and the course was closed. I asked the volunteers leading the water stop and those at the medical desk at this stop what this meant - would there be transportation back to the start? Would there continue to be support? No one knew. I, and other runners, asked what we should do at that point. None of the officials at the water stop or medical stop knew - so we started walking along the course, towards the finish.

"At the next (and last) water stop just before 25 miles, the RED flag was out and a clock was still running. I asked the official what had happened - that we had been told that the race was black-flagged and the course was closed. He said that he had not been informed. When I reached the finish area, I was surprised to find it still open - which is inconsistent with your black flag/course closing guidelines.

"I am left wondering if your organization is capable of managing weather emergency for a race of this size. I will not be running this event again. With a previous closure in the past five years, your organization should have developed contingency planning for shutting down the course, including informing both your officials and the runners of the situation - whatever the situation is/was, because I still have no idea."

The Good:
-Geographically the course was nice
-Aid stations were well stocked, although on a hot day it would have been nice if more of them had ice
-Finish area was well setup and stocked (a big improvement from the last time I ran this race, 2005)
-I liked the finish at the capitol, even though it made for a painful, uphill finish

The Bad:
-Confusing packet pickup - no bags, no way to verify that the chip was set up correctly, etc.
-Weirdly arrangement of porta-potties at the start: on a closed street, they faced in, causing longer lines than necessary
-Having the course intersecting with with walkers made the race less enjoyable, as I spent a lot of time dodging them
-I finished before the course was closed, but I am not sure what the benefit was, since times were posted anyway; given the race's late date, they need to have a better-communicated, hot-weather plan

This was my first marathon. Overall, it was an incredible experience, but there is room for improvement. First of all, I had read that there would be bananas along the way, and was really wanting one, but never saw them. Second, the fact that pedestrians and bikes were on the route was a bit irritating. Third, I thought the beginning of the course through the arboretum was great. The part after mile 17 was pretty awful: two straight miles, with no shade, right alongside traffic on Sherman was bad, bad, bad. I thought it was pretty demoralizing to have to go past the capitol, where you know you need to end up, out along the narrow bridge on John Nolan, around and up West Wash to end. Thought the whole course would have been much better had it been reversed. The spectators were fantastic. Cheering us on by name, high-fives, hoses, ice, music... thanks! Also, the early marathon finishers who stayed to cheer on us later finishers were terrific. Really gave me that extra boost at the end.

This was to be my 46th marathon and my 39th state. About 17-18 miles into this event, word came out that, due to the hot, humid weather, the clocks were turned off, and no times would be recorded after 4:00. I pushed on; water and medical were still on the course. At mile 23, a group of young men told us to give up our chips since no times were being recorded. My chip was TAKEN from my ankle. Turns out the clocks were still running and there are finishers with times 30 minutes behind my unofficial time. Neither the race director nor the timing company has found time to answer my emails about how I can get an official time to be able to count this race for the state of Wisconsin. I now see that this is the second time this race has shut down the course early because of heat. A reputation like that calls out for a new race director or find another race in Wisconsin. I won't be back.

The temp on race day got up to the high 80s this year. Here's a quick rundown of the good and bad of this race:

The bad: there was a lot of non-marathon traffic on the course (bikers, non-marathon runners, etc.) which made it more crowded than it should have been. There was also a section where the marathon collided with the half marathon walkers and although the walkers did a great job of staying to the left there really wasn't enough room for both races in the given space. The water/Gatorade stations were well stocked when I arrived, but I had several friends who ran the half who said the stations near the end were completely out! The medical tents weren't marked and I only remembered actually seeing one on the course. No one had informed the volunteers about where they were, either, and I asked about medical tent locations at a couple of water stations with no one being able to give me any information (I just needed sunscreen and a kind volunteer gave me hers). The timing system was a disaster - signing up to track runners didn't work at the expo and we ended up scrolling page by page (there were 419 pages) to find our names to sign up to track each other. And after all of that, it still didn't work! The timing chip was on a Velcro band to be worn around the wrist or ankle, and I think I speak for all runners when I say I'd rather have the disposable plastic bands on my laces instead.

The good: the spectators were fabulous; many used their hoses to cool us down and several were passing out water/fruit along the course. There were also a couple of cycling groups who were going back and forth along the marathon route (but staying out of the course!) cheering on the runners. The course itself was very scenic and provided a great view of the city, especially the areas along the lakes (however, there was no shade along the lake path so it was less enjoyable than it could have been). The new finish at the capitol was fun, but I'm still torn about whether it was better to have it at Bratfest since it's much easier for spectators to come and park there. Although the race was red-flagged, I still found my race time online even though I finished after the 4-hour cutoff.

Overall, I would recommend this race with the assumption that the organization/logistics will greatly improve next year.

This was my 3rd Madison, and 19th marathon overall. I was optimistic, having run barely over 3 hours there in 2009. No bags at pickup??? Ok, save some money. Downtown: beautiful. Course: aaaaaahhh. WHAT a mess! Mile 8 joined the masses through 12, had to weave through them, up hills, got blocked from aide tables]. I asked race crew on bikes to help and they were clueless. MILE MARKERS were off!! And missing!!! Medical tents were not identified! Under-staffed aid tables. No music on the course - having some would have helped. Great town, but terrible organization ( the course was unforgivable) this year. I almost thought they didn't have an advisory panel. If they did, it must not have had any runners on it. Add in high heat, and this one really disappointed. Worst course - by far - of the 19 I've done. Bring back the '08 or '09 course.