Positives: The quarter-marathon was a nice option for beginners. The race was well organized despite several different start times. There are several very nice areas on the course - I saw wild turkeys in the woods.

Negatives: The course was very narrow in spots, and why in the world were bikers allowed on the course - especially in narrow areas? There were a couple of areas where this created a problem. At one spot, some dude on a old 10-speed almost collided with a runner in my pace group. This is a real problem.

Ok marathon. This was my second marathon, and I ran a three-minute PR. The course was somewhat hilly at times, especially the large hill at mile 18. The marathon course was shared by the half-marathon route for too long. I ran in the lead marathon pack, and had to weave through slower traffic all too often. Runners with headphones were completely oblivious to my "passing on the left" requests. Other than that, the course did have scenic portions, and the crowd support was pretty good.

Not a bad course, but if you're in the top 100 in the marathon, be prepared to spend some time and energy weaving around half-marathoners. At times, it gets really congested. In other parts of the course, when the marathoners have the course to themselves, it's quite a nice course.

This was my 20th marathon, and definitely one of my favorites. Tech shirts, large clocks at every mile, excellent post-race food, and having massages at the end was first-rate. Coming in to the final stretch to the cheers of those attending the Brat Fest was awesome! Beautiful scenery with rolling hills, wonderful volunteers, and a colorful medal. I would recommend for first-timers as well as those who have run other marathons. The only negative was the poor ratio of porta-potties at the start - the race committee needs to be aware that the number of pp's need to be increased greatly next year (5,000 combined runners and walkers at the start). I also relayed to the marathon committee that they should announce at the start of all races that walkers should stay to the right.... There was lots of zig-zagging around walkers on the narrow path by the lake near UW. I will definitely come back from North Carolina to run this one again!

The course is really nice and the volunteers are very friendly and helpful. Madison is one of the friendliest cities I have ever visited.

I would agree that there should have been more at the water stops other than water and Gatorade. The only other complaint would be the food line at the finish area. There was no organization or help to keep the lines in any kind of order and it made for a long wait. Thank God for the volunteer who brought the orange slices around or I would have been in the medical tent.

Other than that, it was an awesome experience and I would run it again anytime.

The bad:

Several aid stations were water-only, which I didn't like. The port-o-pottie crunch at the start line was particularly ugly - I couldn't find more than one row of maybe 20 toilets available for several thousand people. Finally, there was no beer tent. I've gotten used to Midwestern marathons and their beer tents - it's a wonderful ritual. Any chance of adding a beer tent? Or did I miss it?

The good:

Friendliest people ever. There were quite a few aid stations staffed with children, all of whom did a wonderful job handing out drinks and cheering for runners. That was my favorite part. All the other spectators were sweet and supportive as well. There were two GU handouts, which were very nice. The course was lovely; I especially like the start at the capitol and the arboretum. This marathon was a really great experience.

Ran Mad City 2008. I really enjoyed the entire experience. It is a very well run race. The race is very scenic and enjoyable. The size for me was perfect and the event from communications to race day was run seamlessly. I highly recommend this race. The town of Madison has a lot to offer for a nice weekend getaway.

The course was very scenic, and the organizers did a very good job too. Just a few minor comments:

1. I think the finisher's T-shirt should be given only to finishers. I think it is wrong to include finishers' T-shirts along with bib numbers and timing chips.
2. The first three aid stations did not have enough volunteers, especially #2 - I had to wait several seconds and got only an ounce of water. Many aid stations did not have Gatorade at all.
3. The electronic clocks were displaying half marathon gun time, which is very misleading. Even the photo they took of me at the finish line displays the time 15 minutes faster than my actual time.

I have run this marathon twice, once in bad weather (2004 - rainy!) and this year in beautiful conditions. I love the course, which is very scenic. Since I am not a big-timer (have only EVER run two marathons), I would say my favorite thing about this race is that it is friendly to first-timers and those who are new to the sport. Lots of support along the route (at least when weather cooperates), and the massage tent at the end was awesome. Our only difficulty was finding the "Health & Fitness Expo," since I didn't find the area well-marked and there were so many other events going on that weekend. More signage would have helped, but other than that, the organization and volunteers were great! I'd like to do this one again.

My thanks to the organizers for a great race. Bib numbers had our first names printed on them and frequently the race spectators cheered for you by name - big help. There were several pacers who carried signs with average splits for the entire race and provided "tips" - another big help. Easy to get to the start. Course was varied, well marked, and pretty flat. Madison is a great city to visit and the marathon a great race to run.