First of all, let me say I was sad to read the previous comment telling people to "give this one a miss!" This was one person's bitter experience. I, on the other hand, have done this race 6 times over the last 12 years and find it to be one of the more enjoyable marathons in the Midwest!!! I have done over 60 marathons of different sizes and types, but this one is a fun time and a perfect size. Great organization, wonderfully challenging course with a good mix of flats and hills, and a great time of the year for a road trip to the Appelton, WI area as the fall weather is just starting to change the landscape with the turning of the leaves! I keep coming back to this race for so many reasons and now they have the race going over the tressel bridge, so beautiful! I will once again be there for the 2006 race to take on the course and enjoy yet another trip to beautiful Appleton.

To the marathon organization... KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK YOU ALL DO TO PUT ON SUCH A GREAT MIDWEST MARATHON!

This was one of my worst running experiences and the organizers still have not gotten it right! I was one of those not allowed to finish and it still leaves a bad taste, especially now when I am getting the flyers for the 2006 run. The organizers never were able to sort out my change of address and I never received what was promised in all the newspaper articles. Seems like they were all talk. Give this one a miss!!!

This is simply a wonderful marathon. Greaat volunteers and spectators, a beautiful course and well organized.
This year there was an issue with the weather which caused some confusion but I am sure this will be addressed and in no way should affect your decision to run this great marathon.

I ran the 2005 race. I was not aware of the confusion related to the alleged closing of the course; if it had affected me, I would have graded the organization much lower. My experience with the organization was excellent - the race has a big-event feel. I even got to run a little bit with Bill Rodgers. For a small race (560 finishers) there was outstanding spectator support. Most of my 17 marathons have been run in bigger cities, and I didn't expect there to be nearly the crowd support that showed up on race-day.

I was disappointed with the course. The pedestrian bridge over the Fox River is a nice touch, but it is at the 2=mile mark. Most of the race is run in residential neighborhoods which aren't particularly scenic. I am from out of town, so I don't know if there is there a way to incorporate more of the river and lake into the course. I was also disappointed by the fact that we had to share the roads with cars. I never felt as though I was crowded by the cars, but I never was able to be at ease with the fact the cars were just a few feet away. I would have also liked a few bands on the course. There were plenty of water stops, and the volunteers were exceptionally friendly.

As reported in a local paper available through this website, the race director and a local police department are avoiding responsiblity for a very poor decision to close the race course during a rain. As a runner, I was told by police at mile 15.25 that I had to quit, not could or should quit, and all traffic control and support was being canceled for the last 11 miles of the run. Being from out of town, I did not know the course to continue on my own without run support. Turned out the officers were wrong and the course workers stayed in place. The race officials simply lost control of their event in an inexcusable fashion.

The Fox Cities Marathon was a bittersweet experience this year. I decided to compete in my first marathon last Christmas and along with a friend have been training for it for 9 months prior to the event. The big day came to an end with disappointment and a few tears. The bitter part: around mile 16 many of us (myself included) were told that the race was cancelled due to rain and more storms coming on the radar. We were also not allowed to run at our own risk. Many were shuttled to the finish line, while my running partner and I opted to be picked up by some of our supporters. Around an hour later I drove through Little Chute on my way home and was surprised to see marathoners still running. I was extremely upset to think that we were told we couldn?t finish and that others were not. I am appalled at the miscommunication between race officials. If the race was cancelled and we weren?t allowed to continue at our own risk than it should have been that way across the board, not only at certain stations. I would have kept going through the rain, storms, or whatever the day would bring. Cancellation due to storms is understandable; utter lack of communication between rest stops and race officials is not.

Now the sweet part: the supporters and volunteers at water stations did a phenomenal job. Thank you for your efforts and words of encouragement. It was wonderful to see so many people out cheering on runners and taking pride in their community. It motivated me and my fellow runners to keep going. Time will tell if I decide to run again next year but if I don?t, I can guarantee you I will be one of those people cheering on runners as they make their way.

I just ran the Fox Cities marathon yesterday and it was a great event. Very well-organized race with good crowd support throughout the different communities (bands/cheerleaders/music). Lots of gel stops and fruit towards the end. Plus the course is scenic - you run across a mile-long pedestrian tressel bridge, have great views of the water, and even get to go through a 'drain-pipe like tunnel' later on in the course. Others said the course changes were a positive, with less cement. A few hills from 15-on, but nothing major. Best part was my 3:28 PR. Would definitely recommend this race for next year!

Ran the Fox Cities marathon yesterday up in Appleton, WI. What a race! Only 600 runners, very well organized, and a beautiful course. We crossed a mile-long pedestrian bridge over the lake early on, went through a cool 'drain-pipe-like' tunnel later, and had great water views and friendly neighborhoods much of the race. Plus the volunteer support was the best I've seen. Well-organized water/aid stations, lots of gels, fruit, etc. The course is well laid out, some hills between 15-18, but nothing too bad. Ran a 3:28 PR. I'll definitely be running this one again!

Just ran this race today. We had a drenching downpour about 2-1/2 hours into the race that left your shoes feeling like they weighed 4 lbs. each (running in 1 inch of standing water for about 1/2 mile, raining so heavily I could hardly see). Fortunately, it was not cold so we didn't freeze as well. Race support was the most organized and complete I've ever seen. Nasty 1/2 mile hill (turns a corner midway around buildings so unless you drive the course before the race, the second half of the climb would come as a shock) at about mile 15, then a steep highway overpass with mile 24 at the middle on top. Lots of long concrete road stretches especially in second half of race - very hard on the feet. But for the concrete I would definitely run this one again....

The 2004 Fox Cities Marathon is an excellent small town marathon. The course was somewhat flat and exciting. The people of the Fox Cities were fantastic. I have never seen more enthusiastic spectators, especially in a small town race. More people came out to cheer on the runners than in larger races that I have run, for example the Honolulu Marathon.

The weather couldn't be better. Lower fifties in the morning to about 70 at the finish.

I only have two complaints about this marathon: The Gatorade mixtures were horrendously strong. I could barely even get it down. On the positive side though, the water stations were all manned by enthusiastic volunteers!

And here is the real big complaint that I have: The walkers! I had to run into traffic multiple times to avoid walkers that were blocking the course. I understand that this is probably a popular event with local walkers but they have got to leave at least enough room for a runner to pass by. It's not only highly annoying for runners, it's a danger to the runners.

Despite these two complaints I did run a PR of 3:28:47. I would highly recommend this marathon to anyone.