Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon)

The most important aspect of a race, to me as a former marathon director, is the organization, and this one hit high marks. Good expo, good scenic course well marked, staffed. Ample water stations, great medal, nice shirt. The amount of people was more than we were expecting...there were over 1800 finishers in the full marathon! Well done, Madison. I recommend this race to anyone wanting to do a Wisconsin race. Madison is a cool town - be sure to see the state capitol building. The botanical garden, zoo, and arboretum are all worth a visit too.

This was a great low key marathon with about 1000 participants, and a last minute day before registration at the expo for me. The course offers easy access parking and corals, uncrowded and pretty course through a mix of parks and residential areas, and good community support through most of the course. The hills make this a less than ideal course for a PR but add enough challenge to keep it interesting. The frequent fluid stops are uncrowded and well staffed with friendly volunteers, and the cups were plenty full enough to hydrate. Other marathon organizers should look at Madison for the innovative use of the MARATHON BACK HALF for the Half marathon. This is great for the runners and spectators, the field was wide open as a result. If I need to have a con or 2, I would point to the Expo - easy in and out, but not much in terms of vendors or shopping options. I would have liked to see a a bit more stuff, and spent more time and money. Also, given the relatively late date for a race at this latitude, this race has the potential for weather to be a factor, though we were pretty lucky this year. Overall a great marathon, with lots of smiling runners and fans I am glad I decided to run it, and happy with my time.

This was my first time running the Madison Marathon. The course was a great mix of urban and scenic/wooded roads. There are a couple of brutal hills but plenty of declines that balance it out. Fans were mostly at the start/finish line; however, many people around town would cheer as they went about their day. It was super fun to start and end at the state capital. Warning- mid November in Wisconsin is cold. I, personally, prefer the cold, but I heard plenty of out-of-towners complaining.