Madison Mini Half Marathon & 5K
Madison, WI
- Half Marathon, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The annual Midwest Financial Group Madison Mini Marathon is a scenic running tour that features some of Madison’s prominent and popular landmarks including: Capitol Square, the World Famous Dane County Farmer’s Market, State Street, Camp Randall Stadium, Kohl Center, the Arboretum (including wild turkeys!), Picnic Point and the University of … MORE
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Observatory Peak-what a view!
Be prepared for a lot of inclines and the last mile was a shock. Save your energy for the last hill. The volunteers are awesome, very supportive. Plenty of water … MORE
Be prepared for a lot of inclines and the last mile was a shock. Save your energy for the last hill. The volunteers are awesome, very supportive. Plenty of water stops and even a banana which was right on time. When selecting the tshirt size, go bigger X2, especially for the women sizes. A medium was like a XS.
Enjoyable race!
I found this race very enjoyable. The weather was perfect this year. I loved the tree lined, shaded course and the UoW campus is beautiful. Finish line was close to … MORE
I found this race very enjoyable. The weather was perfect this year. I loved the tree lined, shaded course and the UoW campus is beautiful. Finish line was close to the water. Packet pickup was nothing special. It was at the Mini car dealership. Aid stations had plenty of volunteers. There were some hills but they were fine. I recommend this race if you’re looking for a Wisconsin one.
Humid, hilly run through the heart of UW
I was a Buckeye running through Badger country. I had to wear my OSU shirt for this race. I didn't have any boos. I drove in on Friday and went … MORE
I was a Buckeye running through Badger country. I had to wear my OSU shirt for this race. I didn’t have any boos.
I drove in on Friday and went right to the bib pick-up. It was at a Lexus dealership outside of town. It wasn’t really close to anything. It was an odd place to have it in my opinion. There was no expo at all, you just picked up your bib and shirt.
The race started at 7:00 on Saturday morning near downtown. There were plenty of parking garages, but there was a little bit of a line getting into them. So, plan accordingly. Someone else was driving, so I was able to just jump out and head towards the start.
There were no corrals, so you had to line up with a pacer that was going your projected pace. There was a 5K as well, but it started 15 minutes after the half.
The course is circular and goes through part of the UW campus and around 2 of the 5 lakes in Madison. There is a lot of shade along the course. You travel along city streets, a trail and a street through the woods on close to the Arboretum. I saw a yard with several wild turkeys in that area. There was decent crowd support along the way at least in some areas. There appeared to be plenty of aid stations along the way as well. Madison has some rolling hills. The worst was the last mile. At this time you were in the full sun and it was a pretty good incline for about half a mile. From about mile 12.5 to the finish was a nice downhill. Make sure to save a little reserves for that last mile.
Just the basics at the end of the race. There were bananas, chips, granola and clif bars as well as water. The race medal was nice, but it appeared to be the same one as the 5K.
You never know what the weather might be in Aug. It was in the 60’s with over 90% humidity. Luckily, there was a decent amount of shade along the course. All of the race photos were available to download for free.
Beautiful scenery, but poorly marked
The location an scenery were beautiful! The crowd support was great too. The 5k though was poorly marked, and we ended up doing 5 miles instread of 3. More steps … MORE
The location an scenery were beautiful! The crowd support was great too. The 5k though was poorly marked, and we ended up doing 5 miles instread of 3. More steps for me I suppose, but we were a lil beat by the end. The medal, the food, and drinks were nice though!
Killer hill, views of Madison
Overall the race is pretty solid, but has some room for improvement. Morning of packet pickup would be great, especially as there isn't an expo or anything. The morning of … MORE
Overall the race is pretty solid, but has some room for improvement. Morning of packet pickup would be great, especially as there isn’t an expo or anything. The morning of was smooth enough, they had pacers for the event, and well marked course. It is July in Wisconsin, so hot and humid is a given, the course is okay, but they end it on the largest hill of the course – so be prepared for that. Adequate water stations, but no Gu/fuel available. Finish line beer and snacks were greatly appreciated. The shirt is just a standard t-shirt, but medal is pretty cool.
Great race with that small town feel.
I know Madison Wisconsin isn't really a "small town", however this race has all the beauty and feel of a small town all packed into one; from Running through the … MORE
I know Madison Wisconsin isn’t really a “small town”, however this race has all the beauty and feel of a small town all packed into one; from Running through the town on streets and trails feeling safe, coupled with so many people coming out to help. I would imagine this is what it’s like if a town of 5,000 wanted to create a tourist event. Homeowners coming out and waving, cars driving past honking horns (in a positive way).
Plenty of time to walk 4 hour time limit. Weather is so nice (this year was a bit muggier than usual per a few regulars I talked to) The elevation is a bit of a challenge but only if you live with ZERO hills in your city like Houston.
For those coming from other places. Wisconsin is AWESOME and has tons of fun things to see and do including but not limited to:
Wisconsin State Capital
Capital Square (Farmer’s market every weekend)
State Street
University of Wisconsin – Madison Campus
Restaurant Suggestions: Culvers’ / Bandit Tacos /
Wisconsin Dells (not technically in Madison but worth a 2 hour drive away)
We went on vacation in Chicago for the week and then took the 3 hour bus ride into Madison for the one night to run the race.
It's an ok race in a fun little town
I did enjoy this race, but it was not my favorite, and I probably wouldn't do it again. Unfortunately, it was VERY hot the day of the race, which one … MORE
I did enjoy this race, but it was not my favorite, and I probably wouldn’t do it again. Unfortunately, it was VERY hot the day of the race, which one should expect in July (87 degrees by the time we finished). The course was hilly and of course the worse hill was in the last mile. I didn’t see anyone running up that hill.
There was no expo, which isn’t a big deal as long as you aren’t expecting that. Just a spot to pick up your bib and T-shirt and not really much extra swag to buy.
The race was well organized and well put together. Not much community spectating and no live music or bands on the course. I always really appreciate that support. Much of the course was shaded which was nice.
The town of Madison was fun and there are some fun things to do while you are there so be sure to explore.
State 31
Based on all the rave reviews, I wanted to run this race as my Wisconsin choice. I' not sure what happened from all those rave reviews to this year but … MORE
Based on all the rave reviews, I wanted to run this race as my Wisconsin choice. I’ not sure what happened from all those rave reviews to this year but I was not overly thrilled with this race.
Expo-There really was no expo for this race. You went to an office building that wasn’t really well marked to pick up your bib and shirt. When I gave them my name they told me I was one of the first 250 to register-thinking that meant something. No there are no extra perks. There were no vendors, no race gear-just some folding tables in a conference room in the basement of the building. The pick up was about 10 miles from Madison. I was talking to a woman who said the state fair was in town so they could not use where they normally did. Maybe this was the difference this year?
Swag-just a t shirt-you had the option to purchase an additional one with a name on it prior.
Race-Not being familiar with Madison, the start line was stated as “corner of Park Ave and State St”-took some googling the night before to know where I was walking to. They started at 7am and there was really no waves just kind of line up and go. It was really warm at race time-sunny, no breeze. Race Officials cannot help how hot it was, however, they offered no relief to runners on the course-no increased water stations (the ones they had were disorganized and not ready for runners), no ice, no sponges or sprinklers. The course itself had some pretty parts-as people have stated, it is hilly. Not sure if this course change but the steepest, longest hill on the entire course is around mile 12.5. When you’re that far into a race plus exhausted from the heat-it was a huge challenge. There was not as many spectators on the course as I expected. At the finish there were some small snacks on tables lining the corral. You had to seek out water as it was in a bucket and no one was handing out. You also had to wait on your medal.
After party-The location of the after party is beautiful-right on the terrace. Security directs you to where you got a free beer. The free beer was it in terms of food unless you grabbed a bag of chips or fruit in the finish corral. They did have a snack bar open for money so bring your credit card. This area was open to the public so not just runners and their families.
I’m happy to get Wisconsin done however, do wish I picked differently or whatever happened this year to this race, gets back to the high standard norm for next year.
I really enjoyed this venue
We had a great time with this race and all of the support along the way was wonderful. It Ends on a huge hill which I would trim for next … MORE
We had a great time with this race and all of the support along the way was wonderful. It Ends on a huge hill which I would trim for next time. It was a great location to meet up afterwards with all of my running friends 😊
Hilly course with nice scenery!
Decided to run this course despite a somewhat tight turnaround after my first half in June (Summerfest Rock 'n Sole), primarily because it was a sister course with a challenge … MORE
Decided to run this course despite a somewhat tight turnaround after my first half in June (Summerfest Rock ‘n Sole), primarily because it was a sister course with a challenge that offered a spare medal if you ran both! I also received an email around the 4th of July with a savings promo code so I finally signed up.
Plenty of communication before the race on parking, weather, etc. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the expo, but it seemed like they had lots of great vendors with products, giveaways, etc. Women received a tech tank top, men received a tech tee. The women’s tank is actually really nice red shade, but runs small (which I believe they called out on the website.)
Parking was no issue thanks to their clear maps of race day parking options. The area near the starting zone had plenty of porta potties and lots of space to move around, stretch out, etc. Overall a good atmosphere.. around 2400 half marathoners, fun music, the Badger mascot running around, and even had some of the band out to play a bit.
The course was somewhat challenging. No crazy hills, but LOTS of rolling ones throughout the course. It did feel somewhat crowded, but I was running at a pretty average pace. The route was really nice.. went by the farmer’s market, ran along Camp Randall, went near the zoo, and by the Arboretum. Lots of time spent running along the lakes so the scenery was pretty beautiful! Aid stations seemed spread about nicely with plenty of water and gatorade, and there were lots of people out watching the race and cheering people on.
Wish there would’ve been a bit more signage after the race to direct people towards the tent to get M2 challenge medals and to the free beer! I found both though.. both the main medal and the challenge medal were very nice, and the beer out on the Terrace hit the spot on such a nice sunny day!
I’ll probably run this again in a couple years but first I want to try out some races that require a bit more travel!!
Great run in and around the capital city
Some hills, mostly streets in downtown Madison, get to go through Arboretum, around the capitol building and end at Camp Randall Stadium. Plenty of water stations throughout MORE
Some hills, mostly streets in downtown Madison, get to go through Arboretum, around the capitol building and end at Camp Randall Stadium.
Plenty of water stations throughout
Nice local race, challenging course
Nice local race, was tougher than expected (the race organizers should have provided an elevation map). I understand how GPS watches do not actually measure the official distance, but mile … MORE
Nice local race, was tougher than expected (the race organizers should have provided an elevation map). I understand how GPS watches do not actually measure the official distance, but mile 11 – 12 really seemed truncated. But a nice race experience and a nice destination for out-of-state runners.
Well organized, fun half marathon
This was the second time I ran the Madison Mini. The race is well organized and the finishing party on the UW Terrace can't be beat. Madison is a fun … MORE
This was the second time I ran the Madison Mini. The race is well organized and the finishing party on the UW Terrace can’t be beat. Madison is a fun place to both run and to spend the weekend of the race. The weather tends to be slightly on the humid side and the course does have some hilly sections. The course is varied, you run down State Street towards the capitol, outside the football stadium and the UW campus, down residential streets, and the arboretum.