I ran the Twilight 10k last year, and I was excited to run this race again. This year I got my hotel room closer to downtown, so I could explore downtown Madison a bit more after the race. This was a definite advantage, because it made parking and preparing for the weekend a little easier.
I made it to the race expo just in time. Note to everyone: plan extra time to get to the expo if Bratfest is going on the same weekend. This festival causes extra traffic congestion going into Downtown Madison. I got to the expo at 4:45pm and the expo closes at 5pm. I was happy to see some running related items still for sale at the expo, since I forgot my running belt at home. Once I picked up my items, I went to the hotel, since the race wasn't till 8:10pm.

The day before the race, the race director sent out an email stating that the course had a minor alternation due to last minute construction. I was happy to see this alert posted through an email, twitter, and facebook-making sure everyone was aware of the change.

I arrived at the start line about 30 minutes early. This was a fun atmosphere seeing thousands of runners around with the capital building in the background. The 5k started first at 8pm, and then the 10k lined up right after. The race starts and heads through downtown Madison towards the Observatory. The Observatory is the 1st real hill in a long series of hills. But at the top of Observatory hill, you get the best views. The route then winds along a paved trail next to the lake, before heading back towards the capital building. Along the route there are 3 water stops. The city definitely comes out to support this race with cheer zones throughout the entire route. The final 2 miles of the route, you see the capital lit up at night, marking the finish area. The final half mile of the race is packed with people cheering. I crossed the finish line as the announcer yelled my name and city.
The finisher area was easy to walk through and not too congested. I immediately received a bottle of water and my finisher medal. Then further down they had photographers ready to take your picture in front of a Run Madtown backdrop. By the way, did I mention that all pictures throughout the race and at the finish are free? Nice perk! Also at the finish I got a free slice of Rocky Rococo pizza and a Michelob Ultra beer. There was definitely a party scene at the end of the race.

Some improvements I noticed this year from last year: the race route. They made some minor changes, but I loved them! There was also a lot more people cheering this year, but that might be due to the weather.

Pros
+free pictures
+pizza, beer, and finisher medal at finish
+very scenic route with a lot of people cheering

Cons
-traffic congestion when getting to the expo