I believe that that 2017 is the 4th year for this race & I've been fortunate enough to run 3 out of the 4. As I mentioned in my 2015 review: "The race route starts at the YMCA on the square in Washington & runners go out 6.5 miles on the Kewash Trail, then turn around & return to cross the finish line on the square. The Kewash Trail is flat, shaded, & fast!...Plenty of refreshments at the end of the race. Free showers to all participants at the YMCA." This year the route kept us in town a little bit longer before we "hit the Trail." Perfect number of hydration stops. Nice shirt, great medal, & pint glasses to Age Group winners. One of the Race Directors, an accomplished runner herself, announced the finishers as they crossed the Finish Line. If she knew the runner (and she knew a lot of them), she shared a little personal information about them. I had just returned from running the Rome Marathon and she shared that with the crowd as I finished. And then a little later, when there was a "lull in the action," she handed the microphone to me & asked me to share my story as to why I ran a marathon in Rome -- My youngest sister had always wanted to visit Rome -- But she couldn't because she suffered from polycystic kidney disease -- Two years ago I donated one of my kidneys to her -- And as a way of thanking me, she took me to Rome to run their marathon (Review of that marathon is also posted on BibRave)

If I hadn't run the Rome Marathon the week before, I probably would have given this race a better review!

This was not a race to try to PR at as the course was very narrow & crowded at times with over 50,000 runners.

I still chuckle when I think about the outdoor urinals that were provided at the starting corrals -- NO waiting at all if you were a guy, had to pee only, & not shy!

I was not impressed with any of the swag: medal, shirt, or backpack -- As again, I was spoiled by the Rome Marathon the week before I was impressed by the size of the Expo & especially the ASICS booth where you could purchase 2 shirts & get the 3rd free.

I was also not happy with the aid stations -- 1 every 5 kilometers but only 1 out of the 8 had electrolyte drinks & only 1 had an energy bar (no gels). They all had "bottles" of water, oranges, bananas, & this was new to me; large cubes of sugar! A couple of the later stops also offered pretzels.

The race started & ended by the Arc de Triomphe & we saw glimpses of the Eiffel Tower, Cathedrale Notre-Dame, & other famous buildings -- But again, that paled a little compared to Rome!

In December 2014, I donated one of my kidneys to my youngest sister who suffered from polycystic kidney disease...She had always wanted to visit & tour Rome...But with her disease, she never felt well enough to travel. After the transplant, that changed & as a way of thanking me, she gifted me a trip with her so that I could run the Rome Marathon!

As you can imagine, the scenery was incredible! The race started & ended by the Coliseum which was my favorite site of the whole trip. There was good crowd support & people cheering the whole 26.2 miles -- Well, they actually call it 42.195 kilometers. Unfortunately it rained the first 10 kilometers (6 miles) & the last 12 kilometers (8 miles) which made for some slippery traction on the 6 kilometers of cobblestone (I swear there was more cobblestone than that!) New Balance was one of the sponsors so in addition to the beautiful medal that looks like two old Roman coins, we also received a very nice technical shirt & a fantastic (large) backpack that you were to use to check extra clothes. Fortunately, the apartment where we stayed was within walking distance of the Coliseum/Start/Finish Line so we didn't need to check anything. There were aid stations every 5 kilometers (3 miles) which offered acqua (water), salt (Powerade), & frutta (oranges & bananas) -- No energy gels of any kind!

My Facebook profile photo that is part of this review is not from the Rome Marathon, but is from the Paris Marathon that I ran a week later -- Review of that race to follow!

After running back-to-back marathons on consecutive weekends, I needed a relaxed, fun little race -- And this one fit that bill exactly!

According to the title of the race, this year was the 21st running...So I'm surprised to see that I'm the first to review it.

I ran the 10K race which had 75 participants...And they also had a 5K race with 100 participants.

Registration: $25 by May 15; $30 by Aug. 15; $35 after Aug. 15; $40 Race Day

100% of net proceeds collected benefit the Housing Foundation which provides deferred payment loans to families & individuals in a 10-county area.

Registration included a real nice short-sleeve performance t-shirt.

The race started & ended in the very nice McKee Farms Park. You can NOT go anywhere in Madison without encountering some hills -- And this held true with the race course -- There was 1 "real doozy!"

Everything was very well-organized with 3 well-stocked water stops & plenty of food & drink at the finish line (granola bars, bagels, peanut butter, bananas, oranges, cookies, coffee, hot chocolate, & BEER!)

What I really enjoyed (besides the BEER) was the entertainment provided by a 5-piece local bluegrass band!

One reason that my brother & I picked this race was because we could stay with our cousin who lives in Madison (& ran the 5K) -- Hopefully we didn't wear out our welcome because we definitely want to run this again!

This was the 3rd year of this race...And the 3rd year that I've run this race...I've always wanted to find a race where I could claim that I've run it every year since its inception and thought that this was the one...But now I'm not sure if I'll ever run this race again!*?

At one time, the posted "Results" showed that I placed 1st out of 4 in the 60+ Age Group. After I waited for my award -- Which NEVER came -- I was informed that my Age Group was eliminated & that I was considered part of the 50+ Age Group.

NOT a good experience!