Nearly 3,700 runners checked in for the full and half marathons Sunday in Madison.
Race Director Ryan Richards, who also directed the IRONMAN Triathlon in September, said having the marathon in the fall makes it unique.
“There’s a great feel to it and buzz about it,” Richards said. “We don’t have to worry about the heat all the time. Plus, it’s right in the middle of football season, so people are definitely sports-minded this around this time.”
Richards said the 26.2-mile full marathon used to take place every Memorial Day weekend, though in recent years Madison Festivals, Inc., who manages the race, moved that race to early November in an attempt to combat the heat.
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Half marathons still take place in the spring and fall.
The hilly course is a Boston Marathon qualifier, which Richards said challenges his runners.
“The course is not easy by any means,” Richards said. “Some people really like that challenge, and other people get really frustrated by it.”
Runners of different ages and genders have different qualifying times to meet in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which is usually held in April.
Boston-area native and current UW-Madison graduate student in applied economics Greg Englehart, 23, won the marathon in 2:39:40. It was the second marathon Englehart has run after completing his undergraduate degree at Colgate University in New York, where he was a member of the track and cross country teams. He manages his busy life as a grad student by training daily at the UW Arboretum.
“Running’s nice because it kind of takes the stress of school away, so instead of thinking that I’m maybe not going to have time because I have work, I always prioritize getting a run in because that just balances my life between school work and working out,” Englehart said.
Englehart led the race the entire way.
Coming in at 3:08:25, Jessica Bird, 33, took first place in the women’s division, finishing over six minutes ahead of the next runner. Bird ran the Chicago Marathon, her hometown race, just four weeks ago, and her win in Madison was her 22nd marathon. The victory was all the more meaningful given her affinity for Madison.
“My husband graduated from Madison and we love—this city is awesome, so we love to come up here … hopefully it will be our home soon, we love to be in Madison. We came to support the community, we went to the Farmers’ Market yesterday, everything about it we love,” Bird said.
