The Madison Marathon will have new courses in 2009, with all its events starting and finishing at the Alliant Energy Center.
New race director Ryan Richards — who also supervises Ironman Wisconsin — has begun a makeover of the full marathon, half marathon and quarter marathon courses for the May 24 event. The most noticeable change is that the Madison Marathon will abandon its traditional starting point on the Capitol Square, but Richards also aims to flatten out the course while steering runners past several civic landmarks.