The Crazylegs Classic is an annual running race and walk held each spring in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The course starts at the Library Mall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and ends at the
Kohl Center
The Kohl Center is a multi-purpose arena located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The arena opened in 1998 and is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team.
The ...
. The race, first held in 1982, was named in honor of
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch. Proceeds from the race benefit
University of Wisconsin–Madison athletics programs.
The idea for the race was hatched in late 1981 by Tom Grantham, Ken Sparks, and Rich Backus, who wanted to raise money to support Wisconsin athletics. As admirers of Hirsch, who was then serving as
UW–Madison's athletic director, they asked his permission to name it the "Crazylegs Run" in his honor. Grantham continues to serve as general chairman on the Crazylegs Classic Executive Committee. Hirsch greeted runners at the start and finish of the race between 1981 and 1996.
The first race in 1982 attracted 1,525 runners and raised $9,500. The event grew in popularity and the walk was added in 1987 with 676 walkers the first year. The event has grown, reaching a record high of 20,445 registrants in 2010. Since its inaugural race, it has attracted more than 229,000 runners and walkers.
''Runner's World'' magazine has rated the Crazylegs Classic as one of America's Best 100 Events. Readers participating in the ''
Capital Times
''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a weekly newspaper published Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. ...
''/''
Wisconsin State Journal
The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...
'' Reader's Choice Award survey have voted the classic the #1 Favorite Local Running Event every year since 1995.
In 2002, the
Road Runners Club of America
Founded in 1958, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) is the oldest and largest distance running organization in the United States with over 1,500 running club and event members representing 200,000 individual runners active in their running ...
chose the Crazylegs Classic one of twenty "Great Races! Great Places!" events.
The race starts at the Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and ends at the
Kohl Center
The Kohl Center is a multi-purpose arena located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The arena opened in 1998 and is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team.
The ...
.
Prior to 2019, the Crazylegs Classic started opposite the
State Capitol Building, going down Wisconsin Avenue, moving onto the campus over Observatory Drive to Picnic Point and returning down University Avenue to Camp Randall where it ended at the 50 yard line. The route change was the result of
Madison Common Council
Madison Common Council is a city council of the legislative branch of the government of the City of Madison in Wisconsin. The Madison Common Council consists of 20 alderpersons elected from 20 districts who serve two-year terms. The Common Counc ...
implementing new rules for street use permits in downtown Madison.
The Crazylegs Classic has experienced suboptimal weather conditions. In 1988, racers fast sleet and high winds. In 1994, Madison received snow on race day. And in 2019, Madison received snow.
In 1995, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor
David Ward ordered the Crazylegs Classic course to be rerouted given other events taking place on campus. It was the first time in 14 years the course had been changed and the first time the Observatory Drive Hill was not part of the course.
The race was canceled in 2020 and was run as a virtual race in 2021 as a result of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
The Crazylegs Classic has honored notable individuals by having them serve as grand marshal for the race, including:
*1995, college
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach
Barry Alvarez
Barry Lee Alvarez (born December 30, 1946) is an American former college football coach and athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compili ...
*2000,
University of Wisconsin Marching Band director
Michael Leckrone
Michael “Mike” Leckrone (born July 30, 1936) was a John Bascom Professor of Music in the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Music and director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band from 1969 to 2019. Leckrone also served as ...
*2001, Wisconsin Alumni Association director Arlie Mucks
*2002, college
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
coach
Jeff Sauer
*2005, professional American football player
Pat Richter
*2007, college American football coach
Bret Bielema
Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since the 2021 season. Bielema served as the head football coach at ...
*2008, professional American football player
Ron Dayne
Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is an American former football running back who played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1999. He also played professional football for eight seasons in the National Fo ...
*2009, "Miracle on the Hudson" pilot
Jeffrey Skiles
Jeffrey Bruce Skiles (born November 18, 1959) is a retired airline pilot for American Airlines. On January 15, 2009, he became known globally as First officer (aviation), first officer of US Airways Flight 1549, when he worked together with capt ...
*2010, professional ice hockey player
Jessie Vetter
Jessica Ann "Jessie" Vetter (born December 19, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender and a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She was a member of the 2008–09 Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hoc ...
*2011, wife of Elroy Hirsch Ruth Hirsch
*2012, professional American football player
Pat Richter
*2013, college American football coach
Gary Andersen
Gary Lee Andersen (born February 19, 1964) is an American football coach who was most recently head football coach at Utah State University. Andersen has also been the head football coach of Southern Utah (2003), Wisconsin (2013–2014), and O ...
*2014,
golfer
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
Julie Redders
*2015, college
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
coach
Kelly Sheffield
*2016, college
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
coach
Greg Gard
Gregory Glen Gard (born December 3, 1970) is an American college basketball coach for the Wisconsin Badgers. Gard took over on December 15, 2015, after Bo Ryan announced his retirement as head coach of the Badgers. Gard is a native of Cobb, Wisc ...
*2017,
University of Wisconsin Marching Band director
Michael Leckrone
Michael “Mike” Leckrone (born July 30, 1936) was a John Bascom Professor of Music in the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Music and director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band from 1969 to 2019. Leckrone also served as ...
*2018, professional basketball player
Alando Tucker
Alando Forest Tucker (born February 11, 1984) is an American former collegiate basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketba ...
*2019, professional American football player
Joe Thomas
*2022, Olympian and professional ice hockey player
Sarah Nurse
Sarah Nurse (born January 4, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Vancouver of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and Canada women's national ice hockey team. She made her debut with the national team at the 2 ...
*2024,
legal scholar
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...
and chancellor
Jennifer Mnookin
References
External links
Crazylegs Classic website
Long-distance running competitions
Sports in Madison, Wisconsin
Foot races in Wisconsin
5-mile runs
1982 establishments in Wisconsin
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