Sunday's Madison Marathon wasn't exactly a walk in the park for Alan Harris.

But Harris, who is in his third year as principal at Madison East High School, enjoyed the community feel of the event as well as the numerous double-takes he received while running the 26.2 mile course.

"It was a lot of fun," said Harris, who competed in his fourth marathon and first in Madison. "Several times I heard comments like, "˜Hey, I think that was Mr. Harris, who just ran by.' I enjoyed that. I didn't want to waste a lot of energy responding. But I'd give them a little pump of my fists."

Sunday's Madison Marathon featured a record number of participants, with approximately 5,500 runners taking part in the 26.2-mile marathon, half-marathon or quarter-marathon. As one of the nearly 1,200 marathon runners, who enjoyed the nearly perfect weather on their trek around the city, Harris was pleased with the overall support the event garnered.

"It's a great way to see the city," said Harris, who enjoyed the scenic view as well as the tremendous support provided by all of the well-wishers along the way. "People were going out of their way to cheer you on. I definitely enjoyed this experience the most."

A native of Fresno, Calif., who ran his first marathon there in 2001, Harris set a personal record when he finished in 2 hours, 59 minutes and 22 seconds. That broke his pre-race goal of 3 hours and surpassed his previous best time of 3:19:24, set in Chicago in 2006. He also ran in the 2007 Twin Cities marathon, which was marred by high heat and humidity.

"It was quite the PR," Harris said proudly of his finish on Sunday. "I was a little stiff (Monday) but I was back in school today. It really felt great to break the 3-hour mark."

The 40-year-old Harris finished fourth in his 40-plus age group and 18th overall. He said while the finish qualified him to run in the Boston Marathon, he also would like to make a return trip to a future Madison Marathon.

"You can take the coach out of running but you can't take the running out of the coach," said Harris, who ran in high school and began his teaching career as a cross country and track and field coach. "It was a wonderful day and a great experience."