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May 3, 2024

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.5

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.6

Number of comments: 515 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 52 > ]

ka mk from WV (5/6/2015) "Great race -" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Love this race with the added benefit of so many other races the preceding day (5K, 10K, 26th mile (1 mile kid race), flying fur (short run with dog) - to keep your family happy. Very well organized overall fun atmosphere. But ... wow the finish line smell strongly of exhaust. I'd run the marathon in 2010 and forgot this little detail until crossed the finish line again on Sunday. Cough, cough, gag, gag. Other than that its a fabulous race.
D. D. from MI (5/4/2015) "Tough course, great race" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is tough, rolling hills throughout. But the organization, runner support, spectators, logistics, goodies for runners are absolutely amazing. One of the best marathons I have ran in the U.S. and probably the most fun.
D. S. from Downers Grove (5/4/2015) "Really Fun" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 First time for the flying pig. The course is not flat but it really wasn't as hilly as I thought is was going to be. In fact the last 19 miles or so is pretty much downhill. Really fun - the pig theme was neat and Cincy really seemed to be behind the run. I went with my family and ran the 5K with my son which was fun. Only complaint was the poster is pink - could have picked a more neutral color, I was going to get it framed and put in my son's room but not sure that is going to happen.
D. K. from Madison, WI (5/4/2015) "One of the best in the US" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Every aspect of this event is top flight! Challenging course with enough time to complete it...many other events for family and friends to join the fun...very well organized...great volunteers, fans, spectators...great medal! Very glad that I selected The Pig as my Ohio marathon.
B. M. from Chicago, IL (5/3/2015) "Not as organized as I'd hope, but great volunteers" (about: 2015) 6-10 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Organization: The expo was mediocre. A bit odd that they gave you your bib and then you had to walk all the way to the other end to get your t-shirt and free poster. I know they do that so you walk through all the vendors, but it was still a little inconvenient. The morning of the race was also not well organized. There were signs pointing towards bag drop, but then when you looked in that direction there was nothing... it turned out that you had to walk down two levels and half way around the stadium to get there. Course: The first half of the course is beautiful, and the 3 mi straight climb between miles 6-9 is worth the gorgeous view of the river at sunrise. However, it gets very lonely from about mi 19-24, when you need the most support. Spectators: The volunteers are amazing, and the play on pig puns was much appreciated. They had lots of different stations with different foods and drinks available. Lots of the volunteers had dressed up in pig costumes and were very enthusiastic. They made the lonely stretched of the course so much better. The race definitely has some areas for improvement, but overall it's pretty good.
Wayne Wright from Palmdale, California USA (9/26/2014) "Hog Heaven" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:15:34. The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon was this old hams thirtieth 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: no sign of wind, mostly cloudy skies, 53 percent relative humidity, and 57 degrees at the start. We began our race on Mehring Way adjacent to Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals, heading east alongside the Ohio River. For those of us starting from Pigpen G, there was some slight congestion, but thankfully, road hogs were few and far between. Turning north on Main Street, we passed by the Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, before turning right twice before crossing over the Ohio River on the Taylor-Southgate Bridge at mile 1. Now in Newport, Kentucky, we travelled south until reaching the World Peace Bell, where we turned right on 4th Street, heading west. At mile 2, we crossed the Licking River into Covington. At mile 3, we commenced our return to Ohio by crossing the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge over the Ohio River. Up to this point, apart from the bridge crossings, the course was relatively flat. Returning to Cincinnati, we spent the next two miles in the industrial west side before heading east toward downtown. Plenty of fan support as we traversed the flat, straight, 7th Street. That all changed just before mile 6 as we began our ascent toward Eden Park to the northeast. Easily the most difficult part of the marathon, we climbed approximately 300 feet before reaching the Eden Park Drive, where we took a detour to afford a view of the Ohio River down below. With the most difficult part of the race behind us, we started our generally eastward trek along the undulating streets of the near communities of East Walnut Hills, OBryonville, Hyde Park and Oakley. We parted ways with our half-marathon companions just before mile 9, and, per usual, our numbers decreased considerably (we were outnumbered by half-marathoners by almost 3 to 1). At mile 14, we entered the eastern neighborhoods and cities. Heading east on Bramble Avenue in Madisonville, some of us may have been amused by the fact Simpson Avenue was followed by Homer Avenue just before passing Bramble Park on the right. (No sign of the television family patriarch, perhaps he was searching for doughnuts.) Continuing east on Murray Avenue at mile 15, we entered the township of Mariemont. The narrow, winding, streets and elegant homes provided the backdrop for many a driveway luau offering refreshment to a hog wild crowd who supported us in our quest to complete our journey. The easternmost point of the race, at East Street and Miami Road just before mile 16 turned us around and led us westward through cozy downtown Mariemont and the Murray Avenue Trail before entering Fairfax at mile 17. Upon leaving Fairfax at mile 18, we passed by a local landmark, Frishs Mainliner Restaurant, the areas first year-round drive-in. No time to pig-out on a Big Boy hamburger, for we had another eight miles to go. Entering Columbia Parkway, we were to stay on the right-side of the freeway for a mile, traversing downhill toward the Eastern Avenue off-ramp, which would set us up for the final stretch of the race. The final leg of the race was almost entirely on Eastern Parkway. Beginning at mile 23, this mostly flat stretch ran alongside the Ohio River. At mile 26, Eastern Parkway turned into East Pete Rose Way, which, fittingly, ended at the ballpark, the terminus of our race. Temperature at the Finish Swine was 69 degrees, clear skies, 42 percent relative humidity, with a westerly wind of 10 mph. ORGANIZATION: Larger than average expo for a marathon of this size. There was a vast array of logoed merchandise including pig snouts and tails, among other unique items. In addition to the usual tech tee, the organizers handed out an event poster to each participant, featuring an abstract work of art by Pigcasso. For the most part, the event itself was well-organized. No difficulty with mile marker placements, water stops, or traffic control. FANS: The best. I offer my gratitude toward those Grunts and Squealers who went whole hog in devoting their time to make this event a success. CONCLUSION: The residents of Cincinnati and environs fully supported this event and it showed. It clearly can be a favorite for first-timers and veterans alike. Well done, Porkopolis!
R. T. from Ohio (5/22/2014) "THE BEST!!" (about: 2014) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 An awesome race weekend experience! The course is tough, but the crowd support and scenery almost make it a non issue. The crowd support and volunteers were off the chart. They kept me running when I thought I may need to take a break. Enjoyed the expo and the medals were fantastic. I was able to run this with my son (my wife also ran the half), which was a dream come true for a 51 year old who weighed 300 lbs last March. I will be back to this marathon every year I am physically able to run it!!
J. S. from Tallahassee, FL (5/20/2014) "Fun Times in Cincinnati" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My first Flying Pig and it was a hoot. Pros 1)Scenic Course with good views of the Ohio River (especially from Mt. Adams). 2)Well organized expo with plenty of vendors, including Skechers! 3)Great spectator and aid station support and clocks every mile. 4)Plenty of aid stations, nearly one every mile after the half-way point. 5)Lots of runners to run with Cons 1)I started in the second 'Pig Pen' intending to run between 3:20 and 3:30. Given the start included half, marathon, and marathon relay runners it was very congested for the first four miles which take you over a bridge into Kentucky then through some of Newport over the Licking River into Covington, Kentucky, and then back into Ohio over the Ohio River again into Cincinnati. Congestion so bad it was hard to see much of Kentucky. Perhaps it was planned this way??? 2)While the course is very scenic and runs through many neighborhoods it is very sinuous with numerous turns and sections where runners are running on the right side of the road (coned off) yet the course gradually turns to the left so running a tangent is impossible. Additionally, the last 10K of the course is run on Riverside Dr which is highly cambered. The camber from running on Riverside Dr. gave me with a very sore right quadriceps. I ended up running a 3:27 and was very happy with that as it was a BQ for this 54 year old. Synopsis, this is a well-run, scenic event, with a great expo and finishers medal. And the statues of flying pigs are really cool. I would not recommend this course for a PR or first time BQ attempt because of the crowds, and the course layout itself (hilly with lots of turns). Cincinnati was a nice place to visit, we attended a Reds game and toured the Aquarium just across the Ohio River in Newport, Kentucky. Lots of good food establishments there including Arnold's Tavern.
R. G. from Cincinnati, OH (5/18/2014) "a really great experience" (about: 2014) 3 previous marathons \| 2 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I've done the Pig half twice now and wow, I really just love this race. The spectator support is great, the course was interesting- it's just a lot of fun. Parking is super easy and I was running late this year.
L. E. from St. Cloud, MN (5/18/2014) "Great race!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I had a fantastic time in Cincinnati. I originally signed up for the marathon but had to change to the half due to injury. Overall I thought this was a great event. Pretty easy to find parking on race morning if you get there early, but we were sort of guessing where we were at. The parking instructions we received were just text, it would have been nice to have an easy to read parking map. We were fortunate to find a parking lot that was free, but not all parking is free and many of these take cash only - so be prepared for that. I thought the corrals were well organized and I like that they had port-a-potties in every corral. This encouraged people to get to their corrals early, and then if the pre-race jitters got to you you didn't have to leave the corral to wait in a long line somewhere. The downside of this however is dealing with the smell the entire time before the race :( The course was very pretty, though challenging - but not too challenging. The toughest stretch was miles 6-9, but I had studied the elevation map and read plenty of reviews ahead of time so I thought I was mentally prepared for the large hills. This part of the course was also scenic though, so that made it less daunting. However I will admit those large hills slowed my time down; I live in a pretty flat area of MN so I did not get to do any hill training like that. Otherwise once that stretch is over, the course is mostly flat or gradual downhill, which I loved! I was actually able to push those last 3-4 miles. Fan support along the course was great, as were aid stations which were placed about every mile. The only one I was disappointed by was that there were two at about 11 and 11.5, but none at 12. Because most races have one at 12, I skipped water at 11.5 thinking there would be another one before the finish. Oh well, not the end of the world. The finisher medal was nice and the post-race food spread was AMAZING. One of the best I have seen, with a lot of variety for those with more sensitive stomachs. It was a little confusing to get back to our car since we parked by the start, we were not from the area and didn't know our way around, but there were plenty of volunteers and police officers available to help give instructions. My only complaint is that at the expo, many of the vendors were tearing down or already gone by the time we got there. We arrived at about 6pm on Saturday. Yes, that is toward the end, but it didn't end until 7!! I think it is unprofessional for vendors to leave early like that, but their loss, they lost potential customers. Otherwise, the expo had a great layout. I personally liked how they had it roped off in a zigzag way to help with traffic flow. However, I didn't like that they forced you to go through the entire expo to get your shirt and verify your chip. Not everyone wants to visit the vendors, so I would suggest putting the shirts either in the same room as packet pickup or at the beginning of the expo to give people the option. Overall, great race and a lot of fun, highly recommend!!

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