Overall, great city, solid race. Was really well organized (always my top concern). Water stops and volunteers were great. The hills weren't that bad - still PR'ed. Loved the 6:30 am start time.

Issues: Was overcrowded until the half-marathoners split off, perhaps because they seemed to let more people enter post-Boston? Couldn't have gone much faster at the beginning even if I wanted to. Also, at the expo, they force you to walk through the entire thing to get your shirt. After that, wasn't in the mood to go back and look at anything.

I didn't know what to expect in a race called the Flying Pig or the city of Cincinnati. I've discovered that both are great.

The race is one of the best organized races I've run, which includes a couple MCMs, Disney, and about a dozen others. The expo could have placed the T-shirts closer and then let us OUT through the vendors, but I understand and didn't mind (too much) the gauntlet. Water and aid stations were frequent, well stocked (even for the 5 hour pace group), and well run. Volunteers were helpful and cheerful. THANKS!

The first 6 miles are fun, across bridges, into KY, and downtown. The second six are pretty and, yes, hilly. While mostly up hill, the course winds through through a park and into the suburbs. Six/seven more take you through the beautiful town of Hyde Park (eat breakfast the next day at the Echo Diner) and through a very supportive development. The last 6+ take you back to the Ohio river and to the Finish Swine. I only gave the course 4 stars as the last 6-7 miles are really kind of boring (until the last 365 yards). Baltimore's hills are early (mile 2,3,4) and late (mile 16 lasts forever). A couple hills early isn't bad, just force yourself to walk early and save it.

The spectator are - fantastic. The MCM's spectators make you feel like a real athlete. The are 4-5 deep at some points and LOUD. The Flying Pig spectators are the most supportive, cheerful, helpful and obviously proud of their pig race. Loved all of them.

Stay a couple extra days in Cincinnati. Take in a Reds game (Upper box seat are all you can eat), go to the Zoo (high quality and white lions) and the aquarium in KY (walk the Purple People Bridge to get there). Eat at the Yard House (140 beers on tap) and walk/run the riverside parks (after dark the fountains have colored lights).

I'll admit- I checked real estate prices in the area when I got home. I'll be back to Cincinnati even if only to run the Flying Pig race again.

This event gets high marks in my book. Really well organized. Huge expo with lots swag. Everyone gets a tech shirt, cooler bag and a poster, plus of lots free getaways from vendors. Their website is helpful, they have deals with downtown hotels that give discounted rates and give you a 2pm late checkout. Several hotels in walking distance to the start with a shuttle bus to take you back from the finish. It is an early start at 6:30am. The sun did not come up until around the 3 or 4 mile for me (I'm not a morning person). Lots of crowd support. Water, gatorade, and time clock every mile. All the volunteers were very friendly. The half and the full start together and split around mile 9. The split and the relay exchanges flowed really well. Also worked well because the half finishers were out of the way by the time the majority of the marathon finishers got to the finish swine. The course was challenging, definitely a lot of hills. Nice amenities after you cross the 'finish swine.' The medal is iconic with the piggy on the front and pig butt on the back. Nice array of snacks, chips, fruit, power bars, etc at the finish. They even had free sausage sandwiches and hotdogs at one of the post-race booths. They have a 3-way and 4-way where you can run a 5k and 10k on Sat along with the half or full for additional bragging rights and goodies. The whole town really embraces the event. You get all the amenities of a big city race with a small town feel. They even gave runners priority boarding on plane for the flight home. If I lived closer I would run this one every year.

This was my first racing experience, and I participated in the half. I so enjoyed my experience in Cincinnati. The spectators were terrific and really helped me to run much faster than I even expected. My only complaint was due to waiting in restroom line, I ended up behind about 5 miles worth of walkers. I actually felt like I spent 11 miles of 13.1 miles passing people- but maybe this was my fault for not starting with the correct pace team to begin with. Anyway, will be running the full Columbus marathon in the fall and will be back for this one in the spring. What a fun time!!!

I will start this review by saying this course for me was two different extremes. The first half is really hilly and I did well with around an 8:30 mile pace. Where my problems came in was around mile 21 when I used up all my legs on the hilly portions and had to walk 4 miles which cost me big time. The course is hilly in the first half and many rollers in the second half. I didnt get to train on the hills due some achillies tendinitis in my left foot. I still finished a little over 4 hours even with all the walking. Course was good in the fact that it was mostly asphalt instead of the concrete that most big cities have. Weather was good and cool to start with (56 degrees) with cloudy skies. It started light raining around mile 18 until the end when the skies opened up after I finished and poured down the rest of the day and night. For those out on the course after 4 ½ hours then you got soaked.

The race shirt was a white tech shirt with the pink flying pig over the city. Shirt was They also gave away a poster and a cooler to everyone. Medal was big and really heavy!!! NICE!

The post-race food was basically Walmart boxed items. Chips, swiss cake rolls, etc. I didnt see any chocolate milk which is what I wanted. Stopped at a Target to get some! The volunteers were awesome at all the aid stations!

I stayed at the Springhill Suites near the Airport which saved huge money on staying downtown. Also flew into Dayton which saved even more money.

Some suggestions for runners of future flying pig marathons:

Stay near the airport which is about 10-12 miles from downtown to get hotel rates near 50% of what they are downtown.

Consider flying into Dayton and getting a rental car for time you are in Ohio. Saved $150 flying into Dayton and $75 on the rental car and it is only 60 miles from Cincinnati.

Think about staying over until Monday to see a Cincinnati Reds game. They are always out of town during the weekend of the marathon but usually come back to town Monday night.

In summary, as I am near the beginning of the 50 State project, I am glad I ran this one for the Ohio Marathon. The course is a good if you pace yourself and train for the hills between the 5th and 8 mile mark and the rollers in the second half of the race.

This was my first Flying Pig. The course is well known for being scenic and hilly. I live in Cincy, so I was relatively familiar with the course. That said, the first half *is* greatinteresting hills, great views, enthusiastic supporters. After about mile 18and especially the last 6 miles or so - you are running a flat, relatively industrial road, with few spectators. I was surprised by how boring it was, especially compared to the rest of the event. That said, I was able to really pick up the speed, enabling me to achieve a PR. My guess is that this part of the course was designed with that in mindto give serious marathoners a chance to still finish with good times. But, given the race's reputation, I wasn't expecting such a long, boring stretch and found it a pretty big letdown and an anticlimactic finish. It's also unnecessary - there are so many great neighborhoods and views in the city that this course doesn't take advantage of.

Organization was fantastic, especially for a big race. It was even relatively easy to set my own pace from the beginning without having to weave through too many folks.

The only other small cons I would note:
*Hard to get into corrals at the start. Lots of people climbed over fences to get in to corrals. Just poor crowd flow into the corrals.
*Only offered gels late in the race (miles 18 and 22?) - too late to really benefit most runners.
*Hated the expo. Forced to walk all the way through the crowded, large maze just to pick up my shirt.

All in all, a really fun event and great way to show off the city. Just don't believe all you hear about it being scenic and beautiful. That's true for the half, not the full.

I was really impressed with cincy's flying pig. you could tell the city was proud of the event and really paid attention to detail. zThe guidebooks that were ubiquitous at the hotel and expo were very useful.

Expo-
The expo was well-run and the swag was great. I was there at the opening Saturday morning and the lines moved well. The poster was nice, the cooler a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the poster design didn't translate particualrly well to the t-shirt, but the shirt was a thicker Asics shirt. No complaints.

The Start-
Corrals were well marked, but the start may have been a little less congested if they had more corrals and staggered them better. It took a few miles for things to thin out. Minor nuisance, but easily tweaked.

The course-
I miss Indy's pancake flat topography. The first 9 miles were tough for someone marginally prepared and there were a few quick punishing hills after that. That being said, it's a pretty course, going through some very nice parts of town. I, like many other folks, ended up running through a landscaped median upon entering Kentucky...

The support-
Was superb. The number of volunteers was staggering. There was an official aid station every mile and plenty of road food from spectators in between. The number of fans on the course was as good as I've ever seen (comparable to or even better than chicago).

The finish-
Again, lots of volunteers with blankets (nice for the rain), the coolest medal I've seen and a decent assortment of post race food. I didn't stick around for the party due to the weather, so I don't have anything to tell you about that.

All in all, this was a great experience. Hats off to the organizers, sponsers, voluneteers and fans. Nice job, Cincy!

As a course this one isn't terrible, isn't fabulous. I can't complain about it, so I won't. But the organization and support on the course is simply amazing. I have NEVER been thanked for coming to run before. And it didn't happen once or twice - it happened CONSTANTLY. Huge crowds, lots of food, great expo, and seriously - can they bottle the crowds? Whatever Cincinnati does to get their crowds to the race line for support should be studied as the exemplar for every race. Will definitely be back - despite the ho-hum course.

The organization of the Flying Pig was fabulous. The Expo was 5 stars, along with the water stations and fans. Although hilly, there is so much going on to distract you, it doesn't seem to matter. Every step of the way, there was someone offering drinks, food, gels , wet towels, water from a hose, music, fun...you name it. It is a fabulous memory and couldn't have been any more fun. I never expected a marathon to be like this! If I hadn't started so late in life, I would run the Flying Pig every year. My husband has run 26 marathons, so I do have something on which to base my comments. None has been anything near the fun of the Flying Pig. So glad I did it!

THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS! I've run races sponsored by Elite and other big name sponsors but I've never seen a city support a race like Cincinnati supports The Pig!! The expo and the swag were top notch. The shirts are good, the ASICS selections were fantastic. The much-neeed water stations every mile were a blessing, made better only by the amazing volunteers manning them. The neighborhoods, EVERY neighborhood, had people cheering; children high-fiving, neighbors handing out drinks and snacks. Course support was top-notch. Hilly? Yes. FYI, read the course tour a day or so before the race. It will highlight many points of interest and break the course down for you so that you know when to go and when to hold back a little. Toe up knowing to pace yourself the first 9, know that a few more hills are to come and you will have a nice, long run. Thank you, Cincinnati - I can mark Ohio off of my 'to do' map.