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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: 518 [displaying comments 181 to 191]
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S. S. from Cheeseland, USA
(5/19/2008)
"Fun and fantastic!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have run several marathons in many states, and I have to say that this was one of the best. The course was hilly, but scenic, the spectators were great, and the aid stations were FANTASTIC! I don't think I have ever run a marathon with as many aid stations, one almost every mile! And they were manned by fun and enthusiastic volunteers. This really is a great marathon, and I highly recommend it. I'll be back!! | |
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Matt Callihan from Butler, PA
(5/18/2008)
"Great Experience!" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. The energy and enthusiasm were exceptional. In fact, I can't think of anything to be critical about. A friend of mine (a 2006 Flying Pig veteran), and finisher of other marathons, said the only problem is that when you run a marathon somewhere else, you might be disappointed because you started with the Flying Pig. I have a feeling she may be right. I can't imagine how any other marathon could improve upon what the Flying Pig has to offer. | |
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J. S. from St. Paul, MN
(5/17/2008)
"Deserves the good rep" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Organization is absolutely top-notch and volunteers are fantastic. Never have I felt more taken care of during a marathon than I did at the Pig. I've worn my water belt for other marathons to avoid crowded stations or fluidless stretches, but there was no need to here. Volunteers were calling out pace/finish times in many spots so it was nice to know just where you were and what you needed to do to reach your goal. There were tons of porta-pots. Spectators were spotty in number (though I suspect I am spoiled by Twin Cities), but great in volume and enthusiasm- thanks for the orange slices! Fireworks at the start were cool. Nice medal. I had wondered with the tougher course why this one gets mentioned as a good first-time marathon, but now I know. Only con was the finish area. I'm a middle of the packer and by the time I got there it literally looked like a dump, with lots of garbage piled up. The fruit was warm and yucky after sitting in the sun. Maybe divert some of those great volunteers to this area? Instead of piling up all the food at once, replenish now and then? Overall, great experience. I'll be back, this time with more hill training under my belt! | |
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J. L. from Cleveland, Ohio
(5/16/2008)
"Happy marathon" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my third marathon and I have nothing but good things to say about this one. Exhibits were good. Bart Yasso was there but I only realized it afterwards. Parking was good. People were friendly. A volunteer gave me a women's T-shirt and gave me the right one when I returned it. The start of the marathon was crowded but later it spaced out OK. Port-a-potties were sufficient. Water stations were well stocked with fluids and well trained volunteers. The crowds were the best! Going up the hills was OK and the view was excellent. It was going down the hills that took a toll on me. The course was longer by .25 mile or so but that's not an issue with me. It would have been nice if they would announce the name of the runners as they approach and pass the finish line, like they did in the Columbus Marathon. I would recommend this course highly. Nice medals also, with front/back details. My wife ran the 10K and my son ran the 1-mile kid's run. They are all happy with their medals. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on the Kentucky side, which was excellent - and they let me check out a little later. Only negative part was the restaurant that we ate on the Kentucky side near the Holiday Inn. It's called Pacific Moon and the service was terrible and unfriendly. Our orders took a really long time to arrive. Prices were too high (tourist trap). Don't go there. There are plenty of other restaurants there you can go to. But overall, a great experience. | |
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Gregory Jones from Athens, Ohio
(5/15/2008)
"Incredible Race" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 2 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my 5th marathon and the 2nd time that I was doing the Flying Pig. I ran the Pig as my first marathon in 2005 and was blown away by the incredible organization and the crowd support. Cincinnati loves its runners and loves the marathon. I went into this race without really a goal time. 8 days before, I ran the Louisville Marathon and reached my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon in a time of 3:03 (dropping 10 min from my personal record). The race and course were so beautiful that at the half-marathon point, I realized that I could go under 3:10 again and qualify for the second time in 8 DAYS! At my 22 I hit the wall and the 3:10 pace team caught up team. The pacer kept yelling motivational comments and pushed me to the end as I finished in a time of 3:07. I was so excited and it felt even better then the marathon 8 days before. Congratulations to the race director for fixing the course after the fire earlier that morning. I will be running this race again. Thank you! | |
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P. C. from Clearwater, Florida
(5/15/2008)
"Marathon of a LIFETIME!!!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 First off, this marathon was a lot of firsts for me! This was the first and - I hope- last marathon I run in Bunker gear (I'm the crazy fireman that ran in full gear). It was the first time I've ever had to help work a CODE (someone in cardiac arrest) during a marathon; first time I ever met any of race officials, (Iris Simpson-Bush, you put on a hell of a race, you and your team should be VERY PROUD!); first time (and not the last, I hope) a race official bought me a beer at the finish line; and the first time I've worn any marathon medal longer than an hour after completing the race! This marathon is a MUST DO for ANYONE who calls themselves a marathon runner. I live in Florida, so any hills suck in my opinion, but I enjoyed every painful stride in this one! I had excellent support staff, consisting of America's finest, firemen from the Cincinnati area! I could not have done this without their help. And just for the record, they saved Bobby Edwards' life; not me. I was just there to help them. Thanks again, Flying Pig, and Iris Simpson-Bush. Special thanks to Cinciannati, and the Cincinnati firefighters, who are my brothers for life. I only hope that when I'm taking that last breath, I'll remember this week. I couldn't have written a better ending. Stay safe! | |
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Bob O'Shaughnessy from Webster, NY
(5/15/2008)
"Fantastic Marathon, Highly Recommended" (about: 2008)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my 3rd marathon, and my 1st Flying Pig. The course is beautiful and the scenery is magnificent. It was beautiful to run along the Ohio River and at the highest point of the race, the payoff is the views of the river and scenery below. I would recommend this race to anybody looking to run a marathon. Plenty of water stops, and the fans are fantastic. It was nice to have the race director at the marathon finish to shake everybody's hands. Plus, with a name like "Flying Pig," what's not to love? The expo was also well organized and convenient to the hotels in Cincinnati. I stayed at the Millennium Hotel, and was happy with the hotel and service. Well done Cincinnati! | |
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S. N. from Harrisburg, PA
(5/12/2008)
"One of my favorites" (about: 2008)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 A very enjoyable marathon. Crowd support was great, especially considering the start at 6:30 on a Sunday, and the race committee's ability to reroute the marathon due to the house fire was a testament to the magnificent organization. Don't let the elevation charts fool you, especially for miles 5-8; it's really not as tough as it looks. Nice expo, giveaways, and sponsorships; and the marathon documentary in Fountain Square on Friday night made it feel more like a three-day event and less like a run. Great job, organizers! | |
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M. B. from Lexington, KY
(5/11/2008)
"Great crowd support, terrible first-aid support" (about: 2008)
1 previous marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 The Flying Pig was my second marathon, and I loved many things about it. The course was great, the crowd support was incredible, and everything seemed pretty well organized, except for the first aid tents. I was running the Pig with my twin sister who has epilepsy - this was her second marathon as well. To make a long story short, she had to drop out of the race at mile 14 - at an aid station - where she had to wait TWO HOURS before receiving any kind of medical help. It was a long ordeal. Everything said and done, I will probably do the Flying Pig again and just cross my fingers that there are no medical issues. | |
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Paul Moeller from Carlsbad, CA
(5/10/2008)
"Still one of the best!" (about: 2008)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my 13th marathon and 2nd Pig (I also ran in 2006). I really love this race, plan to run it again, and would recommend it to anyone whose interest is anything other than a PR. The expo, in the downtown convention center ($1 parking!!!), is fairly large, extremely well organized, and easy to navigate, with lots of interesting souvenir items that riff on the flying pig theme ($2 rubber pig noses are a must!). For your entry, you receive lots of swag - technical t-shirt (Good quality, cool design, lousy color - grey. Geez, why not pink?), also a very nice athletic bag with race logo monogram, and an awesome, suitable for framing, commemorative poster. I didn't stay in the host hotel (the Millennium in downtown Cincinnati), because I prefer the ambiance and convenience of staying across the river in Northern KY - in some previous years the host hotel has been the Marriott in Covington, which is a much nicer hotel. However, this year the had a pre-race pasta dinner and other festivities in the middle of downtown Cincinnati on "Fountain Square." If you're looking for nightlife or good restaurants near your hotel before or after the race, I would definitely recommend staying in Northern KY - Cincinnati rolls up the sidewalks after sunset. The start of the race is adjacent to Paul Brown Stadium. Plenty of restrooms and water available. The race was scheduled to start at 6:30 a.m. (just at sunrise), but was delayed 15 minutes because there was an early morning house fire at around mile 22 of the course. Ultimately they had to do a last-minute reroute, which added a quarter mile to the course. I'm impressed with how quickly the organizers were able to respond to this emergency. HOWEVER, they did a lousy job of communicating this to the runners waiting at the start. The only loudspeakers present were at the actual starting line. Folks right near the front knew what was going on, but I was in the 3:45-4:15 corral, fairly near the front, and I heard none of the announcements regarding the reroute - and did not know that the course was going to be longer than 26.2. The course starts and finishes on the riverfront in downtown Cincinnati. There are rolling hills throughout (including 3 bridges early in the race), and a big climb (300+ feet) between miles 7-10. There is also a fair amount of concrete pavement - especially early in the race. There are around 5,000 folks running the full marathon, a few thousand marathon relay runners, and also 7,500 running the half-marathon, which starts at the same place/time. It was a packed start, which doesn't really thin out for about 5 miles. The first few miles take you over the Ohio River, a quick jaunt through Northern Kentucky, and then back into Ohio. The view from the bridges is awesome. After a mercifully brief run through an industrial area, you shoot through the middle of downtown Cincinnati (tons of spectators!). Eventually you climb your way into a beautiful park overlooking the river, and then through a number of diverse, tree-lined residential neighborhoods, before doing a short stretch on a freeway shoulder(around mile 18), and finish with about 5 miles on a road which parallels the river. The final mile is packed with cheering crowds (as well as a short steep climb before a slight downhill home stretch). The finish (Finish Swine) is very spectator-friendly, and adjacent to a huge, grassy, riverfront park. At the finish, I was greeted by a cheerful woman in a flying pig costume, and personally congratulated by the race director. Chip removal was somewhat disorganized (a few more volunteers would have been helpful), but not overly congested. There were tons of free post-race refreshments (ice cream, fruit, frozen yogurt, chips, bagels, pretzels, cookies), live music, plus lots of food for the friends and family - including free hot dogs. There is a fair amount of live music along the course, including Elvis (or someone who kind of looked like him), a men's chorus at the top of the big hill, singing "Climb Every Mountain," and a variety of bands, DJ's, and impromptu performances. Water, Gatorade, gel, etc. are abundant along the course. The volunteers (wearing "grunt" t-shirts) were universally enthusiastic. This city loves its marathon, and the residents really show their support and community spirit. The spectator support is excellent! There are a only a few dead stretches (mostly during miles 20-25), but compared to other races I've run, the crowds are big and enthusiastic. Having several relay hand-off points through the race adds to the buzz. I ran with my name printed on my shirt, and heard it called out literally hundreds of times. Some folks complain about the inclusion of relay runners, but I appreciate having them. It's nice to have some fresh runners to pace you through the last half of the race, many of whom are having their first marathon experience. There was some confusion regarding the quarter mile of distance added to the race. Though this was ultimately resolved probably as best it could, extra distance is part of the official distance for this event and your official time. They did provide a means for you to calculate approximately what you would have run for the 26.2-mile distance. The directors could have done a better job of letting runners know ASAP that there were problems with the distance, and that they were working on resolving it. Instead, there was 24 hours of post-race confusion among those who ran. Also, they have an excellent, easy-to-navigate website, with some of the best maps I've seen (though the elevation chart is smoothed out and doesn't really show the extent of the rolling hills). This is a hilly course. Overall, this is an awesome event. The community enthusiastically embraces the whole marathon weekend - there's excitement, and fun, in the air! If you have a short list of gotta-do-it marathons, this should definitely be included. |
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