Flying Pig Marathon report! :)

Flying Pig is not just the marathon, it’s the whole weekend!

Friday morning, Tonya and I went to deliver race flyers for the September race that she’s co-race director for. One of the running stores is called Runners Depot, and it’s on the Loveland hike/bike trail – a beautiful location!

Next stop – the Flying Pig Marathon expo. I picked up my race packet (and souvenirs, of course!) and we enjoyed seeing how much was there. This is the 10th year for Flying Pig, so more people and a bigger expo – very fun. There are decorated flying pig sculptures all over the place:
(Notice the flying piggy balloons behind our heads.)

That evening, Tonya and Gerry had a dinner/concert, so I got to have pizza with Tonya’s mom and dad, and then we went bowling. It was pouring down rain when we went in the bowling alley, but it was a bright sunset when we went home. It was not the “red at night, sailor’s delight” sunset, but we were sure hoping the weather forecast for Saturday would at least be less rain!

It wasn’t – it was pouring on Saturday. So my morning devotion/prayer time was for the runners to have good runs no matter what, and for good weather Sunday morning for the marathon. I have run many races and training runs in the rain – I really, really like warm and dry better!

We had friends running the 5K and 10K races, plus we wanted to watch the elementary school-age kids do their final mile. Many of the schools and classes have had their kids running here and there for the last 10 weeks, and this day’s mile would make 26.2 total. They had made special shirts for the kids, they kept track of their miles using a “Hog Log” (and nutrition), there were getting special medals for their marathon. They were running in the pouring rain, and loving it!

When the 10K ended, it was just misty. It started raining hard again for the 5K. Next pic is the 5K winner. It was raining so hard for the kids run that I didn't take the camera out of my pocket!

The spectators got wet, too, but it was all a good kind of wet. It was warmer than Oregon rain! We decided that we were dry enough under the rain jackets to go to the expo (Tonya was looking for Steve Prefontaine memorabilia) and we met Gerry’s sister, Charlotte, and friend, Vicky, there. Turns out Charlotte and I share a b’day! Then it was back to Tonya’s to relax till pasta supper time.

We had pasta at the Runners World forum’s traditional place, Buca di Beppo. We filled several tables – here are some pictures:

Sunday morning, the race was to start at 6:30, and we were doing a RW forum photo shoot at 6:00. So getting up early enough to get ready and get downtown to park at Paul Brown Stadium meant getting up at 3:00am. Eastern time. That’s midnight Pacific time! I was starting to get used to Eastern time, but it was still early, especially with the light sleep that always happens the night before a marathon.

It was chilly at the start, but CLEAR – that’s good! We were in section A in the stadium, with indoor restrooms – and the restrooms were heated. With hot water for washing hands, so nice! Just before 6:00, we walked a long, switchbacked ramp to get to Gate D, for the morning photos. The flash shows all the reflective striping on clothes and shoes.
When we started down to the start area, I was able to share my throw-away gloves with Gloria. I had stuck them back in my jacket pocket after Wenatchee’s snow! We were getting separated in the crowds, but I was able to start with Indra and Antoine (sp?), and we were waiting to start. We couldn’t hear any loudspeaker announcements, starting in the middle/back, but the race start time had gone by. One of the guys next to us joked that we may be waiting for one of the elite runners? Turns out that there was a huge 3-alarm fire late on the marathon course that morning, and several families lost their homes. They were able to work out a detour, instead of delaying the start until mid-morning (and with how warm it turned out that day, the extra .2 miles on the detour was just fine). So we’re talking, and waiting, and talking, and waiting, and the sky is getting lighter. Then BOOM! Sounded like a cannon started us. We cheered, but of course couldn’t start right away with that crowd. Looking ahead, though, they started the race with fireworks!

I took lots of pictures during the race – no, they are not all here! And I wore the pic in memory of Rachel again, too. The first miles go into Kentucky, then back to Ohio before mile 4. The run down Seventh was fun – crowds cheering on both sides of the street, it was like we were the parade. There’s a castle near where the hill starts, it’s a TV/radio/media office.

The hill to Eden Park is a hill, but it’s not that bad of a hill. It’s shady and beautiful going up. At the very top we run along the river overlook, definitely a walk break for pictures. And this is where the men’s choir sings wonderful barbershop acapella, too.

The view at the top is glorious!

Tonya and Gerry had left at the start and gone up to almost mile 9, the beautiful church where the ½ marathoners split off from the full marathon and the relay. Great cheering! Lots of neighborhood running the next few miles. Lots of people out cheering for us, wonderful support at the aid stations, and lots of music. There’s a section where we go out, do a short loop at a place called Mariemount, then back through the neighborhood on the other side of the street (big, green median in the middle). Then, coming out of that neighborhood, we go a short distance on a bike/hike trail.

Soon we’re running along the highway, back towards Cincinnati. I took a picture of what used to be Bob’s Big Boy (different name than Bob now). I remember those restaurants from when I was a kid growing up in OH!

Now, those of us in the middle and back at the start hadn’t heard about a detour, so when they routed us down to the river bike/hike trail in the park area, we thought it was the original route – and it was a lot shadier and prettier than just running down the street!

Lots of meaningful signs on the course!

I had to get a picture at mile 24 – the clock had just turned to 4:44, and so I asked a gentleman to take my picture when the seconds got to 44, too. There were lots of people running with pig ears and tails, but there were some in different costumes, too. The shark runner was sweating up a storm, and the hospital patient runner had a costume suited for the warm day.

Finish line ahead! Tonya and Gerry got my pic when I was almost there. The new finish is on Pete Rose Way, just before the underpass part (where we used to go all the way around then finish in the park). This is nice, for it’s shady at the finish (or dry, if it’s raining) and makes a good finish area for mylar blankets, chip removal, bananas, WATER. J Then the finisher area on the park side had the decorated pigs, and all kinds of goodies, from ice cream cups to fruity rice chips (I saved my peach mango chips for the airplane coming back – that was a treat!). And photos in front of patriotic banners. Then outside the finisher area were more treats and family fun stuff. We walked down the park and back, for after running the marathon, walking helps keep things from stiffening up right away. Yes, you will get stiff and ‘walk like a marathoner’, but walking is how to loosen up after sitting for any length of time.

The FE victory party was fun -- perfect day to run, then relax and enjoy friends and food afterwards!

Next morning, Fran met Tonya and me at the airport for breakfast. Then we were both off on our trips home. What a fun weekend!

Next big run, the 50K!