Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

This was a really unexpected race in many ways. I really only wanted to follow up my full marathon in January with a "B" or "C" run race to keep the legs strong in prep for Muncie 70.3 in July. I didnt have a specific time goal, but thought anything under 1:50 would be a good time for me on this course. I knew that much of the race course was located in the hills around Cincinnati, but had never run them. I also chose not to drive the course, as sometimes I enjoy the thrill of not knowing what is around the next corner. The hills on Gilbert through Eden Park were challenging, but manageable and I seemed to get through them well. Training on hills for this race is probably mandatory, and without adding some hill specific training, the race could be pretty painful.

The early miles (1-5) clicked off quickly. Three bridges in all over the water. The view from the bridges would have been interesting, if it wasnt so dark. Once back in Cincinnati, there was great fan support on 8th street. I always have to watch my pace, as the adrenaline kicks up with all the people cheering. I just kept telling myself to hold off on the pace as the hills are ahead. The incline actually starts on 8th street and continues up Gilbert. I started talking with a woman (Amy) near the bottom of the Gilbert hill who had run the half Pig before, and also the full. We kind of helped each other through the tough part of the hills and kept a decent pace going. We both had a simliar goal time around 1:45. At about mile 9 we realized that goal was probably out the window and I told her if she felt like going for it not to let me hold her back. She went on ahead, but I appreciated the company as it seemed to help.

Once I was able to make it past the 10 mile marker, I let things unwind a bit as the downhill was very welcomed. Pace felt comfortably hard but it seemed like I was starting to be passed by folks just before Central Pkwy, maybe they had good momentum off the downhill section. Anyway, made my way back to Pete Rose Way and figured there was about 0.5 mile remaining once you turn off of Eggleston. There is a small incline to overcome which keeps you from being able to see the finish, but once over that I gave it all I had through the finish. I heard the MC call my name and town then grabbed a water, mylar blanket and the flying pig medal. Didn't expect to finish with such a good time, so that was cool.

Hats off to those who completed the full-mary Pig course, that would be a tough one.

Not much. Performed better than I anticipated given my priority on this race. Top 6.7% overall, top 14.5% agegroup (M35-39).

Made my way through the finishing area and into the refreshment/food section. This race had a great amount of food/recovery/snacks. I got in line to get a picture with my medal, as all of my race pictures end up sucking, but thought to give a try anyway. We shall see.

Walked back to the car, which was a little bit of a hike. It was good to keep moving. Once at the car I did some stretching and changed before driving the 1hr back home.


Probably should have put in more training miles. I kept a base of about 10miles (long run) since Jan, so that probably helped. This was a lower priority race, but ended up pushing pretty hard. All in all, I probably should have put in a 12 or 14 miler in training.


This was a challenging course, but I felt prepared for the hills so I ranked it "just right". I would highly recommend adding some hill training if you are interested in this race. It seemed like there was a water/gatorade station around every turn with plenty of volunteers. Crowd support was good, but rain probably kept many away. Police did a nice job with the road closures. Oh and the race swag is at the top end of the scale from my experience (killer medal, poster, backpack, recovery food). I highly recommend this one.