US 2014 (ii): May the 4th be with me - Flying Pig Marathon

Disclaimer: I can't guarantee for this entry to be free of porcine DNA *lol*

It has come to no one's surprise that I participated in a marathon while I was in the States. After crying wolf for the previous European vacations, the only question that played in people's mind was 'Which one?'. For me, until I see and cross that dreaded finish line, only then I could claim to joining and completing one.  It'd be anti-climactic and frustrating if I did tell people I would be joining a marathon race, only to DNS/DNF it. There's no fun in that. Of course if that did occur, it would not make my vacation any less fantastic.  But there are always the questions of What if's? Just like when I didn't manage to get to the Mount Kinabalu's peak a couple of years because of a series of setbacks. What Mount Kinabalu climb you might ask? See, I would've blogged about it if I had successfully climbed to the top. LOL! Anyways... :)

It would be my first US marathon. I didn't take part in one back in 2012 because of a nagging injury. What else is new right? Hehe. I've got to know of the Flying Pig Marathon from Sila. She knew that I had done Roma and Barcelona in the past few years, so she had been suggesting Flying Pig all these years due to the close proximity to her house.  I can't go the States without visiting her and family. If not, all hell will break lose. Right Sila? :D Well, she never really needs to twist my arm or anything. I come on my own free will. On top of that she and her family are ever so welcoming ;) Of course having them around prior to the marathon multiplied the butterflies in my system but I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus they carbo-loaded me nicely for the marathon. Haha. Sila, the breaded chicken could have given me a much better timing :D

At the Expo

If you need to learn the history behind the Flying Pig, you should then check out their website. Pretty much everything revolves around the pig theme.  The corrals are aptly named Pig Pens.  'Finish Swine' replaces, of course, the "Finish Line". There's also the Pigcasso artwork.

Pigcasso (taken from flyingpigstore.com)

Sila was super kind to drive me to downtown Cincinnati to pickup my race kit, drop me off before the marathon, drive back home and come back to pick me up after the marathon.  We joked that she had maxed out on her 'visit to Cincinnati' yearly quota in one weekend. Haha.

I was assigned Pig Pen F since I had entered 5 hours as my expected marathon finish time in the registration form. This was located quite a distance from the starting line so much so that we were in an underpass and near the electrical plant :D No biggie.

The Paul Brown stadium

The party started early

Pig Pen F

Everyone's here - full marathon, half marathon and relay runners

At 6:30am, we were flagged off.  I wasn't familiar with Cincinnati or Newport, so I didn't really know where I was at for most of the race. Good thing I was in the middle of the pack, so I just followed the crowd. I do know though that we crossed the bridge and ran in Newport, Kentucky for the first 3 miles.

Course map from the official website

Some people are still waiting for the porta potties

You were not wrong

A Sunday morning stroll to the Start line

And we're off!

The first mile mark before crossing the bridge to Newport, KY

As we reached the 5-mile mark and closing on to the Horseshoe Casino, that was when we started to get hit with heavy doses of rolling hills. One guy wearing a bright pink (costume) pig tail quipped "It's all going downhill from here!" Prior to that he kept saying he was pretty subconscious because people were staring at his butt :D

It's all going downhill from here

At the top of Eden Park, we were presented with an awesome view overlooking the Ohio River.

A very welcoming sight

Two thumbs up -- Still in high spirits :)

At the 9th mile, the course came to a fork that separated the Half marathon and Full marathon runners.

The day was slightly overcast for two thirds of the race, which was awesome. I was feeling great and on pace to break the sub-5 hour timing.  But for the last 10K or so, the sun decided to make an appearance and made its presence felt.  At one point of the race, I was alternating between running and walking from one cone to another. PB or no PB, I'd still claim that runner's high at the Finish Swine.  Looking back at the course map earlier, I didn't realize that we were that close to the Ohio River during that last stretch.  I guess I was pretty occupied then :D

Light at the end of the tunnel

The race director?

Can't get rid of the camera, can I?

I finally beat the 5-hour mark... after 7 attempts! Oh, what a feeling! Alhamdulillah! Now I could officially start my vacation and pig out (pun intended).

All smiles!

These are the stats I obtained from the WLWT website
- Full marathon starters: 4,731

- Half marathon starters: 12,422

- Total tunners for all race categories:  >36,000, which represented all 50 states and 19 countries. Malaysia was represented of course!


Sure, it's not as big as other major marathons but I loved it.  The official water and Gatorade stations were aplenty. The volunteers, crowd and community came out in droves and were amazing. Kids were high-fiving. Some setup their own stations and handed out snacks like M&Ms, cookies and other candies. Some offered beer. Not the kids mind you :D

I couldn't remember all of the creative signs and costumes by the crowd and runners. But a guy dressed in Pope outfit and gave blessing to us runners and a Jesse Pinkman sign with the tag line "Run bitch!" stuck out the most in my mind.  As the guy was yelling out the phrase, his girlfriend stopped him short by saying, "You cannot say it like that". Haha.

All in all it was a terrific event. Crazy hills and all. Now bring out Stewart's Key Limes and pints of ice cream! :)

A decent second half really helped me out

(taken from flyingpigstore.com)

The Finisher's medal