A little history of Flying Pig Marathon:

The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon is a 26.2 mile race run the 1st Sunday of every May in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the 3rd largest first-time marathon in the United States, and had nearly 5000 finishers in 2008. An official time from the Flying Pig Marathon can be used to qualify for the Boston Marathon. While the course varies from year to year, it generally involves running through downtown, Northern Kentucky, and eastern suburbs along the Ohio River. In recent years, it has included a 5K race, a 10K race, and a half-marathon in addition to the traditional marathon race. The 5K and 10K run on the day before the marathon. The half-marathon starts and finishes at the same locations as the full marathon, and runs on the same day as the full marathon. Total participation for all weekend events exceeded 22,000 in 2008.

The 2006 overall winner was Cecil Franke with a course record time of 2:20:25. The female winner that year was Norah Shire, who achieved a time of 2:56:19.

In order to run in the Flying Pig Full Marathon, one must be eighteen years or older on the date of the marathon. However, if one under eighteen years old has a permission slip signed by their parents as well as a signed waiver, they may run in the full marathon.

The Flying Pig Marathon contains both a Clydesdale and Athena division. These are special divisions for "Muscular" runners. The Clydesdale division has two categories: one for men between 200-219 lbs. and one for 220+ lbs. The Athena division is for women over 140 lbs. All Clydesdale and Athena participants must be weighed in at the Health and Fitness Expo to verify their registration.

1,900 people ran in this year's 5K and 1,588 ran in the 10K.

With the threat of severe weather a possibility, event organizers identified shelters along the route that runners will be able to make use of should it become necessary.

"We are also providing at the finish line extra mylar blankets and relay buses that are on-call that could come back down if we would have to warm people up," said Iris Simpson-Bush, executive director of the Flying Pig.

The cool, wet weather was ideal for many runners who don't run later in the day in an effort to avoid overheating.

Race organizers hope to see between 16,000 and 18,000 people on the Flying Pig course Sunday.






Tags: flying pig marathon,