If you hang around long enough with people that run a lot of marathons, you are bound to hear about The Pig. I’d heard about it. I had few expectations. I did it. Here are my thoughts.

Race: 2026 Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH

Time of Year and Weather: First Sunday in May. Great weather, basically perfect – sunny and 40-50s. (So glad because it apparently rained last year and I was not in the mood for that!)

Size: This is a big race. Not huge but big. There are events the whole weekend involving 45,000 runners, about 6000 of whom do the full marathon.

The Course: This is a road race on rolling hills starting and ending in downtown Cincinnati. I goes over a bridge to Kentucky, and then back through Cincinnati neighborhoods. Pretty crowded for the first 9ish miles when all racers are together, thinning out a bit after the full runners split off (but still never alone or close to it).

Getting There and Logistics: This race was very easy logistically. I had been in Florida the week leading up to the race for work, so I flew to Cincinnati on Saturday midday. In an ideal world, I would have flown earlier in the morning on Saturday or even maybe on Friday night to be able to really get a feel for Cincinnati (more on that below), but this is the schedule that made sense for this trip. Fortunately there was a direct flight and the airport is relatively close to the city itself. I stayed in downtown Cincinnati at The Cincinnatian. It was nice but there were several other options right in the same area which I’m sure are all fine. The hotel was walking distance to the expo and to the start line, so I left the hotel at maybe 6:10 for a 6:30 am start. Not bad.

Swag and Support: OK, I get it. This is why this race is legendary. Nearly every foot of this race was lined with supporters cheering and holding their flags. The vibe was very positive. First timer marathoners had little signs on them so folks could give them extra encouragement. The aid stops had funny pig-related pun names and many had fun treats such as jelly beans, Coke, bacon (no vegetarian alt at that one unfortunately so skipped!). Of course the stops had Gatorade and water, and some also had gels. However, if I can split some hairs: I found the aid stations including the themed ones to be very short and so it was easy to run past without registering what was being given away (I missed the Coke because I wasn’t willing to go backwards). A few times I wanted Gatorade but was not on the correct side and wasn’t able to cross runner traffic in time to get the goods. Fortunately they were every mile, so I just grabbed at the next one, but it was a bit annoying since my race strategy was to Gatorade at each stop. In addition, THE BATHROOMS. Y’all. I don’t know what was going on. There were portapotties at the start but for my corral the doors opened directly onto a major thoroughfare of people walking to all the different start corrals. The line was long and it was just a bit chaotic. On the course was even worse, with lines at the first MANY portapotties, not just the first or first and second stops. At mile 6 or so I finally HAD to stop for a pee and it ended up adding 5 mins to that mile. Expo was moderate sized, a little disappointing in terms of samples given P&G and Kroger are big sponsors of the race. No KT taping but they had some compression machine people and free hair braiding (I didn’t wait in line but sort of wanted to!). Runners got a shirt, a towel, and something else I cannot remember because I didn’t get – seemed like more junk (for lack of a better word) that I didn’t need and couldn’t fit in my suitcase. After the race was a nice afterparty scene in a lovely park. I got stretched out by the local physical therapists and grabbed some Graeter’s ice cream (for sale) along with my Kroger snack bag.

How It Went: I had no time goal for this race, as I’d really just planned to stay chill over the winter while “training”, and I knew this race course was not a great option for a PR. My longest run ended up being… 12 miles. Some of those long runs were stacked with tennis, but it’s not quite the same. I also had some intense ski days ;). But in there I had the flu for a SOLID two weeks and various other illnesses, injuries (all tennis-induced) and distractions. If you want a sense of my training, you can see that I PR’d every distance for the year IN THE ACTUAL MARATHON!

So, yeah, my plan was to just fuel well and get the distance done in Ohio. AND I DID THAT! I executed a proper carb load the two days leading up to the race and started the morning with Pop Tarts and Gatorade. I had CLIF Blocs and Gatorade during. I ran throughout and did negative splits (except for the aforementioned pee break). I finished feeling fine. I incurred no injuries. Success! Official time was 4:31:20. Big goals coming next, but this one is checked off.

Thoughts on Cincinnati: I know this trip did not do justice to Cincinnati. My schedule was tough with work travel, and I decided not to bring my family with me which I regretted starting about a week before the race. Because the start and finish are located in downtown Cincinnati, and that’s where I stayed, I really did not get to get a good feel for the city or its vibes. A business downtown is a business downtown. Not a lot of character, retail, the better restaurants, etc. If I were re-doing it, I would absolutely prioritize a trip to the Cincinnati Zoo, which is considered one of the better zoos in the country. I would also explore some of the neighborhoods with more character – I feel like I got a taste for some during the run which was nice but obviously I wasn’t really able to enjoy them. I would also go to a cool restaurant such as Abigail Street which admittedly I had a reservation for Saturday night but couldn’t muster enough energy to walk to, so cancelled. Here’s what I did find though:

• Skyline Chili – vegetarian version. OK so I went to the expo right after check-in at the hotel and then beelined it for the nearby outpost of Skyline Chili, a Cincinnati classic. Unfortunately, the downtown location was closed as of 2 pm. Oof but I decided maybe it was for the best in terms of belly health during the marathon on Sunday. So I decided I’d head there right after the race the next day instead. When I finished the race, there was a Skyline booth at the post-race celebration, but they didn’t have vegetarian options, so I walked back to the actual brick and mortar. CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!!! ARGH. I gave up and summoned my Uber, hoping that the airport Skyline would be open and have vegetarian options. PHEW. Success. And I can I admit that it was MUCH better than I expected? I got a three way – spaghetti, vegetarian rice and beans (instead of chili), and cheese. I got the smaller size and it was still way more than I could eat!

• After finding the Skyline closed on Saturday, I needed to pivot so walked up to the trendy (?) Over the Rhine and ducked into what Google told me was an open option was decent vegetarian options: Onolicious. This was a Hawaiian restaurant that offered some nice options including Hawaiian rolls (yes, carbload), virgin daiquiris, and loco moco made with an Impossible Burger. Tasted great – a little salty maybe but I was ok with extra electrolytes – and an easy, cute setting. I’d recommend!

• I also had Graeter’s on my Cincinnati bucket list and was pleasantly surprised to see a Graeter’s truck at the finish area. Easy peasy. Maybe not the best ice cream in the world (opinions differ) but did the trick.

Bottom Line: I understand why some people really love this race. Great atmosphere and crowd support, enjoyable route. For me, there were a few nits on execution and a wish for more local flavor in the host area — it was a Like It.