Tuesday, May 9, 2023

The 2023 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

Running Update:

5/7/23  26.2 mi 4:58:22 (Ugh!)

Oh my, what a weekend!  It had everything!

    The Good--reuniting with friends and meeting new ones, and experiencing Cincinnati in all its Flying Pig glory.

    The Bad—the hills.  Oh, the hills!

    And the Ugly—thunderstorms for almost the entire marathon!


Here’s the recap:

Friday

The weekend was off to a promising start as I was greeted at the airport by a Flying Pig!  (For an explanation of how the marathon got its name, see my post from earlier this year.)

At the Cincinnati Airport!

I got into Cincinnati early enough to make it to the Expo Friday evening.

Lots of pig balloons!

And pig statues!




Every marathoner had their name written on the Flying Pig car





The corner of Fifth and Elm Streets

I bought a souvenir for Jane :)


Saturday

I milled around the Family Fun Festival at Smale Park right on the Ohio River.  Saturday’s events included:

. the 10K race

. the 5K race

. the Flying Piglet for younger kids.  Depending on their age, the kids covered different distances, from 100 yards for 6-7 year olds down to a 15 foot crawl for those under 1!

. the 26th Mile for older kids, who ran one mile to cross the marathon’s actual finish line

. PigAbilities, a one mile walk/run/roll through the finish line for people living with disabilities

. and the Flying Fur, a 2-mile dog-and-human walk/run!


The starting line

The Flying Piglet races

A play structure at Smale Park


Can you beat it?

A view of the Ohio River and the Roebling Suspension Bridge into Kentucky

The half marathon, full marathon, and marathon relay were reserved for Sunday.

 I saw So. Many. Pig. Costumes.








I also met Dr Elliott Robinson.  Dr Robinson is a neurobiologist who runs a research lab at Cincinnati Children’sHospital studying, among other things, cognitive problems in NF1.  He not only manned the Children’s Tumor Foundation information booth at the Family Festival on Saturday, he ran the marathon for CTF on Sunday!



Saturday afternoon I met up with my friend Janet, who lives in Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati.  I first met Janet while running the Boston Marathon for CTF back in 2013!  We’ve kept in touch ever since, and for years she’s been trying to get me to experience the Flying Pig.  She showed me around Cincinnati and even drove me through the marathon route so I’d know what to expect.  I had known the course was hilly, but seeing the hills in person helped me to mentally prepare for them.

Overlooking the Ohio from the highest point of the marathon route

Pre-race pasta dinner!

Our waitress' Flying Pig makeup :)

Back at my hotel that night, I tried to get a good night's sleep.
Gear check.  Note the rain poncho to the left.


Sunday

Oh, the weather!  Not just pouring rain, but thunder and lightning for 19 of the 26.2 miles!

Todd's screenshot of the weather at the start of the race (in Celcius)


A photo from mile 3 of the race, posted on a local news site.
We had to run 23 more miles from this point!

After just the first mile, I wondered why the race wasn’t being postponed, but I figured it must be safe if the race officials were proceeding.  It turns out they did issue a “shelter in place” recommendation, but those of us who were already on the course didn’t receive it!

From the local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer: www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2023/05/07/heres-why-the-flying-pig-went-ahead-with-the-race-despite-bad-weather

And from the local TV station, WCPO: www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/despite-weather-flying-pig-marathon-continues 

I can’t say it was fun to run that day.  With each step my feet squished in my shoes and I felt like I was carrying an extra gallon of water in my clothes.  However, as miserable as the conditions were, there were still lots of die-hard spectators to cheer us on.  Each mile of the race route had multiple stations set up by local groups offering support and entertainment.  Pig puns abounded!

. There was a Bacon Station where a community church gave out strips of bacon.

. The Greased Pig Station run by a local Boy Scout troop supplied Vaseline (for our chafing).

. A high school lacrosse team had the Pigskin Station in which marathoners could throw a football into a basket as they ran by.

. The Hogwash Station had intended to provide mists of water to cool down the runners, but because of the conditions instead offered dry towels.

. And there were so many snack offerings!  There was the Hogs and Kisses Station (giving out Hershey’s Kisses), the Girl Snout Cookie Station, the Pork n Beans Station (for jelly beans), the Pigkle Station (for pickle juice!  Some claim it’s better than Gatorade!), and the Pig Newton Station, to name only a few.

By the time I reached the finish line (or rather, the “Finish Swine”) the rain had stopped and the clouds were starting to break up.  What a relief to be done!

The medal



Afterwards I headed straight to the CTF post-race booth to meet up with my teammates who I hadn’t been able to catch before the race.

There I met the Samblanet Family.  Jessica is the vice chair of the CTF Volunteer Leadership Council, of which I’m a member.  Her husband Brett ran the marathon this year!  Their daughter lives with NF.  (In a funny turn, Brett encountered my friend Janet in the starting corral of the race when she recognized and commented on his CTF shirt.)

I also met Caitlin Ottesen who, among many other CTF activities, organizes the Cincinnati Cupid’s Undie Run for CTF, which raised over $50,000 in 2023 alone!  Her son lives with NF.

Myself, Elliott Robinson, and Caitlin Ottesen

Finally, I met Chuck Dolish and his family.  I have known Chuck for many years as a member of the NF Endurance Team, but I had never met him in person.  Chuck himself lives with NF, and runs the Flying Pig Marathon every year, among many other races.  This was his thirtieth marathon for CTF!


Myself and Chuck Dolish on either side of Chuck''s pig-clad nephew!

For myself, this was my 20th marathon.  In 2023 to date we have raised $10,226 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation.  Feel free to keep the donations coming!  

www.KRath4Jane.com

Trying to dry my running gear in the hotel room after the race


Jane Update:

Jane and I head to NIH for her semi-annual check-up in a little over a week.  It always seems to come up so quickly.

 

NF Update:

A sad ending to this post, but it illuminates why I do all that I do in this blog.  Nick Gilbert, 26 year old NF Hero and son of Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, lost his life to complications from NF this week.  The Gilbert Family has donated millions upon millions of dollars towards NF research.  Our heart breaks for this family.  And so I’ll carry on racing for an end to NF.

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