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.)
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| At the Cincinnati Airport! |
I got into Cincinnati early enough to make it to the Expo Friday evening.
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| Lots of pig balloons! |
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| And pig statues! |
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| Every marathoner had their name written on the Flying Pig car |
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| The corner of Fifth and Elm Streets |
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| 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!
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| The starting line |
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| The Flying Piglet races |
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| A play structure at Smale Park |
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| Can you beat it? |
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| 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 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.
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| Overlooking the Ohio from the highest point of the marathon route |
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| Pre-race pasta dinner! |
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| Our waitress' Flying Pig makeup :) |
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| 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!
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| Todd's screenshot of the weather at the start of the race (in Celcius) |
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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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