If you were up early and out and about Saturday morning in Covington, Newport, or downtown, you probably ran into a traffic jam. No, not the kind that regularly afflicts the highways and byways in the area.
Instead, I am talking about the one on the sidewalks, as hundreds of runners looped around the cities, across the bridges, and up and down the hills into Eden Park, preparing for the opportunity to do it again in three weeks.
This was the weekend when those training for the Flying Pig Marathon hit their high mileage runs. For those training for the half-marathon, it meant a grueling 12 miles along most of the course. For those planning to run the full 26.2 miles, it meant a 22-mile run, the route of which was too exhausting to contemplate.
But many not only considered it, but completed it. It’s just another long run to allow them to fulfill a dream — some for the first time, others hardened veterans — of being able to call yourself a marathoner.
Sean Noll of Edgewood, Theresa Baker of Independence, and Robert Pruett of Florence at the Flying Pig water stop somewhere far, far away in Cincinnati. They were running a training course of 22 miles on Saturday and appreciated the extra effort by Flying Pig organizers and volunteers. (Photo provided, taken by Karen Emark Minzner:)
And they plan to do it at their hometown proud Flying Pig Marathon, scheduled this year for the weekend of May 1 to May 3.
“I have run the Pig many times since it began, from being on relay teams to half marathons, and this year I will be doing the three-way,” said Corine LeMaster Pitts of Erlanger, describing a challenge to run a 5K and 10K on Saturday, May 2, and the half-marathon the next day.
“In my 38 years of running, it is still one of my favorite races. I love that it’s in the Tristate, and how much support there is along the course. So many people are out there even when the weather is bad, and even though the course is hard, they always make it fun.”
Ah yes, the weather. This is early May in the Ohio River valley, after all, so one never knows what to expect. A few years ago, it was edging into the 80s when the starting gun went off at dawn. A few hours later, while many were still running, it hit 90 degrees, with equally high humidity.
Of course, many runners remember times when it was in the 30s and raining — hard, cold thunderstorms during the long hours on the course.
And that course is considered challenging enough to bring in elite runners from across the country. It begins just outside Paul Brown Stadium before quickly making its way across the Taylor-Southgate Bridge into Newport, through Covington and back to Cincinnati across the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. It then heads through downtown before hitting the devastatingly steep hill of Gilbert Avenue, where it winds its way through the beauty of Eden Park. From there, it takes a tour of the eastern Cincinnati neighborhoods, up to Mariemont, where it heads back downtown along Columbia Parkway and the Ohio River.
“Each mile has its own personality,” said Mary Kay Chuey, with the Runners’ Club of Greater Cincinnati. “(Its) sunrise from the bridge, the sea of runners crossing into Covington, the struggle for the next four miles… the Eden Park fountain, Elvis at the Krohn, the Lake Drive view… and Mariemont — the town that parties and cheers in the rain. My fave is the wet towel stop at the water works, because that means I’ve made it and the next stop is all medal.”
Silver medalist Traci Falbo of Charlestown, Ind.; gold medalist Katalin Nagy of Sarasota, Fla.; and bronze medalist Maria Jansson of Sweden on the podium after the 24-Hour World Championship race in Italy. (Photo by Dylan Abrons Armajani)
The medal is the reward given to all who finish the race. And that finish line — or the Finish Swine, in the local lingo — makes it all worthwhile.
“Especially for the full marathon, where you can hear that crowd about a mile away, it’s such a welcome sound and motivator after those lonely and quiet riverside miles,” said Em Fremen of Fort Thomas, a veteran of the marathon game.
“Oh! And I love how responsive the race director and crew are to local runners both throughout the race and outside of it. They set up water stops and small cheering locations on Saturday mornings for all the people out running and training. This past year they took that ‘dead zone’ of Riverside Drive and set up cheering sections along it. They really go out of their way to make this an event that embodies how runners are with each other: welcoming and encouraging and supportive.”
It’s a race that even people who don’t run or even know any runners come out to watch, support and cheer. Spectators line the course from beginning to end, with groups competing to set up water stops and other amenities for the runners.
And most of all, for those who run and those who attend, it is a hometown race.
“If you live here and you run, then you must run the full or half pig,” said James Simon of Fort Thomas. “It’s like eating at LaRosa’s, Graeter’s and Montgomery Inn. Plus, there’s the swag and the brag.”
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Speaking of the swag and the brag, both local runners did extraordinarily well at the 24-Hour World Championship race in Torino, Italy, this past week. Indeed, the U.S. women’s team took the overall gold medal, along with the individual gold and silver medals. Traci Falbo of Charlestown, Indiana, whom I wrote about a few weeks ago, was the silver medalist. She ran 239.74 kilometers — that’s nearly 146 miles — over the 24 hours.
Cincinnatian Harvey Lewis going strong with about 45 minutes left in the 24-Hour World Championship race. (Photo provided, taken by Kelly O’Dell:)
Harvey Lewis of Cincinnati finished ninth among the men, while running 255.47 kilometers — nearly 159 miles — about three-quarters of a mile behind U.S. teammate Rich Riopel of Morganville, New Jersey. The U.S. men’s team missed a bronze medal by a mere 4.5 kilometers over the daylong race — that’s less than a mile for each of the top three finishers on each country’s team.
And it certainly did not come easy. The course was two kilometers long. It was partly on a stadium track, and partly on nearby roads — with a hill and a sharp hairpin turn on every lap. Runners started at 4 a.m. our time on Saturday, and finished 24 hours later. During the night, a fire started somewhere inside the track.
“I really have to to say that every single one of our men’s and women’s athletes really impressed me with their perseverance and support of one another,” Lewis said on Facebook after the race. “I really wanted to represent and run for all my friends and people who sent encouragement … and it meant the most to me to be a part of an event that brings nations of the world together.
“That race was so tough. It was like going a round with Muhammad Ali over and over and over — relentless and continual pounding,” he said. “It was a tough course due to the hill and many turns, but that may have helped me. Thanks for all the messages and support. It’s deeply appreciated.”
Paul Long, on the road (Photo by Kris Payler Staverman)
Paul Long writes weekly for the NKyTribune about running and runners. For his daily running stories, follow him at dailymile.com or on Twitter @Pogue57
