The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon is a 42.28-kilometre (26.27 mi) race run the 1st Sunday of every May in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first run in 1999. 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 usually 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 30,408 in 2011.
The 2006 overall male winner was Cecil Franke with a course record time of 2:20:25. The 2002 overall female winner was Tatyana Pozdnyakova with a course record time 2:34:35.
The 2011 race was notable for a blind runner winning the women's division.
In order to run in the Flying Pig Full Marathon, one must be eighteen years or older on the date of the marathon. However, individuals under eighteen years of age with a permission slip signed by their parents, as well as a signed waiver, may run in the full marathon.
Famous quotes containing the words flying, pig and/or marathon:
“It is a happy thing that there is no royal road to poetry. The world should know by this time that one cannot reach Parnassus except by flying thither.”
—Gerard Manley Hopkins (18441889)
“To market, to market, to buy a fat pig;
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fine hog;
Home again, home again, joggety jog.”
—Unknown. To Market, to Market, to Buy a Fat Pig (l. 14)
“... marathon swimming is the most difficult physical, intellectual and emotional battleground I have encountered, and each time I win, each time I touch the other shore, I feel worthy of any other challenge life has to offer.”
—Diana Nyad (b. 1949)