Cincinnati

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon – Teddy B

Race: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

Runner: Teddy

Date: 5/7/17

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Results – 2:51:03, 18th overall out of 3362

3 Bests – what aspects of the race did you like the most

1. Hometown Marathon: The Pig is a classic in Cincinnati and it has a great sentiment for me just running the streets around this city.

2. Crowd: The energy never really dies during this race. Cheers from the crowd are heard along the entirety of the course with gaps meaning there is only 1 or 2 people clapping for you. Also, the aid station volunteers are just awesome and all have fun Pig themes: HOGwarts, Piglatin, HAMmer Time.

3. Big Race, Small Town Feel: the field isn’t fantastic at the Pig because there is no prize money for the winners. I mean, when I say “not fantastic” I mean there are no Kenyans and guys like me who run a 2:50 are able to run alone throughout the entire race. This is HUGE for me because nothing frustrates me more than having to run in a crowd of people, hence why I take to the trails!

Not so much – aspects of the race that didn’t do it for you

I just don’t love road races.

Weird factor – what’s the weirdest thing about this race

I mean, the Pig theme is ridiculous. There is always at least one or two live “flying pigs” that are brought out to the course and given wings. As above, the aid station themes are classic with everyone dressing up to suite there theme. I love it when people get super into it!

Highlights of your race – what did you do well and enjoy about your race in particular

You can’t beat running free at a 6:20 pace while getting cheers from big crowds. This being my hometown, both my parents followed me around the course and I saw them 5 times. This was great because even though there were water stations every other mile, I preferred to drink from my bottle and had my dad literally tossing me water bottles during the race! My dad video tapped the first time my mom through me a gel and I caught it, she was so excited haha.

Lessons for others – share your pro-tips on the race to help the next runner

The weather is the biggest crap shoot here. The beginning of May has been excruciatingly hot – mid 80s, even 90s – to damn near frigid in the 20s. This year we were at a perfect 45 and I can’t complain at all, but just know if you sign up, you could have anything on race day. I’ve done this in snow as well as dripping sweat.

Lessons you learned that will help you next time around

My water bottle probably isn't necessary on the road races…I just don’t want to depend on other people mixing my gatorade and then dealing with the pinch and sip technique with those paper cups.

Most important course specific knowledge to know about the race

There is literally one hill that takes any effort at mile 6 and after doing a bit of rolling, the final 12 miles are all pretty much downhill. I planned to negative split this race and was spot on with my timing. If you conquer Gilbert, you can maintain your pace all the way home, just like a good little piggy. Wee, wee wee!

Aesthetics – is it a pretty course

The route takes you on the highlights through most of downtown Cincinnati and out as far as Mariemont. Eden park is beautiful and going through Mt. Adams always gives gorgeous views of the Ohio river and surrounding Kentucky greenery. I love Cincinnati and believe it has a pretty stellar skyline.

Difficulty – is it a tough course

It has a reputation of being hilly and tough. Going from the trails to this road race makes those descriptions pretty laughable, but I do think there are difficult parts including the climb up Gilbert into Eden Park. Also, your last turn is at mile 21, following 5 miles along the river into downtown for the finish so you can see where you need to go as soon as you make that last turn. It does seem far away at that point…luckily every step brings your closer.

Organized and well run – did it feel like a well-oiled machine or were they flying by the seat of their pants?

They do a great job managing the crowd of 9,000+ people between the full and half marathons. The corral system is just the greatest invention, so I am not passing walkers in the first mile. The aid stations are great with fun themes and loads of eager volunteers. They even had Larosa’s pizza at the finish this year, which I was a big fan up. My buddy Matt threw up crossing the finish line…he didn’t enjoy the pizza quite like I did.

Competition – is there a strong field?

As stated above, there are good quality runners, but nothing too amazing. I believe the course record is around 2:32. No Kenyans breaking 2 hours here! However, this also is appealing to me because I don’t want to be jostling for the inside curve while trying to manage a sub-6:30 min/mi. I think the competition here is Goldilocks.

Logistics – Does it require a special handshake, registration a year in advance, hotels all booked? Give us the low down on the nuts and bolts of making the race happen.

Nah, typical road marathon. Sign up early for discounted entry.

Aid Stations

Water and gatorade at every mile it felt like, might have been every other mile. Gu stations throughout as well as some random tents with Twizlers, Oranges, Beer…etc.

Weather and typical race conditions –

As above, this race can be too hot, too cold or just right, welcome to spring in the Midwest.

Gear – did you need anything special or is there anything you’d recommend for the next guy?

Probably don’t need anything other than your favorite, weather-appropriate hat. Maybe your preferred gels, but honestly, you can show up in a t-shirt and shorts and just munch what you find along the way.

Spectators – is this a friendly course for your friends

Great for spectators and they put road closures on Waze this year so you could route yourself to different locations on the course and the app knew how to avoid the closed roads. Pretty great!

Awards –

Top 3 overall (male/female), Age group awards, Fastest half marathon, Fastest last mile

The Overall Score – how many stars do you give this race and do you recommend that others run it

5 stars, the Pig rules all

Stone Steps 50k – Matt U

Race: Stone Steps 50k – http://stonesteps50k.com/

Runner: Matt U

Date: 10/23/2016

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Results – 3rd overall. 4:10.32

3 Bests – what aspects of the race did you like the most

  • Smaller race feel with great camaraderie. The spirit of this race was alive and well!
  • The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Trails were dry and they blew the leaves off the trail the day before. It was 40s at the start, 60s at the finish. And it was sunny but not hot or tiring.
  • I had friends in the race, Julie and Paavo crewing, and it was on a course I used to run back in college. All around a really fun day.

Not so much – aspects of the race that didn’t do it for you

There was nothing about this race that rubbed me wrong or that I didn’t like.

Weird factor – what’s the weirdest thing about this race

They had bagpipes for the start. Weird, in a good way. ????

Highlights of your race – what did you do well and enjoy about your race in particular

I ran the race I was hoping to run. This was not an “A” race for me, but more of a long training effort, and an opportunity to practice race management skills. I accomplished my goal. I ran hard, but not too hard. I didn’t go out too hard and I didn’t crap out in the end and have to death march it in. I maintained a steady pace throughout, I wasn’t sore from it, and I had a really fun time doing all this. Lots of wins on this day!

Lessons for others – share your pro-tips on the race to help the next runner

It would be easy to spend too much energy early and pay for it later. I know this advice is somewhat cliche and seemingly overstated when it comes to ultras, but people frequently make this mistake and this course could come back to haunt those that make this mistake.

Lessons you learned that will help you next time around

If this were a bigger race on my calendar, I would prepare better for the steps and for technical terrain. There are some rocky sections that were tough, especially since I don’t run rocky trails very often. The Stone Steps are literally a quarter mile of stone steps that climb steeply. My legs were tired and burning a little after the first round. We did these steps four times. I would train for these more next time around.

Most important course specific knowledge to know about the race

Besides knowing about the Steps, and the other steep little hill near the end of the big loop known as Gummy Bear hill (they have a can of gummy bears waiting for runners at the top), I think it’s important to have a game plan that utilizes the aid station. The course consists of four big loops (~5+ miles) and three little loops (3+ miles). At the efinish-linend of each loop, runners go through the same aid station in the middle of the park. So we go through the same place six times. Having a crew with a plan could make these transitions really quick and easy. Julie had water ready for me with gels so that I hardly ever had to stop. I think this could make a big difference when thinking about times and placing.

Aesthetics – is it a pretty course

It is pretty for this part of the country, especially given the fall season and weather. If it were raining and cold, it wouldn’t be so pretty. Also, it’s beautiful on a relative basis. It’s not running on mountaintops with vistas or along ocean cliffs. It runs through a forested city park (a really big city park at 1300+ acres) in Cincinnati, OH.

Difficulty – is it a tough course

It is a challenging course. This is always a loaded question. If you’ve only done flattish road marathons, this is a really tough course. If you’ve run UTMB, it’s not that too tough of a course. The rocks make it challenging, the Stone Steps are tough, and Gummy Bear hill are tough. Otherwise, the course was fairly tame.

Organized and well run – did it feel like a well-oiled machine or were they flying by the seat of their pants?

I was really pleased with the vibe of this race, and that includes the organization. It felt like an old school race but an old school race that was organized and had done this plenty of times before.

Competition – is there a strong field?

The top two finishers are bad ass runners.

Logistics – Does it require a special handshake, registration a year in advance, hotels all booked? Give us the low down on the nuts and bolts of making the race happen.

Easy and not very expensive. I don’t know if it sold out, but I signed up a few weeks before the race.

Aid Stations

One aid station that you go through six times. Standard fare, though I never used anything from it other than one cup of water.

Weather and typical race conditions –

Could get nasty this time of year in Cinci with cold and rain. It could also be hot and humid. Thankfully, we got a beautiful fall day with good temps and sunny skies.

Gear – did you need anything special or is there anything you’d recommend for the next guy?

I didn’t carry anything for this race. I had some gels in my pockets and after the first two laps, I carried a half liter soft flask partially filled. Julie would have a new one ready for me to switch out after each subsequent loop. With the frequency of aid, this part of the race was easy.

Spectators – is this a friendly course for your friends

You see your runner six times without ever having to move. If you have a ten month old baby, and you want a baby friendly ultra, this is it. There were some swings too for Paavo to play with while they waited!

Awards –

I got a chalice with the race logo for my third place finish along with a RoadID gift certificate. For being 3rd at a small race, seems like a pretty good deal!

The Overall Score – how many stars do you give this race and do you recommend that others run it

I’m having to be more careful with how I rate races the more races I do. This isn’t UTMB or Western States so I can’t give it the same score. However, for a small race, this one is well run, lots of fun, and if the weather is right – a great fall run. 4 out of 5 stars.