5.7.06 – Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon

I confess – I really love this marathon and I’m prejudiced….I’m chairman of the board this year. One of the distinct honors bestowed upon the board chair is the opportunity to stand at the finish line and personally congratulate and thank each finisher of “the Pig”. Which meant I couldn’t run the race this year…. But I didn’t want to miss it. So, I decided to run the race on the Tuesday before the official Sunday date. By myself. At 4am.

I got up at 4am to the sound of rain on the roof. I almost rolled over and went back to sleep – I was still sore from the Kentucky Derby Marathon which I’d run the previous Saturday. But this was the only possible day to run the race, so I got up, had my coffee, put on my old running gear, and drove to the office where I’d leave my car and walk to the start line.

Arrived at the start – no need to wait for a gun, clicked my watch, and took off. And that’s when it started raining harder. I had the map in my hand, but it quickly became a soggy glump of paper. This was going to be an interesting run.

But a funny thing happened. There was something strangely enjoyable about being out running at 4:30am. The temperature was in the low 60’s, everything was blooming all spring like so the air smelled sweet, and the rain felt good – all clean and cooling and wet….. This wasn’t going to be so bad.

At about the 10 mile mark, I heard someone yell my name. It turned out to be a friend with whom I’d roomed when we ran the Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska together 6 or 7 years ago. Ironically, my friend had been diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and had been undergoing pretty aggressive treatment. This particular morning was the first time he’d been out running since he had completed his treatment. He was so upbeat, happy, and positive to be out in the rain able to run again that it caused me to reflect on how absolutely lucky and fortunate I was to be out there running myself. He gave me such a lift, such motivation that the rest of the run was a joy – a celebration of my health and my ability to be able to run 26.2 miles. I’ll also remember out encounter on the street that morning.

I finished about 9am, soggy yet proud. I think I only got lost once or twice. Imagine my surprise at the finish line when three of our dedicated Flying Pig staff members greeted me with a finisher’s medal.

That Sunday I was able to stand at the finish line and personally thank the 13,000+ finishers for running our race – what Runner’s World calls one of the top ten marathons in America. I know why – we exceed our participant’s expectations in every way.