The Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, Ohio was yet another wonderful running experience. For this post, I will break my race experience into 3 parts: the expo, the race itself, and the post race experience. First, the expo - very well run and organized, not to mention one of the best goodie bags! I loved all the Pig photo ops as well as the Bob Ronker "modeling" of running apparel. The race was well marked, challenging yet interesting, and the town had more crowd support than the PF Chang's Marathon in Phoenix, which I didn't think was possible. My quads and hamstrings definitely knew I had been doing hill work! The finish "swine" was perfectly spaced. One of my biggest complaints about the Waddell & Reed half marathon is that runners were bunched up at the finish line and couldn't breathe let alone access post race water and food. Not the case with the Flying Pig. There was plenty of room to walk to get the mylar blanket, the cute medal (which my 2-year-old loved), water and snacks. You had the usual cast of suspects-apples, oranges & bananas-but this race also had the 'ito' family represented -- you know, doritos, cheetos & fritos! Plus, as a bonus to my younger daughter, they had Dora the Explorer animal crackers! This might be a race I do again! Race time: finished in 2:34. Not a personal best, but a 2009 PR.
Best of all, the Flying Pig serves as the kick off to a fun racing season. This weekend my family and I will all participate in the annual mother's day run. May 23 I will race in the Skirtchaser 5k in Raleigh, NC and hopefully break 30 minutes. Then the end of the month is the Zooma 10k in Annapolis. And let the sweating begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment