13. Cincinnati is not as hilly as you think.
12. This race makes the color pink cool.
11. The pasta party the night before the race was nicely done. All you can eat pasta, in a tent on Fountain Square and the band was good.
10. The Reds never have a home game during the marathon. (If you have ever done the Cleveland Marathon, you will understand why this is an issue.)
9. At the very back of the starting line, where all of the walkers were lined up, there were a TON of port-a-johns with NO LINES!
8. The climb to the top of Eden Park is worth every step! The view is beautiful and Elvis will serenade you.
7. The finishers’ medals are always cute.
6. You get to cross a bridge over the Ohio River and into Kentucky, then you come back on another bridge near Paul Brown Stadium. The view of the city is fantastic!
5. The souvenir shirts are the cutest of any race I know — cute designs and creative puns. (I’ll Run a Marathon when Pigs Fly!)
4. The water stops are the best. Stops are manned by church groups, high school football and track teams, and all kinds of other groups. They cheer loudly, even for walkers, and the themes are fun. There are also crowds of cheering fans throughout the race!
3. The goodie bag includes the best stuff. Just for entering you get a race shirt, great poster printed on heavy paper in a box (doesn’t get crushed), gym bags or totes and more. Full marathoners get technical shirts, half marathoners get cotton. Lots of great freebies in the Expo.
2. The entire city gets into the spirit of the race. People everywhere wear pig snouts and wings. The girls in puffy pig costumes at the finish line are there every year and are VERY cute.

And the number 1 reason why you should enter the Cincinnati Flying Pig is:
IT’S FUN!

Next year’s race is May 2! Checkout the race web site: http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com/

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