Race info:
Name: Flying Pig Marathon
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Date: May 3, 2026
Time: 3:25
Goals:
A
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | 3:40 | Yes |
| B | 3:45 | Yes |
Splits:
1: 8:35
2: 8:46
3: 7:43
4: 7:58
5: 7:31
6: 7:41
7: 7:52
8: 7:45
9: 7:44
10: 12:14
11: 7:11
12: 7:34
13: 7:15
14: 7:23
15: 7:21
16: 7:17
17: 7:56
18: 7:41
19: 7:24
20: 7:21
21: 7:18
22: 7:16
23: 7:28
24: 7:27
25: 7:22
26: 7:10
26.2: 3:24
Background:
29M
Max weekly mileage: 55
This was technically my second marathon but really the first one I seriously trained for. I did one back in 2022 and have done several halfs since then. Back in October I decided on Flying Pig and started a Pfitz base building plan that ended around the new year. I was feeling in good shape and went right into the 18/55 plan after that. Things were going really well and I started doing my highest mileage weeks ever when I got into the 50s in mid-February. That's when the IT band started acting up again.
I have had IT band issues for the last year or so after a half marathon in April 2025, after several months of working on it last year I had finally thought I was over it since I hadn't had any serious issues since I started training back in October. I started having to call off runs after a few miles and finally just decided to try out PT in March. I think it definitley helped and while my pain has yet to fully go away it's at least manageable on runs now rather than completely stopping me. But because of that I completely fell off my training plan about half way through, just got to the point where I was trying to get as many miles as I could without making things worse. So that means essentially no LT work, no MP runs, no track sessions, very few strides or hill work, just mostly easy miles. The max weekly load I got up to post-injury was just over 40 a few weeks ago and I was never really running faster than 8:15 minute miles.
So that is all to say that I definitely felt I needed to re-adjust my goals for this race. My original goal back when I signed up was 3:40. Then when I started really getting into training I started thinking maybe 3:30 could be possible but I was kind of scared to even try that because the last thing I wanted was to blow up. So after the injury came back that was kind of the excuse I needed to readjust my goal to 3:45 and maybe go for 3:40 if it was a magical day.
Race:
Nutrition: 1 SiS beta fuel 40g gel every 30 minutes + water/gatorade at every aid station
I knew this was going to be a hilly race but the weekend leading up I had several people warn me about the hills, I started getting nervous that maybe I had underestimated how hard the course was.
The conditions for the race were just about ideal, started at just under 40F and finished in the mid-50s, with basically no wind and clear skies. Was def shivering at the starting line and the first few miles but after that was smooth sailing.
I noticed in my corral that the 3:45 pacer was pretty close to me and that seemed like a sign to go with them. I stayed with them for a couple miles until I noticed a bunch of dudes pissing in some bushes off the side of the course, the lines for the toilets before the race were too long and I wasn't able to go so I stopped real quick and felt much better after that, but lost my pace group. So then the next mile I sped up to find them again, and I thought I did but couldn't really make out the numbers on the pace sign, and then up a bit in front of me I saw the 3:50 pace group, shit! So I sped up and passed the 3:50 group and started looking for the 3:45 group again. I was going wayyyy faster than I had any intention of going in this race and was really nervous I was going to screw myself, and this is around when my IT band starting bugging me again. I can't be 100% sure but I think for some reason the 3:50 pace group was actually ahead of the 3:45 group there and so my mission to find the 3:45 group was futile.
But after a few miles of sub-8 pace I started kinda feeling... fine? I couldn't really believe it and I def thought I was going to regret it later but I just decided to keep going and try to find the next group. The hills everyone warned me about were honestly not all that bad, ya there were a good amount of them but for every up hill there was a downhill that I was just sending. And while my IT band was in pain, it was minimal enough that I was able to mostly ignore it. At mile 10 I had to stop to do some more bathroom business (I won't get into it but my hotel literally only gave us decaf coffee pods and apparently had no caff pods in the building) so that added on about 5 minutes. But the rest of the race I just said fuck it and kept going at what felt like a comfortable pace, not caring that I was going way faster than I planned.
By mile 20ish it started to hit me that I could maybe even go sub-3:30 if I really pushed. And with a bunch of downhills I just went for it. I caught and passed the 3:35 group without even a thought, I was passing people left and right who were dying and I was just cooking. Though, this is def where some pain and fatigue started to set in but I was close enough to the finish that I just muscled it out. Again, this was absolutely blowing my mind how I was maintaining this pace. On the last stretch I sprinted past the 3:30 pace group for a 3:25 chip finish.
Post-race:
I still can't really believe it, felt like I had everything working against me but it somehow turned out to be one of the best races of my life. And if I didn't have that annoying 5 minute bathroom break at mile 10 I might've been damn close to sub 3:20. Can't wait to see what's possible in the future but I'm getting some crazy ideas now.
Also shoutout to this race in general, the atmosphere was absolutely electric, Cincy is a beautiful city, really well organized. Highly recommend!