On My Soapbox about the Flying Pig Marathon
By Iris Simpson-Bush, Executive Director

Some 23,000 participants competed in events during the 2009 Flying Pig Marathon drawing runners from all 50 states and 16 countries. It was an inspirational day to watch the thousands of people train for their race and complete their goal of crossing the "Swine Line."

The "Pig" as it is affectionately called, has grown from a hometown race to a nationally-recognized running event. No longer are the winners from Clifton and West Chester but this year, they were from California (Sergio Reyes) and Texas (Autumn Ray). The Marathon Weekend also pumps money into our city—some $10 million as estimated by a Xavier University Economic Impact Study.

Even in a challenged economy, the field of participants grew and even our sponsorship support grew. We are thankful for the Cincinnati-based companies who support the Marathon. This year, P&G stepped up to a new level to support the Marathon, which is now officially called: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon powered by P&G. And as the brand managers at P&G told us, "You can't spell the 'Pig' without P&G." And we agree.

Besides "putting heads in beds," the Marathon gives us something to smile about, and it gives our city recognition in a positive manner. The "Pig" has been working to become a leader in making its races environmentally friendly and will plant trees to replace the carbon footprint from Sunday's course.

The Marathon also launched its social media effort last year and has been utilizing Twitter and Youtube to engage runners and create on-line buzz. On Race Day, Sunday, May 3, the "Flying Pig Marathon" was the #1 key word search on Google, out ranking Jack Kemp, Pittsburgh Marathon, and Swine Flu among others.

All in all, the "Pig" is about people and those that run in the races, volunteer on the course and raise money for the 130+ charities. It's people like Julie Hengehold of Colerain Township, who ran her first half marathon and loved the overall experience of the spectators and bands on the course.

And it's people like Mary Soller of Newport who has trained more than 50 people to run the full and half marathon. She even trained her dad, Dick, and they ran the half marathon in honor of his 80th birthday. Mr. Soller also inspired 20 others to run in a group they dubbed, "See Dick Run!"

It's also about our volunteers, some 4,000 people who awake at the crack of dawn to distribute water, oranges and cheer on the runners. The Marathon owes a great big thank you to Mary Enzweiler, our volunteer-volunteer chair; she works year-round to recruit, schedule and train our volunteers.

This year, we hope to again raise more than $1 million for some 130 local charities ranging from Team in Training/Leukemia-Lymphoma to grassroots efforts from a group of friends to support ALS/Lou Gehrig Disease research in honor of their friend who suffered from the disease.

As I close with a big thank you to the community of Cincinnati, I invite you to join us for the 2010 Flying Pig Marathon Weekend on April 30-May 1. To learn more about us visit, www.flyingpigmarathon.com, follow us on Twitter @runflyingpig or see us on Youtube at our Flying Pig Marathon channel.