Dick

My wife will be running in this weekend' marathion.

I am trying to line up viewing points to watch her at more than one location. Thier website doesnt offer much help

Any one here have experience as a spectator for this race....or live in cincinnati?

Would love to know the best way to get around (walk? or cab?) so that I can view her at more than one location and still be at the finish.

thanks

http://flyingpigmarathon.com/

Dick

topping

snowrooster

Hi Dick - I feel I should tell you, since I am responding to you directly, that I spent a day a few months ago convinced you were my father. His name is Dick as well and some of your posts seemed to be exactly what he might be posting (he travels a lot as well). I eventually figured out I was mistaken, but it was kind of funny.

Anyway, I live in Cincinnati (my dad, Dick, actually ran the mini-marathon years ago). I just looked at the website and the race seems to be pretty spread out. There really aren't many cabs traveling the streets of Cincinnati - they pretty much stay stopped outside the big hotels. If you don't have a car of your own, you might just want to pick one spot to wait or I guess get a cab at your hotel and have him go around with you (if you let him leave you may not find another). My suggestions for spots to stop might be right over the bridge in Newport and around Paxton Ave (nice part of town) then meet her at the finish. There is a cute little neighborhood bar on Stanley as well (towards the end of the race). Hope that helps - there seem to be quite a few twists and turns along the race! Let me know if you need any suggestions for dining or things to do in the area!!

maj

I wouldn't try to drive around that day by yourself--I think it would be impossible to find your way around without knowing the area. Hopefully there will be more information for you either at the hotel you are staying at, or when she checks in for the race. There are buses and shuttles that routinely go from Covington to Newport to Cincinnati and although I don't know for sure, I would think that they have extra methods of transportation for people such as yourself that day.

Dick

snowrooster...

That's pretty funny about you thinking I'm your Dad...at least I'm pretty sure that I'm not.

I wil have a car. We will be staying at the Embassy Suites in Covington.

I was afraid that cabs wouldn't work and it didnt aqppear that public transportation would help either.

The marathogn website has course info and parking...but I dint know how easy it would be to get around the city with roads closed etc..by car.

maj

Which race is she running in?

Dick

Flying Pig Marathon....26.2 miles

http://flyingpigmarathon.com/

maj

I don't know if any of this info will help you and you may have already seen it.

Best Places to Watch for Runners:


Start/Finish area . The vista from the plaza level of Paul Brown Stadium of the runners, the sunrise and the river is breathtaking. Watch the start, then go to Third and Central a block north of the Stadium to see the next wave of runners, then go to Taylor-Southgate Bridge and Pete Rose Way just east of the US Bank Arena to greet the runners as they come back from Northern Kentucky.


Eden Park . The overlook is the first relay areas and gives visitors to Cincinnati a birds-eye view of the downtown area.


Hyde Park Square . There's no better place to party than with the &street squealers' on the Square. Bring your breakfast and your noisemakers and join the crowds in the celebration.


Mariemont Square . For the second year, the Pig visits Mariemont, and its beautiful tree-lined streets and old- world charm make it a great place to cheer as the runners make the turn back toward downtown.


Eastern Avenue . Downtown is in sight, but this flat stretch is still a challenge to runners. The mainly industrial area offers plenty of parking for those who want to take photos of their runners.


Finish Line . Celebrate! Sawyer Point and Yeatman's Cove are the meeting places where you can congratulate your runners on their remarkable accomplishment.

http://www.rcgc.net/index.shtml

There was also a chat site, but I can't find it now.

How many places do you want to go to?

seetheworld

Hi Dick! I couldn't get a fix on the number of spectators for the Flying Pig Marathon (love that name) but there are around 3,000 runners.

My son ran his first marathon last October but in NYC and we were only able to see him twice.

He wanted us to see him at about mile 17 because he figured he'd need encouragement - it was great. But then we raced our own marathon to get to the end of the course (on foot) - with very little time to spare in order to see him before he crossed the finish line.

Because everything gets closed down for these things, it's best to talk with your wife and see if she has a preference on where she wants her fans to cheer her on.

You will have a car. Do you wife a HUGE favor and try and park that car somewhere near the finish area (or where the runners will go to pick up there award). Since we all went by train and were unable to secure a cab because of the masses of people, we had to walk to the subway, etc., etc., I was tired, lol. But my son was about ready, at that point, to crawl

Once again, good luck to your wife and congratulations!

Dick

I'd like to be able to see her at least a couple of times ...plus be at the finish.

maj

I just read the course review by Brian Nash (2004)--sounds great. Wish I was a runner. Parking will not be great at most of the places they list. I would make Hyde Park Square one place I would definitely try to be. There are restaurants, coffee shops, Graeter's ice cream, shops etc. on this street while you wait for her to go by. Snowrooster mentioned Stanley--probably won't be as crowded there. Eden Park, Mirror Lake, Krohn Conservatory are all in the same general area--again parking is at a premium but seems like another good place to be. It is supposed to be kind of cool and maybe rainy Sunday, which should help keep the regular visitors to these places low. I think it ends at Sawyer Point. There is parking there, but it is also right next to the Purple People Bridge to Newport--again you might want to check out what shuttles they have to take you back to Kentucky in case the lot is full. Let us know how it turns out.

maj

I just realized that it starts at 6:30 AM--so I don't think you should have a problem parking or even driving in the area.

snowrooster

You might just want to try to be at the beginning, the end, and one spot in the middle. My suggestions for the middle spot would be at Paxton or Eden Park. They have the street closings on the race website so you could just mapquest the directions and check them with the closings to make sure you won't run into trouble. Cincinnati downtown tends to be pretty sleepy in the morning. Even with all the folks there for the race, I don't think you'll run into any major traffic jams getting around as long as you avoid closed streets.

Scarlett

What a great name for a Marathon..like Pigs will fly when I (Scarlett) run in a marathon? LOL
Good luck to your wife!

snowrooster

The "flying pig" thing originates from Cininnati's nickname many years ago, which was "Porkopolis" (it used to be a major port on the Ohio River). When one of our downtown parks (Sawyer Point) on the river was built many years ago (but not so long ago that I don't remember) the entry gates were topped with statues of flying pigs to pay homage to the historical nickname. They were somewhat contoversial (pretty much everything is in ultra-conservative Cincinnati) which just brought more attention to them. So flying pigs have kind of become our thing. You may be familiar with the cow statues (I believe?) that were throughout Chicago years ago and decorated by various artists. Cincinnati did the same thing but with the pigs. Doesn't that make it just tragically sad that there is no good BBQ to be found anywhere in town?!?

Scarlett

Lack of a good BBQ is, indeed, Tragic