The Flying Pig Marathon is one of Cincinnati's most highly-anticipated events.
Since its 1999 debut run, the race has attracted spectators and participants from across the globe, many making the trek to the Queen City for the 26.2-mile course and all its related festivities.
The Flying Pig Marathon is now celebrating its 25th year, starting with the P&G Fitness Expo on May 5 and ending with the marathon, half-marathon and more on May 7. But prior to the race becoming one of the biggest events the tri-state has to offer, a bar napkin and a dream helped get it started.
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How the Flying Pig Marathon got its start
The Flying Pig Marathon began with a group of local runners, a dream and a bar napkin adorned with a drawing of a marathon route, per the event's media guide. But Iris Simpson Bush, president and CEO of the event, credits Bob Coughlin, founder and CEO of Paycor, as the original mastermind.
Bush, 72, said the vision came from Coughlin, who had participated in marathons in other cities and felt that Cincinnati needed one of its own.
"People have been saying for 25 years, 'Let's have a marathon.' But nobody had the initiative to do it until Bob came along," Mike Boylan, the marathon's first executive director, told The Enquirer in 1999.
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Coughlin used his company, Paycor, to raise the initial funds for the race. It totaled approximately $450,000.
"He's a businessman who put up some of his own money and then convinced five other businesses to join," Bush told The Enquirer. "He knew how to engage the corporate community."
During its inaugural year, the Flying Pig Marathon hosted 6,150 runners, the second-largest field event for a first-time U.S. marathon. In 2023, the weekend-long running showcase is expected to have over 40,000 people from all 50 states and over 31 countries participating in its numerous races.
From Porkopolis to the Flying Pig
So, how did the Flying Pig Marathon get its unusual name?
Bush, Coughlin, Bob Roncker (namesake of the former Running Spot stores) and other founding members held a brainstorming session around the name during a post-run beer at O'Bryon's Bar & Grill. They wanted it to be "lighthearted and uniquely Cincinnati," according to a 2008 Enquirer article.
Names like the Queen City Marathon and the Seven Hills Marathon were suggested, but Bush said none of them resonated with the group. Finally, someone suggested the Flying Pig Marathon.
Everyone laughed. But the whimsical name eventually caught on.
"It turns out it was a stroke of genius. It's one of the most brandable marathons in the country," Bush said.
But why the Flying Pig?
According to the marathon's website, the name is inspired by Cincinnati's infamous Porkopolis nickname from the 1800s. During that time, agriculture was the city's primary industry, and hogs were a major source of income for farmers. Pigs were often shepherded from local farms through the streets of Cincinnati to processing plants.
For Cincinnati’s 200th birthday in 1988, the city built Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point. And British artist Andrew Leicester was commissioned to create a sculpture for the entrance. His design included four smokestacks, a nod to the city’s river history, along with four winged pigs on top to represent the pork processing days.
Although there was a lot of controversy surrounding the design, the project was approved, and the winged pigs became the signature sculpture of the park. They remain at the entrance of Bicentennial Commons to this day.
Eventually, Cincinnati embraced the symbolism, taking what once was an insult and turning it into a full-fledged brand. While there were some "naysayers," Bush told The Enquirer in 2021, the Flying Pig Marathon was a name only Cincinnati could claim.
The economic and social impact of the Flying Pig
Coughlin's vision included an emphasis on charity.
Over 300 charities benefit from the Flying Pig annually. Since its inception, more than $16 million has been raised through the marathon, and it raised more than $1 million for charity in 2019 alone.
A 2018 study by Xavier University showed that the Flying Pig has an economic impact of approximately $12 million in Greater Cincinnati. That number included more than $1.3 million spent on lodging and $1.2 million spent at restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and the marathon expo.
Despite its many challenges, including the marathon route (which crosses through several municipalities), Bush said the Flying Pig has received nothing but support from the community.
"We need so many volunteers to pull off what we do," Bush said, crediting the event's 8,000 annual volunteers for the marathon's significant economic and social impact.
And when the race comes to an end every year, everyone's hard work is rewarded.
"When you see people crossing that finish line, they're often in tears. You don't know if it's tears of pain or tears of joy, but you feel so emotional yourself because, in some small way, you helped that person accomplish a goal, whatever their goal might have been," Bush said.
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