Margarita Madness At The Purple People Bridge : May 17th

Cincinnati's Flying Pig Marathon Named Best Marathon in the U.S. in 10Best Poll

Count the fun pig motifs, scenic course and post-race pizza and beer party among the reasons the Flying Pig is No. 1.

Apr 4, 2024 at 11:47 am

Flying Pig Marathon Photo: Kellie Coleman

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Cincinnati just came in first at the Finish Swine.

Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon was just named the best marathon in the United States in a recent USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice poll, beating out big names like the New York City Marathon and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

10Best says the marathon is loved by runners, counting the fun pig motifs used throughout the event, the "pig pen" corrals for different speed groups, the "Finish Swine" and a post-race pizza and beer party among the reasons. The course also takes runners through some of the most diverse and scenic Greater Cincinnati neighborhoods and along the Ohio River.

“We are extremely honored and very excited to win the public’s vote as the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice marathon,” Iris Simpson Bush, CEO of Pig Works, the parent organization of the Flying Pig Marathon, said in a press release. “We work all year round to make sure our participants are all treated like VIPs (Very Important Pigs) and have the best experience possible. We thank USA Today and everyone who voted for us for this prestigious honor.”

Slideshow

24 Things Only People in Cincinnati are Obsessed With

Richard Jones’ Resemblance to Doug DimmadomeIt’s just uncanny, isn’t it?

Cincinnati-Style ChiliIs it chili or meat sauce? Yes. Cincinnati-style chili is not what outsiders would automatically think of when you say “chili,” but most Cincinnatians will automatically picture the thin, meaty sauce slathered over a hot dog or spaghetti. It’s not chili in the traditional chili con carne sense, being closer to a Greek pasta sauce, but it’s a core part of our identity now and there’s no escaping it. As for Cincinnati chili’s origins, we can thank the founders of Empress Chili, brothers Tom and John Kiradjieff, for delivering this culinary masterpiece to our city.

Joe BurrowOf course we’re obsessed with Burrow – he’s Cincinnati’s golden boy. Not only did our readers pick the Bengals’ star quarterback to win our Best Of Cincinnati category for Best Overall Athlete, he also won Best Cincinnatian. It’s easy to see why though: helping the formerly flagging football team to back-to-back post-seasons (including a Super Bowl game), his bromance with team member wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, his impeccable style and the fact that he’s just an all-around good dude who has his own charity fighting food insecurity, shares the spotlight and is polite to opponents. What’s not to love?

Telling People the Roebling was the Brooklyn Bridge’s PredecessorAt first glance it might appear the Roebling Bridge is just a smaller-scale model of the massive Brooklyn Bridge, but that’s not the case. The Roebling, which connects downtown Cincinnati to Covington, is actually the older (and, in our opinion, cooler) sibling to the Brooklyn Bridge, both having been designed and built by John A. Roebling. Construction on the Roebling was completed in 1866 and, at the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Construction on the Brooklyn Bridge wasn’t completed until 1883.

Flying PigsCincinnati loves its flying pigs – but why? It goes back to our roots as Porkopolis – or, basically, a lot of pigs were slaughtered here for our booming pork-packing industry. And in the ‘80s, to celebrate Cincinnati’s bicentennial, artist Andrew Leicester created the Cincinnati Gateway, a sculpture in Bicentennial Commons in Sawyer Point. The sculpture features four smokestacks with winged pigs atop each one, meant to represent the souls of all the pigs killed so Cincinnati could flourish. The concept wasn’t a hit at first with some, with pushback coming from then-mayor Charlie Luken, but Cincinnatians later embraced the flying pigs and they became a symbol of the city – from the iconic statues you can find around town to the name of our annual marathon.

Telling People We Almost Had a SubwayCincinnatians often speak of our legendary abandoned subway tunnels so reverently that they’re almost mythical. The reality is more a sad, doomed-from-the-start tale of inflation, poor budgeting and litigation. Real work on the subway began in 1920, but inflation following World War I in the two years prior to that had raised the costs of construction and caused a shortage of materials (wow, this sounds familiar), so the city planned to raise funds to complete the subway later. However, funds ran out in 1927 and by that time, the subway construction was causing the foundations of buildings along its route to crack, so then came the lawsuits. There were several attempts to complete the subway in later years, but it wasn’t meant to be. The project was scrapped in 1948 and is now used to house a water main and optical fiber cables. It’s also a popular urban exploration spot.

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The 10Best Readers’ Choice Award contest nominees are all chosen by a panel of experts, including editors from USA Today, editors from 10Best.com and relevant expert contributors. New categories launch every other Monday at noon with 20 nominees and voting stays open for four weeks to reveal the top 10.

“For the past 25 years, we have watched the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon grow into a top 10 U.S. running festival,” Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said in the release. “Now America has spoken with their votes in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice awards by naming the Flying Pig Marathon as the No. 1 marathon in America. We are proud of our hometown marathon and welcome all of the participants to Cincinnati this May.”

The Flying Pig Marathon will take place May 3-5 with a variety of events, including a 5- and 10K, the Fifty West Mile, a four-person relay, the half marathon and the full marathon. Learn more about the races or register at flyingpigmarathon.com.

Here is the full list of the 10Best Best Marathon Finalists:

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon
New York City Marathon
Marine Corps Marathon
Big Sur International Marathon
Coast Guard Marathon
CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Shiprock Marathon
Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Honolulu Marathon
Hatfield McCoy Marathon

Slideshow

Everything We Saw During the Flying Pig Marathon [Photos]

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About The Author

Katherine Barrier

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she oversees the digital and social media strategies, edits web and print content and writes for the dining and arts...