2018 marked the 20th Anniversary for the marathon.I heard great things about the Flying Pig races so I was super excited to run them this year. Since I love challenges and earning ALL the medals, I signed up to run the 4 Way Challenge with Extra Cheese. The 4 Way Challenge with Extra Cheese consists of a 1 miler, 10k, 5k, and marathon (in that order) over the course of three days. So where do I start...

The Airport
The fun and excitement for the weekend started with the welcoming party at the Cincinnati airport. There was a great welcoming committee for the runners to greet us as we walked to baggage claim. I received a goodie bag that included a chocolate bar. There were also plenty of props for photo opps. If I wasn't excited before, I was really getting there after landing in town.

The Expo
The expo was held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. Picking up all the my four of my race bibs was quick. The packets were organized according to race and challenges. For the 4 Way Challenge, I only had to make one stop to pick up all my bibs. Runners were organized by last name, so no need to know bib numbers. Each bib was placed in an envelope that had a checklist printed on them to make sure you pick up all your items. The shirts and gifts (blankets) were at the back of the expo. The shirts were also easy to pick up.

The expo had tons of vendors who were selling running items and the official commemorative cookies. Sponsors, such as PG, were giving out nice samples There were plenty of pigs for pictures.

I bought an official Flying Pig Sweaty Band and a Flying Pig cookie. I learned about the cookie from Flying Pig Instagram account prior to the race. I ate it while I was waiting in line for the PG samples.

The 4 Way Challenge With Extra Cheese
Kings 1 miler Race
The first race for the 4 Way Challenge was the Kings 1 miler. The race was held on Friday at 8 pm. The course was short and flat. We also received a medal. I had my PR the weekend during this race. After the race we attended the post race party where they had chili dogs, free pictures, and drinks.

Flying Pig 10k
The Flying Pig 10k was the second race in the series. It took place on Saturday at 8 am. The course took us from Cincinnati to over the river to Kentucky and back to the Cincy. The course had rolling hills and was not as bad running in Atlanta. It was really cool running through two states for a race, a first for me. The crowd support during the race was awesome. There were tons of volunteers giving out snacks and water during the race. Someone had a pig at mile 4 at a water stop. The race offered snacks (pretzels, snack bars, and fruit cups) at the end of the race. After the race I got my medal, snacks, and switched to my 5k bib and lined up for the 5k that immediately followed.

Flying Pig 5k
The Flying Pig 5k was immediately after the 10k at 10 am. The course was only in Cincinnati and was 3.1 miles of the 10k course. We got to see the pig again during the course. The volunteers were out in full force and snacks were great. It rained during the race, but nothing major to ruin the run. After day 2 my medal court was up to 3. The only thing left was the marathon.

Flying Pig Marathon
The Flying Pig Marathon was the final race of the weekend. It was Sunday at 6 am. Similar to the 10k we ran in Cincinnati and Kentucky. We ran a few miles in Kentucky and majority of the race was in Cincy. The course was similar to running in Athens, GA. There were enough hills and flatness to balance out the race. Mile 6 was probably the toughest, but the most beautiful part of the race. At the top of the hill at mile 6 was gorgeous view of Cincinnati and the Ohio River. Since I turned my phone off to conserve my battery power I wasn't able to snap a picture.

The course was fully supported with plenty of water stops and volunteers giving out snacks (including bacon). I even met one of my Twitter friends on the course. While I did not achieve my sub 4:30 goal, I finished before 6 hours. I slowed down around mile 18 because the sun came out and it started to get hot. Overall I really enjoyed the course. This race was a great way to start my marathon retirement.

After the race we received our medals and then we had to walk though the park to get our Finisher's jacket and 4 Way Challenge medal. My only complaint about the race is the amount of walking we had to do to get our 4-Way medals and jacket. It would have been nice if those items had been at or closer to the Finish Swine.

I can put a stamp on OH and KY for races. I would highly recommend any of Flying Pig races. They had awesome volunteers and the best race management that I have ever experience. I didn't have to worry about cars at any time during the race. The race also communicated with participants to keep us in the loop about everything. We didn't receive our medal racks, but thanks to communication we knew that before the race so there were no surprises. Best wishes to those who are brave enough to take on any of the races or challenges, may the swine be with you!