Cincinnati folks are big supporters of the Flying Pig marathon. There were so many people out on the course with entertainment. Random strangers were standing on the side of the road, in front of their businesses or their houses handing out bottles of water, gummy bears, bananas, paper towels, etc. There was constantly someone around cheering you on. There are water stops at EVERY mile. I had to skip a few to avoid taking in too much fluids. I also liked that the water stops were placed in the middle of each mile. It helped mentally to convince myself to make it first to the next mile marker, then the water stop, then the next mile marker. I ran the last 6 miles that way. There were even non-race sponsored live entertainment. It's a pretty awesome race if you're not focused on time. It's also a scenic course. The views at the top of the hill in Eden Park give a gorgeous outlook of the river. At one point we even cross the bridge over to Kentucky for a couple of miles. There's a course tour on the website that I should've read before running so I could recognize some of the major landmarks.
Unfortunately, the course is also really really hilly. Others online have said that the major hills are from about mile 3.5 to mile 8, and then after that it's gentle rolling hills. I would disagree with that. The hills after are anything but gentle. And as a first time marathoner, come mile 22, I really needed flat road or downhills to carry me to the end and not have to dig deep to find the will to tackle yet another hill.
