Jen Kau's Staging Area

I ran this race last year and this year I was a little disappointed. I felt the race production was a bit low. Maybe more effort was put in last year since it was an anniversary year (35th) but I was underwhelmed with the production value this year. They do a great job with communicating leading up to the race, but race day was a bit of a let down. Expo was very small. T-shirts and medals were relatively simple. The start line was anti-climactic. No music or anything was at the start line for the half marathoners so nothing really to hype you up. That being said, I heard from my friends running the 10K that music was played so maybe it was just too early for music for the start of the half (13.1 starts 45 minutes before 10K).

I do really enjoy the course. It gives a great tour of the South Bend area: downtown, along the river, residential areas, and the Notre Dame campus. It is relatively flat, with the exception of a few hills here and there, the last one being the very steep “Hallelujah Hill.” Be sure to look out for pot holes though! There aren’t a whole lot of spectators along the course until you get to the last couple miles. The biggest gimmick of the race is that you get to finish by running through the tunnel and to the 50 yd line of Notre Dame Stadium (which is pretty dang cool, but I’m a biased ND alum).

Overall, this race felt like a small-town race more than I would have liked. I was hoping for a bigger production since this is the biggest/main running event within South Bend. I don’t know that it would be worth traveling far for; however, if you have some sort of appreciation for Notre Dame, I think that finish line is worth it.

This was my first marathon and my first time running the Flying Pig in general so I had no idea what to expect. I was completely blown away! The spectators were in full force and made the race that much more fun. I’m the kind of runner that needs people on the course; I struggle with races that are more nature, less crowds, so in that sense this race was perfect for me. Spectators were a bit infrequent miles 20-23 when I needed it most, but I would attribute that to the course being less spectator-friendly in those miles (running on a highway at that point); however, there were still volunteers at every mile and their enthusiasm was uplifting.

I really enjoyed the course. It had a great mix of city and nature. Running through the streets of the downtown and residential areas, the spectators were so much fun. It also incorporated parks with wonderful views. The hills are certainly something you cannot count out or ignore but definitely don’t let hills be the reason you do not run this course. I honestly did not think the hills were that bad; and this is coming from someone who lives/trains in a relatively flat area. For every uphill there was a nice rolling downhill and/or beautiful view. It also didn’t hurt that the race day weather was perfect!

Race production was phenomenal, everything went off smoothly. I loved the frequency and variety of snack stops along the course (along with water and gatorade stops). Medals are high quality. The post-race party is great and also its location is wonderful. So many great post-race photo ops! The race as a whole is also very reasonably priced, especially for a marathon, considering the quality of the race.

I’m more of a half marathon runner and I thought I would be one and done with this marathon; however, this race has definitely turned me into a marathoner! I will definitely return to the Flying Pig and as I look to do other marathons my standards and expectations are definitely set very high thanks to this race.