Sarah G's Staging Area

The good:
LOTS of swag at expo – nice black cotton t shirt, backpack (regular backpack, not one of those drawstring throwaways!), poster, deodorant, magic eraser, tidepod, peanuts, and lots more.
Course support – so many volunteers and spectators! Water/ gatorade every mile, lots of other comfort items at other points (Swedish fish, girl scout cookies, Oreos, BACON, pickle juice, tissues, towels, licorice, hershey kisses, beer, caramels, …probably more).
We stayed at the CityClub apartments (airbnb) that was walkable to the start and finish. Super easy to get to start line (at Paycor stadium…can’t miss it) and easy to find start corral.
Post race food – lots of chips, water, bananas, apples, PIZZA, cereal bars, but no Gatorade or bathrooms in the finish area. You have to exit (no re-entry) to use portopotty. When we left we got in line for our post race gift. It was a race belt thing. It had pockets and a place to put a small water bottle. Seemed to be a quality product!
Cons
The weather was the worst possible. Lightning, thunder, heavy rain. At one point they issued a “shelter in place” but it was very confusing for runners and many people didn’t even know about it. I stopped, only to start again after 10 min with no direction of what to do. Hopefully this will never affect future races. That was why it was only a 4-star instead of 5.
That was the only con. I really enjoyed the race. There was a lot to look at and people everywhere! The whole city supports the race!! I thought the hills were manageable and not bad but my husband disagreed. He wanted me to be sure to say that the hills were hard in this review. The elevation map they post is accurate – it is quite hilly from 4-11 but I forgot all about them by mile 15. There was a short, steep disrespectful hill around 17 that I didn’t appreciate.
I won’t do another spring marathon because training in snow and rice is not for me, but if I were to do another one, the Flying Pig would be on the list!! Great race. Well done, Cincinnati!