Sergio Reyes - Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – May 6, 2012 – Sergio Reyes, the winner of the 2009 Flying Pig Marathon, returned to Cincinnati this weekend to win his second Flying Pig Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 6 seconds. The 2012 field of participants was the largest-ever at 30,993 for events on Saturday and Sunday.
The 30-year-old Reyes of Palmdale, Calif., recently ran the Boston Marathon, where he finished 12th overall. His other wins this year have been at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pasadena Half Marathon and Across the Bay 12K, and he finished 25th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston last January.
“It was great to come back and have fun on a beautiful day,” said Reyes. “It was a good event to run before I take a break from running.” Reyes is planning to take a few weeks off this spring and summer to heal some nagging injuries.
Reyes’ winning time in 2009 was 2:20:37, missing the event record held by Cecil Franke by 12 seconds.
“I felt pretty good today,” said Reyes, who is a 2003 graduate of Cedarville University and is now in graduate school in electrical engineering at Cal State Northridge. “I had a surge at 18 but when I got to mile 23, the tank ran dry. I just decided to enjoy the last three miles.”
Runner-up in the men’s marathon was 37-year-old Rob Morwood of Lebanon, Ohio, who clocked 2:37:30 and third was 44-year-old Jim Beyer of Dayton, Ohio in 2:38:15.
This is the fifth Flying Pig Marathon in which Morwood has completed. He finished third in the 2010 and 2011 Marathons.
“I was fighting my hamstring from mile 6 on,” said Morwood, who is an attorney at Baker & Hostetler in Cincinnati. “But this is our home town marathon. It’s fun to compete a bit in an event like this.”
In the women’s Flying Pig Marathon, 30-year-old Rachel Bea of Cincinnati won the title in a time of 2:54:41. She finished second in last year’s half-marathon.
Bea, whose parents in Wisconsin also are marathoners, is a graduate assistant cross country coach at Northern Kentucky University and teaches physical education at Ryland Elementary in northern Kentucky.
“Those kids are always my inspiration,” she said. “A big group of our Ryland students took part in the Flying Pig Kids’ Marathon (on Saturday) and they inspire me to keep going.”
Second was 37-year-old Heather Backer of Crestview Hills, Kentucky, who not only finished the marathon in a time of 3:00:23, but also got a proposal from Dr. Bob Flick, a member of the Flying Pig’s medical team, at the finish line.
“I love running the home course,” said Backer, who’s an elementary education teacher at Stevenson Elementary in Northern Kentucky. She was the winner of the Toyota 10K at the Flying Pig last year.
Third was Kerry Lee, 37, of Cincinnati, in a time of 3:01:06. She was second in last year’s Flying Pig Marathon.
Fourth among women marathoners was 2005 Flying Pig Marathon winner Alison Bedingfield Delgado, 29, of Cincinnati in 3:01:37. Delgado’s story is well known in running circles, recovering from a near-fatal bicycle accident almost two years ago to run again.
In the Flying Pig Half Marathon presented by Border Energy, 28-year-old Chris Herren of Oakley won in 1:11:22. An employee of Tri-State Running Company, he also has won the 2011 Greenway Marathon, the 2011 Cedars Frostbit Half Marathon for the second consecutive year and finished seventh in the 2011 Rocket City Marathon.
“This is probably my best distance,” Herren said. “I did it the hard way. That was a fast pace today.”
Second was a veteran in the Cincinnati running community, TJ Lentz, 45, finishing in 1:12:11, his second straight year finishing second in the Flying Pig Half.
Third for the men was 19-year-old Dan Shafer of Fairborn, who just finished his sophomore year at Wright State University and completed his fourth half-marathon at the Pig in 1:13:05.
On the women’s side, Amy Robillard, 32, of Mason, Ohio defended her 2011 Half Marathon title in 1:21:20, besting her time last year by 51 seconds. Robillard’s story touched hearts last year, as she talked about working her training runs around her son’s chemotherapy treatments after a bone marrow transplant. Jameson is two now and is doing well.
“I always ran,” said Robillard, the mother of two. “Nowdays I do it because it’s therapeutic.”
Second in the women’s half marathon was 27-year-old Erin Omara of Ypsilianti, Michigan, in 1:24:50 in her first time running the Flying Pig Marathon.
Third was 29-year-old Grace Conrad, a student at the University of Cincinnati, who claimed a personal best for the half at 1:25:21.
In Saturday’s events, Brett Frondorf and Becky Clark took the Toyota 10K titles, while Chris Reis and Karen Berndt won the Flying Pig 5K.
The total field of participants on both days of the 14th Flying Pig Marathon powered by P&G is 30,993, a record for total participation, beating the 2011 field of 30,408. Participants are representing all 50 states and 14 countries and include:
Full Marathon: 4,839 (2011: 5,083)
Half Marathon: 12,121 (2011: 12,155)
City Dash 4-Person Relay / Paycor Corporate 4-Person Relay: 2,420 (2011: 3,044)
Toyota 10K: 2,902 (2011: 2,442)
Flying Pig 5K: 4,198 (2011: 3,616)
Kids Marathon (one miler) presented by Ernst & Young: 3,834 (2011: 3,436)
Piglet Fun Run: 679 (2011: 632)
14th Flying Pig Marathon
Cincinnati, OH, Sunday, May 6, 2012
MEN
1) Sergio Reyes (CA), 2:22:06
2) Rob Morwood (OH), 2:37:30
3) Jim Beyer, 44, OH, 2:38:15
WOMEN
1) Rachel Bea (OH), 2:54:41
2) Heather Backer (KY), 3:00:23
3) Kerry Lee (OH), 3:01:06
8th Flying Pig Half-Marathon
MEN
1) Chris Herren (OH), 1:11:22
2) TJ Lentz, 45, OH, 1:12:11
3) Dan Shafer (OH), 1:13:05
WOMEN
1) Amy Robillard (OH), 1:21:20
2) Erin Omara (MI), 1:24:50
3) Grace Conrad (OH), 1:25:21
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