I'm a sucker for silly named marathons, so I really love the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. Any event that is great for the city is alright in my book. (I used to reside there0

This year's marathon was held on May 4 and was the 10th marathon for the Flying Pig folks. It also had some surprises as, at the last minute, the course had to be re-routed around mile 22 due to a multiple-alarm fire the fire brigade was racing to.

In even more drama, one of the runners had a heart attack. Luckily, less than a minute behind him there was a group of fire fighters and paramedics who were running in remembrance of three firefighters who'd been killed in the line of duty. As soon as they saw the stricken man, they went into action, giving him drugs and medical care that saved his life.

The Flying Pig marathon this year was won by Andy Martin from Bend, Oregon. The 33-year-old Martin took the men's overall marathon title and finished in 2:30:40. Second was Brian List, 24, of Milford, Ohio, with a time of 2:33:33. Travis Murray, 26, of Owensville, Ohio, was third, finishing in a time of 2:34:34. Awesome result for Travis Murray, as this was his first-ever marathon, and great results for Ohio - two guys in the top three. <p>In the women's division, a 39-year-old mother of four, Michelle Didion, was the winner in a time of 3:05:18. Didion is from Laporte, Ind., and this was the first time she'd run the full marathon. Julie Spencer of Baraboo, Wis., was second with a time of 3:06:44 and Jen Gapin of Greensboro, N.C., came in third. She turned in a personal best time of 3:07:53.

The Half Marathon men's division winner was Todd Ptacek from Erie, Penn. Ptacek is 23 and won it in 1:09:22, a new record for the event. The women's division Half Marathon winner, 26-year-old Rachel Stoehr of Cincinnati, won in a time of 1:20:48. (You go, Cincinnati girl!)

This year's marathon was slightly longer than the normal 26.2 miles for a marathon. Because of the three-alarm fire, when the race was rerouted, it added .2514 miles to the distance. The time recorded at the finish line was the official time, but if you ran in it and need a qualifying time for another marathon, you can contact the race organizers when you register and tell them you were a Flying Pig runner. Most marathons know about the problems that arose at Flying Pig, so they will adjust your time accordingly.

The Flying Pig Marathon was huge this year....there were more than 14,000 runners, so no matter what your stamina level, there was probably somebody you could beat no matter what level of runner you are!

For a marathon that has everything, you've got to experience one of my favorites: the Hatfield and McCoy marathon in Williamson, W.Va. From the cool name to the awesome course, the incredibly nice people and the beautiful scenery - this marathon has everything. 2008 is the ninth year of the marathon, and this year it's on June 14. It's also great for those of you who are trying to run marathons in all 50 states as this one actually covers two states (yeah, yeah, cheating a bit, but who's gonna tell on ya?). It starts in a tiny town called Goody, Ky., and finishes in Matewan, W.Va., for the half marathon and Williamson, W.Va., for the full marathon. So you can say you've done both!

The Hatfield and McCoy Marathon is a pretty challenging course. There's a couple of major hills, you get street running, trail running, rivers, streams, fields, even a swinging bridge. There's also a parade and then, along the course, you'll see some of the friendliest people
in the country cheering you on. What they lack in number of people watching, they definitely make up for in quality - when you run this marathon you've never felt so welcomed or so encouraged.

The race director, David Hatfield, is a runner himself and he does an absolutely superb job of organizing this race. There's a free Pasta Dinner for all the race participants, and a Pig Roast where you can eat roast pig any way you like it fixed. Just remember not to make too much
of a pig of yourself, or you might puke after all that running.

One of the coolest things about this race though, I think, is the Hatfield and McCoy feud competition. The race reenacts the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud by putting racers into either the Hatfield or McCoy 'family' when they register for the race. At the end of the race, the 'family' with the lowest total time will win the feud. There are also two guys dressed as Hatfield and McCoy who pose for photos, appear around the race course during the marathon, and present the prizes at the end.

One thing you might discover on the Hatfield and McCoy Marathon is that your time will be lower than other marathons. The course is challenging and it gets hot (around 85 degrees by the end of it), so a lot of runners report 10 to 20 minute times that are slower than their normal time. But it's not always about time, right? This one is worth running just for the niceness of the folks who run it and watch it and for the scenery, which is really darn beautiful.

There'll be about 500 runners registered, so the competition is good. Remember to book a hotel early as there are only a few in the area. But, one runner last year did report that, when he couldn't get a hotel room, the race director offered him a bed in his own home. Now you can't get any more welcoming than that, right? So sign yourself up for this one - it's a doozy!

The 112 Boston Marathon commenced on April 21, 2008. It consisted of a point-to-point course that took runners from Hopkinton, Mass., to Back Bay in Boston. It was a record-breaking year for a couple of reasons. First of all the prize purse was nearly 40 percent more than last year's and the women's elite race was so close that first and second place were separated by only two seconds.

Boston Marathon Statistics

There were 25,283 runners that entered the Boston Marathon this year, 22,375 of which started the race and all but 1.8 percent finished. About 41 percent of the runner population was made up of women and 122 were older than age 70. In the wheelchair division there were 16 entrants that started the race and all 16 finished the race. In the handcycle division there were 12 entries.

Boston Marathon Prize Purse

This was a record-breaking year for this historical marathon event. Up 38 percent from last year, this event offered $796,000 in prize money. This money was split between the open division, masters division and wheelchair/handcycle divisions. In the open division, equal prize money was given to the top finishers in the men's and women's divisions. First place winners received $150,000, second place winners received $75,000 and third place winners received $40,000. Other cash prizes in lower denominations were also awarded to fourth through 15th place winners.

In the master's division five cash prizes were awarded. First place winners received $10,000, second place winners received $5,000, third place was awarded $2,500, fourth place was awarded $1,500 and fifth place was awarded $1,000.

Top Female Finishers</strong><p>The time different between first place and fifth place in the women's elite division was less than five minutes. The top finisher was Dire Tune from Ethiopia with a time of 2:25:25. In second place was Alevtina Biktimirova from Russia with a time of 2:25:27, a mere two second difference. In third place was Rita Jeptoo of Kenya with a time of 2:26:34, in fourth place was Jelena Prokopcuka from Latvia with a time of 2:28:12 and in fifth place was Askale Tafa Magarsa also from Ethiopia with a time of 2:29:48. In sixth place was Bruna Genovese of Italy with a time of 2:30:52, in seventh place was Nuta Olaru from Romania with a time of 2:33:56, in eighth place was Robe Tola Guta from Ethiopia with a time of 2:34:37, in ninth place was Lidiya Grigoryeva from Russia with a time of 2:35:37 and in tenth place was Stephanie A. Hood from Canada with a time of 2:44:44.

Top Male Finishers

The male elite race was just as tight as the women's race, however, times were spread out slightly more. In first place was Robert K. Cheruiyot from Kenya with a time of 2:07:46. Cheruiyot is a repeat winner of the Boston Marathon. In second place was Abderrahime Bouramdune with a time of 2:09:04. Kahlil E. Boumlili came in third with a time of 2:10:35, Gashaw Asfaw from Ethiopia came in fourth with a time of 2:10:42 and Kasime Adillo, also from Ethiopia, came in fifth place with a time of 2:12:24.