Flying Pig A Meet, Cincinnati, OH

Flying Pig A-Meet (Cincinnati, OH)
By the Barrett Family

Following the Ran-It Granite (MD), we headed to Ohio for the 13th Annual Flying Pig from April 3-5, where we joined fellow Possum Trotters Reta Roe, Dick Neuburger, Paul Clatterbuck, and Jason Plunkett. We were in for another weekend of challenging courses, a thrilling relay, and orienteering camaraderie. The middle distance was Friday afternoon, a sprint Saturday morning, the Relay Championships Saturday afternoon, and the long distance on Sunday morning. All of the races were scored and awarded individually (no combined time results), so there were multiple opportunities for medals.
The hills were just as steep as they had been in Maryland, but the woods seemed greener—both on the map and in actual leaf growth (everything was sprouting!). The extra foliage, combined with the abundant depressions, made it easy for the course setters to keep the controls out of sight until we actually reached the feature.
There were around 150 participants at the Flying Pig, some of them familiar from the A-meet the weekend before. Only Reta, Dick, and Paul ran in all four races (they must be in great shape!). Eight of us won medals for the middle distance courses, despite the drizzling, cool weather, the muddy trails, and the parallel errors by some of us. After that race we got to feast on delicious pizza at a local restaurant, while discussing and comparing our route choices and splits. (We don’t have the information about the sprint and the long distance.)
The day of the Relay was picture perfect—a beautiful day for spectating and running, with sunshine, blue skies, and warm temperatures. PTOC entered two 12-point teams. The courses were regular length, which made waiting difficult and nerve-wracking for those on the second, third, and fourth legs. However, the excitement of seeing a team member suddenly come into view for the uphill climb to the hand-off/finish line was exhilarating! With some great runs by members on both teams, the A Team placed 2nd and the B Team placed 3rd. We’re hoping to get 1st and 2nd next year (and maybe 3rd, if we can convince some of you to join us!). The post-race treat of a huge bag of M&Ms (provided by Dick) was a welcome ending to a fabulous day. Well, the kids really enjoyed them—the bag was almost empty by the time we finished the nine hour drive back to Kansas City that night!.