Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon: Watch Jason Salyer win the men’s race
Watch Jason Salyer cross the finish line as the winner of the 2024 Flying Pig Marathon
He still has it.
In February Jason Salyer When he failed to finish the Olympic marathon trials in Orlando, he doubted his ability to become an elite runner. Salaire found his groove in the last few months and returned to glory as he repeated Men’s Flying Pig Marathon Champion.
“It’s a day of redemption,” Salaire said. “It was a real struggle for me mentally and emotionally. I doubted my abilities. Today I dug deep. I believe in myself. I pushed myself well. I felt strong at the end. I’m so thankful for the lessons. The support, the family support and the whole community support from here and back home.”
“There were days I thought maybe I didn’t have it. I just had to focus on being the best version of myself that day. Today I wasn’t worried about time. I just focused on effort.”
Salyer is the first back-to-back men’s full marathon champion since five-time winner Sergio Reyes won three straight from 2012-2014. The 33-year-old Tipp native let out all his emotions as he neared the finish line, chanting “pig” to the crowd before breaking the tape in 2:26:01, more than a minute better than his winning time of a year ago.
“For people who don’t know me and see that emotion, they might think I’m cocky, arrogant or mean. I wasn’t,” Salaire said. “There was a lot of built-up energy and emotion that I was finally able to release.”
Salyer went back and forth with 23-year-old Adam Buehler through half a dozen lead changes.
“Every time I took the lead from him (Beuchler), I didn’t know if that lead was going to stick. When he took the lead on me, I told myself to stay connected and that this is going to be a long race.” he said.
Around mile 22, Salaire finally found separation and pulled away for the 52-second victory. Two-time champion Jack Randall finished third in 2:27:34.
“It’s hard to replicate,” Salaire said. “You never know who’s going to show up for this event. This was Adam’s first time running. He went to the area. You have a general idea of who’s going to show up,” Salyer said. “It’s rewarding because it’s a competition. It’s a big competition and it’s No. 1 in America.”