CINCINNATI — The Flying Pig Marathon has announced its changes to the race's annual route, since marathoners can no longer run over the now-demolished 4th Street Bridge connecting Newport and Covington.
The new route appears to take racers through Newport via 3rd Street, then down to Route 9. From there, the route cuts to Brighton Street before taking runners across the Licking River via the 11th Street Bridge instead. From there, runners will head up Greenup Street in Covington, then over to 4th Street, where the route resumes unchanged from there.
The full marathon kicks off Sunday, May 3, but Flying Pig events like the half-marathon, 10K and 5K will happen throughout that weekend.
The half marathon will also follow the same new route as the full marathon, taking the 11th Street Bridge.
Full details on this year's Flying Pig Marathon, like road closures and parking information, has not been released yet. The full marathon will start at 6:30 a.m. on May 3, starting from Rosa Parks Street and finishing on Mehring Way, near the Michelob Ultra Victory Party at Smale Park.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) performed the controlled demolition of the 4th Street Bridge that once connected Covington and Newport on March 2. It had been considered by KYTC officials to be functionally obsolete and while the original plan was to leave it standing until a new bridge could be built, officials determined the safest thing to do was demolish it.
In 2023, KYTC revealed four different bridge designs in consideration for the 4th Street Bridge's replacement; the agency previously announced the approved design is a three-arch bridge that will span the Licking River.
