Expo, schedule and race morning

Packet pickup

• Friday, April 30, 2027: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Saturday, May 1, 2027: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, May 2, 2027: Closed. No race-day packet pickup for the marathon, half or relay.

• There is no race-day packet pickup for the full marathon, half marathon or 4-person relay, and packets are not mailed before the race. If you cannot reach the expo on Friday or Saturday, you cannot run.
• Saturday's races are different: registration and packet pickup for Saturday events opens at 6:00 a.m. race morning at Lot E, 297 W Mehring Way.
• Packets are handed out by bib number, not by last name. Bib numbers are emailed to participants ahead of the weekend, and there is a bib lookup tool on the race site.
• Someone else can collect your packet. They need the completed Packet Pickup Authorization Form plus a copy of your photo ID. A photo of the ID shown on a phone is accepted.
• You collect your clear gear-check bag at the expo. It is the only bag accepted at Sunday gear check, and any non-clear bag on site is subject to inspection.
• Pick your shirt up in the premium shirt area before you exit. There is a first-come, first-served shirt exchange at the expo for size swaps.
• If you registered after mid-April you will not have a corral printed on your bib. Visit the Corral Assignment booth at the expo. Moving up into Pig Pen A or B requires proof of time.
• The expo is free and open to the public. The Pace Team booth is here both days if you want to meet your pacer before race morning.
• Fifty West Mile runners have a separate Friday pickup, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Lot E, 297 W Mehring Way.

August 2026, against the official 2027 expo page and the 2027 full schedule on flyingpigmarathon.com

The published weekend schedule

Days, times and venues for the races themselves are the official 2027 schedule published on flyingpigmarathon.com, verified August 2026. The operational detail that only ever appears in the printed event guide, meaning the 6:15 a.m. opening ceremonies, the 6:20 a.m. corral deadline, the 6:30 a.m. gear-check cutoff, the relay bus departure windows, the Lot E Saturday pickup and the 2:30 p.m. gear claim deadline, is taken from the 2026 event guide, which is the most recent published. The 2027 guide is not out yet. These figures have been stable year to year but should be re-checked when the 2027 guide drops.

Getting there

Nothing public runs early enough to get you to a 6:30 a.m. start. This is the one hard fact to plan around. You are walking, or you are parking and then walking.

• The Connector streetcar is free and stops at The Banks, one block from the start, but Sunday service runs 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Both start after every gun on both days. Use it Friday for the expo, not Sunday for the race.
• All streets south of 4th Street close at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. If you are driving in, be parked by 6:00 or you will be walking considerably further than you planned.
• Sunday parking is Lots A, B and 1 plus the Central Riverfront Garage near Paycor Stadium for anyone arriving by 6:00 a.m., then garages along 3rd Street. Lot A at 226 Central Ave pays through the Metropolis app. The Central Riverfront Garage takes credit cards only, no cash, with entrances on Race St., W. Pete Rose Way and Main St./Joe Nuxhall Way. Both run about $5. Lot E is not available on Sunday.
• Walking in from Kentucky is a legitimate plan. The Roebling Suspension Bridge stays open to pedestrians all weekend and sits roughly one mile from Covington parking. Newport parking is about a mile and a half via the Taylor Southgate Bridge.
• SpotHero lets you reserve a downtown spot in advance, which is worth it on a morning when 21,000 people arrive inside the same 90 minutes.
• CVG airport is in Northern Kentucky, about 10 minutes from downtown. Pig Works says outright that a rental car is not necessary for the weekend, since the expo and both start and finish lines are walkable from the host hotels.
• Post-race, yellow First Student shuttles run from 8:30 a.m., picking up near the start on Elm Street and Freedom Way and dropping at the 5th Street downtown hotels, the relay parking lots, and the Newport and Covington hotels.
• Relay legs 2, 3 and 4 load buses at Eggleston and Butler streets, 1.5 miles from the start, departing 5:40 to 5:55 a.m., 6:10 to 6:35 a.m. and 7:00 to 7:20 a.m. Only leg 1 reports to the start line. You may drive yourself to an exchange zone, but road closures make getting close difficult.
• Use Waze rather than any other navigation app all weekend. Pig Works works directly with Waze to load its road closures, so it routes around them in real time.

Parking near the course endpoints

These are mapped garages near the course, not a promise of race-day access. Check closures and pre-booking rules with the organizer.

• Central Riverfront Garage2 minute modeled walk to start
• Olympic Auto Park2 minute modeled walk to start
• 321 Race Street Garage4 minute modeled walk to start
• The Mabley Place Garage4 minute modeled walk to start
• Allright Parking6 minute modeled walk to start
• Fountain Square Parking6 minute modeled walk to start
• Great American Insurance Tower6 minute modeled walk to start
• Columbia Plaza7 minute modeled walk to start
• Western and Southern Building8 minute modeled walk to start
• East Garage9 minute modeled walk to start

Published entry tiers

Checked August 2026; fees and tiers can change.