By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FLYING PIG RUNDOWN

Photos from the race Complete race results Today's stories: • Clifton residents champions • Daugherty: Pastry, coffee fuel for this soul • Lentz a tenacious victor • Ball's 1st win at home • Wrong turn costly in the 10K event; Borling wins it • Flying Pig by the numbers

About 16 miles into the Flying Pig Marathon, T.J. Lentz wondered why he had decided to run 26.2 miles at all.

The steady rain was miserable. His legs cramped mercilessly. He hadn't exactly trained for the Pig, either.

And he certainly hadn't counted on winning. Lentz, 37, hogged the men's title in the sixth annual marathon, capturing his first individual Pig title in 2:38.07 Sunday morning. He was the first marathon finisher among 4,802 men and women and the second straight men's winner from Cincinnati.

"It was a last-minute decision," said Lentz, who said he had never run the full marathon because he found the course "a little frightening."

"I'm getting older and I thought this would be a good time to do it."

If the name sounds familiar, it's because Lentz is well known in racing circles. The 11-year runner, a graduate of Lima Senior High School and Wittenberg University, was the Humana Heart Mini-Marathon champion two years ago. That spring he ran a leg for the Flying Pig's winning City Challenge team, a four-person marathon relay that included John Sence, Henry Dennis and Jill Tranter.

He hasn't run the relay since. He attended a wedding out of town last year and was replaced by Scott LeCates, and there were no City Challenge entrants this year, according to Pig communications director Jackie Reau.

Lentz finished first in one other marathon, the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisc., in 1998.

Before he entered the Pig, the men's field was wide open. John Aerni, last year's winner, is a teacher in Alaska and did not enter, nor did any past men's winner. Once Lentz made himself a contender, there was little doubt that he would be among the favored - if not the favorite.

"He disappeared over the horizon pretty quickly," said fourth-place men's finisher Stephen Wolcott. "I never really saw him again."

Lentz finished 5:36 ahead of second-place Thomas Yakowenko of Metuchen, N.J Coming out of Mariemont at the 16th mile, Lentz said his left quad started to cramp. He stopped to walk three or four times.

"After you stop the first time, it's very difficult mentally to start again, at least for me," Lentz said.

He was spurred on by many family and friends lining the course, including his wife, Renee, and daughter, Eeva. Renee is pregnant with the couple's second daughter, Tuula, and is due May 23. She and Eeva first caught sight of Lentz around the 8-mile mark and cheered him on again between miles 15 and 17.

"We knew it was going to be a tough race," Renee Lentz said. "But he looked great."

He got another boost from Sence, who was riding in the race's lead car, and "was one of the ones encouraging me to run the race," Lentz said.

Though he and women's winner P.J. Ball had the slowest winning times since the Pig's inception, they also faced first-time bad weather. The weather cooled the runners but also made the roads slick.

Donning his signature eyepatch - the result of an auto accident 25 years ago - Lentz crossed the finish to copius cheers.

Will he defend his title? Maybe. He wants to refine his training first.

"I underestimated the hills," he said.

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com