'I'm a caretaker.' Doug Olberding focusing on growth, charity in 1st Flying Pig as CEO
After co-founding and serving as organizer for the Reggae Run, which became Cincinnati's largest 5k over 20-plus years, Doug Olberding realized the events that captivate the city's running community were always bigger than one person.
"These events belong to the community. That's the way you should manage them and that's the way you should talk about them because they are a public good," Olberding said.
Olberding has a similar feeling as he prepares for his first Flying Pig Marathon as the president and CEO of PigWorks.
"I'm a caretaker. This is an event that doesn't belong to me. It really belongs to the city, it belongs to the community and my role is to grow and protect the marathon and the brand and position it for growth for another 30 years," said Olberding, who was a board member of the Flying Pig Marathon for more than 20 years. "When I'm dead and gone, and people are here 30 years from now, they can still talk about the marathon and how great it is for Cincinnati."
He's felt it this week when he's around the P&G Health and Fitness Expo. He felt it this winter and early spring, when a social media invitation from PigWorks led to Olberding introducing himself by running with 18 different groups across the city.
"It was a great way to get out and meet our participants and to tell the story of The Pig and get feedback," Olberding said. "It was great to engage, and it got me out the door, too."
Literally outside of Olberding's door with an adjacent office at the new PigWorks headquarters in the historic former Coca-Cola bottling plant at 1507 Dana Avenue is Iris-Simpson Bush. Olberding's predecessor took a step back into a new role as director of community engagement for PigWorks last year after steering the Flying Pig into one of the nation's top marathons over the last 22 years.
"There's no mistake that Iris is the one who really built this and had the vision and energy to do it," Olberding said.
'We grow the impact by growing the races.'
Once the 2025 Flying Pig Marathon is in the books, PigWorks will waste no time in beginning its marketing for the 2026 event.
Last year, The Flying Pig Marathon brought in $22 million in economic impact to Greater Cincinnati with participants from all 50 states and over 20 countries.
Olberding knows the marathon is the "tentpole" event each Pig weekend, a race that drives the organization, economic impact to the region and sponsorships.
"We grow the impact by growing the races. People will travel farther for a marathon than they will for a 5k," Olberding said.
Last year, nearly 5,000 people ran the marathon. Olberding estimates that close to 6,000 will accept the 26.2-mile challenge this weekend and there's a goal for 8,000 participants by the Flying Pig Marathon's 30-year anniversary in 2027.
"The higher we can make that tentpole (marathon), the broader the tent is, the more economic impact, the more we can do for charities," Olberding said. "That's where our focus is."
'I'm really excited about telling our story as a nonprofit.'
Early on in his new role, Olberding discovered that many believed PigWorks was just responsible for the Flying Pig Marathon.
He's spent the last 11 months helping spread the message that the marathon is just the tip of the iceberg. While PigWorks aims to grow and offer top-tier races throughout Cincinnati, another focus is giving back.
On April 9, the Flying Pig Marathon awarded $20,000 scholarships ($5,000 for four years) to 18 area high school seniors at a celebratory breakfast and ceremony at Music Hall. There's a goal to build an endowment to fund those scholarships in the future.
The Flying Pig Marathon will also raise more than $1 million through its work with over 300 local charities this year. Participants registering for any PigWorks race can easily pick a cause and 100% of their donation goes to charity.
"We don't take any of the money, not a percentage, not a dime," Olberding said.
PigAbilities, a one-mile event for disabled athletes, should have around 2,000 participants, according to Olberding. It started last year with the help of 40 different agencies and Ohio Valley Goodwill as the title sponsor. PigWorks is hoping to add assisted events in the near future and already have a hand-cycle division in Saturday's Toyota 10k.
"I'm really excited about telling our story as a nonprofit and the good that the Flying Pig Marathon and PigWorks does in this community," Olberding said.
'It's gonna be short, sweet and appreciative.'
As a college professor for 25 years, Olberding is very comfortable in addressing a large crowd.
While he admitted he'll likely have a quiet moment of reflection Saturday, he'll go behind the microphone early Sunday morning with a swift message of gratitude before the race starts to begin the 27th annual Flying Pig Marathon.
"It's gonna be short, sweet and appreciative," Olberding said. "I'm gonna send them on their way because the one thing I know is that people don't wanna hear me yapping."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'I'm a caretaker.' Doug Olberding prepares for 1st Flying Pig as CEO
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