A former PigWorks intern in 2022, Simon Heys’ first goal this weekend at the Paycor Flying Pig Marathon was to see a few familiar faces. His second goal was to win the half-marathon.
Heys, a Wilmington native, checked both boxes on Sunday, May 3, winning the half marathon in one hour, nine minutes and 58 seconds.
“I really wanted to go after it,” Heys said. “I definitely came in with a goal to win and I’m just happy to get it done.”
Heys, who was an all-state runner at Wilmington High School, ran track at Wilmington College. He was a four-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference runner for the Quakers, winning the conference championship just over a year ago.
“It’s just a full-circle moment,” Heys said. “I’ve worked hard in a lot of aspects, mostly the running side of things. It was just a really special day.”
Amanda Zerhusen wins 2026 Flying Pig half marathon
Zerhusen, a 2024 McNicholas High School graduate and current sophomore at Mount St. Joseph, broke the tape in the women’s half-marathon in 1:19:50, just one second slower than Madeline Trevisan’s course record from one year ago.
Trevisan took second place in 1:21:34.
The two ran side-by-side for the first five miles before Zerhusen used the incline on Vine Street and the climb into Eden Park to establish a gap.
“I kind of just expected to come out here and run it. I knew my time, that I wanted to place between 1:20 and 1:25,” Zerhusen said.
She just finished her outdoor track season on May 1 and credits her coaches, Adam Cokonougher and Justin Bland, for allowing her to run high mileage during the season.
She completed the 2025 half-marathon in 1:30:42 coming off an injury.
Zerhusen’s father, John, is a runner and graduated from Purcell Marian High School and Xavier University. Seeing him on the course meant just as much to Amanda as winning her hometown half-marathon.
“I’m sure he was out there somewhere, so to be right behind him was amazing,” Zerhusen said.
Returning to school this fall, her goals are to make it to regionals in cross country and break 17:30 for five kilometers on the track.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Flying Pig Half Marathon winners are Simon Heys, Amanda Zerhusen
Reporting by Brendan Connelly and Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
