Tipp City’s Salyer wins second straight Flying Pig Marathon

“I’m so exhausted,” Salyer told WLWT-TV in Cincinnati. “The heat and humidity is rough.”

Salyer, who runs for Dayton Track Club, competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando in Febuary, but did not finish the race. That provided some anxious moments but also motivation leading up to Sunday’s race.

“This is a big redemption race for me,” he told WLWT-TV. “... I questioned myself and my ability after (the Olympic Trials). I had to power through a lot of mental struggles these past three months. But i had a belief in myself that I could still accomplish things at a high level.”

Salyer is the first repeat champ in the men’s race since Sergio Reyes won three straight from 2012-14.

In addition to his pair of Pig wins, Salyer is a two-time winner of the Air Force Marathon (2022, 2023). He also won the Toledo Glass City Marathon in 2023.

Dayton Track Club made it a sweep of the marathon Sunday with Olivia Anger’s win in the women’s race. Anger, a Minnesota native who lives in Bellbrook and attends graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, crossed the finish line in a winning time of 2:43.22.

It was the second-fastest winning time in the event’s 26-year history. Tatyana Pozdnyakova won in 2:34.33 in 2002.

“It was an amazing feeling to be able to win in Cincinnati,” said Anger, whose previous best marathon finish was 13th in the 2022 Twin Cities Marathon.

Anger won the Flying Pig’s 10K race last year. Emily Zimmerman of Dayton Track Club won this year’s 10K.