This year, they will be teammates. Next year, they hope to push each other to the finish line as competitors. John Sence and T.J. Lentz, perhaps the two biggest male names in local running circles, will not race the full 26.2 miles in the fourth Flying Pig Marathon on Sunday. However, they will run together as part of Cincinnati's City Challenge relay team.

        Sence had planned on running in the Pig marathon this year, but a foot injury in January halted his training for 1 1/2 months and changed that. He and Lentz are planning to run the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., on June 22 in hopes of qualifying for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (each needs to break the 2:20 mark).

        “I wouldn't be surprised if John and I both decided to try it next year,” Lentz said of the Flying Pig. “We're kinda getting the itch.”

        “There's got to be a time when we both do it,” Sence added. “That would be neat for the city.”

        Both attended all three previous Flying Pigs. Lentz was on a relay team with relatives in 1999; his wife, Renee, will run her first marathon Sunday.

        Lentz finished second in the Las Vegas International Marathon in February and didn't think he'd be ready to run the Flying Pig. Last year, he also ran in Las Vegas. In 2000, he competed in the Olympic Trials in Pittsburgh, which was the week before the Flying Pig.

        “It has been hard (to watch the Pig),” Lentz said. “I think they've put together a terrific race. It is a goal to run this marathon, and next year may be the time.”

        Sence has not run a marathon since Sacramento in December 2000. He had hoped to run in the Pig, get a qualifying time for the Olympic Trials and set a course record (and receive the $10,000 Waffle House Bonus) this weekend until he had to deal with his foot injury.

        Last year, Sence said, he was not mentally ready to run a marathon when the Flying Pig rolled around. In 2000, he missed it because of the Olympic Trials, and in '99, he wanted to run in the U.S. Championships because it was on the same course in Pittsburgh where the Trials would take place.

        “Timingwise, it just has never worked out,” Sence said of running the Cincinnati marathon. “It really has been frustrating. There aren't too many people who have the opportunity to win a marathon in their hometown, and the opportunity to do that is dwindling slowly away.”

        Sence and Lentz are excited about their all-star relay team, assembled by Bob Roncker, owner of Bob Roncker's Running Spot stores.

        Sence will run the first leg (6.3 miles), then hand off to Lentz (5.8). The third runner is Henry Dennis (5.9), a Colerain High School graduate who moved back to Cincinnati in June and a week later easily won a 5K race in Milford. Sence, whom he had never met, greeted Dennis at the finish line. Eventually, Dennis was invited to be on the relay team.

        The final and longest leg of the relay (8.2) will be run by Jill Tranter, fresh off of victories at the Heart Mini-Marathon and Race for the Cure.

        The Flying Pig course record is 2:21:15. There is talk this relay team could break that and maybe Tranter will be the first runner to cross the finish line Sunday.

        “I think we're all looking to have a little fun,” Lentz said. “I can't think of any other cities around the region who could put together a stronger team.”

        Said Sence: “The team is stacked.”

        Complete Marathon coverage at Cincinnati.com/flyingpig

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