I’m so excited to give you my race recap for the 2016 Rock n Roll Savannah half marathon! I have lots of words so I’ll try to be as concise as possible and give you all the information you need if you’re planning on doing it next year.

My primary motivation when planning this trip was CONVENIENCE. I wasn’t sure who, if anyone, would be going with me and having never been to Savannah I wanted to leave very little to chance. And also, since I knew there was a possibility I’d be alone, I wanted things to be as easy as possible.

The Hotel

I was originally booked at the Marriott on points but decided to switch to the Hyatt Regency. In hindsight, the Marriott really wasn’t far and is within easy walking distance of the start, but for several reasons, the Hyatt was definitely the right choice.

Check in was easy and they had little goodie bags for runners at check-in containing a banana, water and some information about race day.

I purchased the VIP package for $95 and I felt it was worth the money (more on that in a minute). The Hyatt Regency is exactly ON the historic Riverwalk and central to everything to see and do in Savannah. In order to get to the Expo, you have to take a ferry which was fine – I don’t have great navigational skills so parking my car and using public transportation when in a new city is always preferable and less stressful.

The Expo

We only waited about 15 minutes for the ferry and it was a pleasant journey where I met a new friend from Alabama that was running her first marathon! We chatted all about that (of course) and it got me really excited about race day! First marathons are the BEST. I love how runners can just start a conversation and instantly feel like friends!

We arrived at the Expo around 3:30 on Friday and the process was quick and easy. I had heard horror stories about crowds but I literally walked right up to get my bib and shirt, and then headed into the Expo area to get the VIP wrist band. I did switch out my shirt as the medium I ordered was TEENY TINY and the large was a much better fit. I hesitate to give the advice “size up” because there’s always the chance they’ll change vendors, but truly I’m usually a small or a medium and the large looks more like a small to me. It’s a great reminder to always take a look at the race shirt BEFORE you leave the Expo! It’s typically easy to switch.

I didn’t shop at all at  the Expo as my 20-year-old son really wasn’t interested and honestly I’ve been to so many expos that there’s rarely anything new so I was happy to get back to our exploring of Savannah!

We had dinner and headed back early and I was asleep by 9pm which was perfect! I didn’t have to worry about food race morning as the VIP ticket got me free breakfast and private restrooms in the hotel lobby race morning.

Race Day!

And race morning was here! I headed down early and enjoyed some coffee cake and a banana and peanut butter. There wasn’t a lot of food and hard-boiled eggs would have been a nice addition, but there was plenty of water and coffee  The VIP private restrooms are on the second floor of the hotel and considering the ridiculous line for the bathrooms in the lobby, this was a great thing. Although since I was staying there, I could pop up to the room for that as well.

When I say the race start is right outside the Hyatt I mean it’s RIGHT OUTSIDE so again, such a convenient choice. A side note on the rooms: lovely and comfortable but we had trouble with air circulation. If we stay there again, I will be bringing a fan or asking for one from the front desk. It wasn’t so much warm in the room, but a fan would have been lovely.

The weather and the course literally could not have been better. We were in the 50’s with a nice breeze and I was running with a group of people all happy to be there. Such a great way to spend a Saturday morning and SUCH a great way to see Savannah! We ran through so many great neighborhoods and historic places, and I loved seeing the community out to support the runners. And bonus: the course is almost entirely FLAT. There is one slight on ramp and a slight uphill toward the end but nothing that I even noticed or once thought – ugh, this is a hill.

After the race, I headed to the VIP tent and instantly found some girls I had met earlier for breakfast so we settled in for our (included) mimosas and hot brunch! The VIP area also had a women’s and men’s changing area and private porta-potties. It’s also set up just close enough to the venue stage that you could clearly hear the music which made for a lovely time.

I then hopped on the private VIP trolley (just steps away from where we’d had brunch) that took me straight back to the Hyatt. Another great feature that made it worth the money for me (and made me feel quite fancy, thank you very much).

Bottom line: this was a well run race with great support, the VIP package was worth the money, the Expo was well run and efficient, and the Hyatt was the perfect choice of hotel for my first visit to Savannah! I’ll do a second post with more details of my own racing day (spoiler alert: I RACED instead of just running) as I learned a lot about myself on the run! It was also my second fastest half which I was NOT expecting so I want to write some about that, too.

Please comment if you have any questions about the race or any of the logistics! I scoured other people’s blogs in preparation and would love to pass that along to others.