Quick hits:
+ They offered two advance reservation parking options. I took the free one, it was quick and easy to get in and the ferry over to the start line was simple and quick.
+ The extra swag (jacket) for marathon finishers was a great perk.
+ Chocolate milk in the finish chute.
+ Well ran race and I'd run it again (opting for the 13.1).
- The back half of the marathon route included about 5 miles (out and back) on the southbound lanes of a highway, not scenic and a little demoralizing in the back half of a marathon.
- Walk to gear pick-up post race was brutal.
- Headlining concert was definitely scheduled for the benefit of the 13.1 runners with the show scheduled to wrap at 12:00 (they did end up playing until about 12:30).

Deep thoughts....
The Expo. I arrived to the expo on day two around 11:00. Parking was free and plentiful. The expo was a good size with several vendors and a large Brooks exhibit that comes along with the RNR series. I expected the vendor pool to be local given the NYC marathon the same weekend. Toyota was personalizing shirts for runners who went through their Rock Your Run experience. The experience was entertaining with a pep talk from Coach Rav, filming a seven second spot that was broadcast at Mile 10, and then the t-shirt personalization. They had small “I run for ________” patches to press onto the shirtsleeve. I got to pick what went in the blank, of course I chose Donuts.

Parking. They offered two advance reservation parking options. The Convention Center parking was free and they also offered downtown parking for $10. Both required arrival pretty early. I parked at the Convention Center and took the ferry across and had an arrive by time of 6:00am. I believe downtown parking had to be in the lot by 5:30am. Race start was 7:30am so either was pretty early. Having not previously run this race I wasn’t sure what the traffic would look like so I was in the lot around 5:15am. There was no traffic getting to the convention center. I had to ferry across and wasn't sure how the line would look or how long the ride would be, so I headed from my car to the ferry around 5:30. I was able to get right on and it was only a 5 to 10 minute ferry across to the historic district. After a short walk from the ferry I was in the start area before 6:00.

Start line. I liked the way they had the portables setup. There were groups of about 10 in a variety of locations spread from back behind the last corral to about even with corral 4 and 5. In the start area they also had tents with water and bananas for that last minute fuel. Gear check was UPS trucks as the race finished in a different location. Gear check had a scheduled close of 7:00 (30 minutes prior to start).

Course. The first bit of the race ran through a few neighborhoods. There were a good number of spectators watching from their homes. This was not the fancy historic area that I had toured the prior day. It was a real look into Savannah, and I was a bit surprised the route went that way. At about mile five the course reentered the historic district and ran around a couple of the squares and past some of the historic landmarks I had trolleyed past the day before. There was a ton of crowd support in this area. Between mile 11 and 12 the course split from the half marathon. This is where I became less of a fan of the course and could see how last year with the heat there were issues. For about 2.5 miles we ran down the southbound side of a highway with no shade. Shortly after mile 14 we entered a shaded area and then back to Savannah University’s campus. The campus area was one of my favorite parts as the students were out cheering and this was a part of the course with runners going in both directions. Brings a bit of motivation when the fasties are heading past me. The course then returned back the way it came through mile 20, just before 21 we took another split and looped through another neighborhood. Before mile 23 the course started the journey back along that boring highway. Thankfully at about mile 25 we were back with spectator support through the finish. There were plenty of hydration stops on the course and even a good number of bands out playing.

Finish line. Coming through the finish shoot they had the traditional water bottle and Gatorade. My favorite (which now seems to be a constant at RNR), chocolate milk was also handed out. Bananas, Powerbars, Cheese-Its, and fruit cups rounded out the post race fuel in the finish line chute. My biggest challenge post race was the distance I had to walk before I got to rest. I ran the full so I had to walk to one side of the park (through the concert crowd) to grab my finisher’s jacket then what felt like another marathon to the end of the park on the opposite side to the UPS trucks where our gear was checked. It would have better if they could have situated the jackets on the same side as the finish to avoid the extra trek.

Swag. The runner tee was the now typical tech-tee. It came in navy in both women’s and men’s sizes. Having taken the ferry across to the race I thought it was cool that was the medal theme this year. My favorite benefit was the full marathon finisher’s jacket. Great perk for those gritting it out for the full 26.2, not that 13.1 isn’t an accomplishment itself!

The one major letdown for me was the timing of the headlining concert. For once I was genuinely excited about the performer, then checked the times and realized they were scheduled to be done (played 11:00 – 12:00) before I would even finish. I got a little lucky and they ended up playing until about 12:30. I didn’t get to see them close up, as I couldn’t muster the energy to walk back to the stage after the trek to get my gear, but was able to hear the end of their set as I stretched.

I’d definitely like to comeback to Savannah and would consider the RNR again, but most likely stick with the half marathon rather than running the full.