Disclaimer: I received a free entry into the Savannah Bridge Run because of my agreement to share footage I recorded during the race.

I first learned about the Savannah Bridge Run while I researched hotel accommodations for next year’s Cooper River Bridge Run. When Enmarket’s Savannah Bridge Run popped up during a search result, I dove deeper and learned quite a bit about “the South’s Toughest Bridge Run.” This particular race offered three distances: the 5k, the 10k, and “the double pump” which is a combination of the two for a total of 15 kilometers.

The 5k race starts on Hutchinson Island and crosses the Talmadge Bridge in a north to south fashion before finish a block away from the Savannah Civic Center. The 10k starts at the Savannah Civic Center, goes across the bridge to the 5k start point and turns around to complete at the same finish line as the 5k. The Double Pump has participants run with the 5k crowd and then take off with the 10k people during the start time.

Working with one of the organizers, I opted for the 5k race since the vast majority of the up-to 3,000 participants does that race. I guess going over the bridge once is enough for most people.

As usual, I had my GoPro set up a week before the race. I studied the course map, looked at previous years’ results, and prepared my race attire for a balmy run. But as the week went on, a cold front took hold of my city and had me a little worried. I thought that if a cold front hit central South Carolina, what would take its place when it finally lifted? I checked the weather and from Columbia down to Savannah, meteorologists predicted warmth with some rain from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. Each passing day, I looked at updated weather information for Savannah, and while prospects of delayed rain sounded good, I added my GoPro selfie stick to my gear list in case the weather worsened.

We arrived at the Savannah Bridge Run expo with 40 minutes to spare, but from planning ahead earlier in the week, I asked a fellow Team Red White and Blue member to pick up our packets. She worked a booth for the Publix Savannah women’s half marathon & 5k and happily handed us our shirts, bibs, and safety pins.

After checking into our hotel, I looked at the weather once again. This time, weathermen predicted the rain would hit the Savannah area at 7 AM. Up until that time, 7 AM on a Saturday, looked like 20% chance of rain with 90-100% happening after 1 PM. Great, I thought to myself, I really did not want to aim the GoPro at myself the whole race. But that is the only rain-proof set up I have for my GoPro.

Now, the Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run uses an app to push out information in addition to having a dedicated website. According to both, 5k participants were highly encouraged to park at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center, located right next to the 5k starting line. Trolleys would bring people from the finish line back to their original spots. Since we left our daughters back at the hotel, I parked near the Civic Center and we caught a race trolley up to the starting line assembly area.

At the starting line, I saw a plethora of ruckers, quite a few costumed individuals and families, a handful of Team Red White and Blue shirts and apparel, and many, many people gathering around and talking. I almost felt like I was back in Charleston for their Bridge Run. The race announcer came on the speaker systems several times to put out information and one of the biggest for everyone out there was that runners should form up on the left side of the start line and walkers should go to the right side.

We were supposed to start at 8 AM for the 5k race. Here is where I tip my hat to the race organizers; the last race trolley carrying runners from the main land got stuck in traffic and they didn’t want the runners to miss out, so the race organizers held off the start by almost 15 minutes. I believe this to be a good decision on their part. There may have been almost 2500 people already at the start line, but that last bus of about 40 people would have missed out on an electrifying time. No one complained or booed when the announcer explained why the race didn’t start on time.

As per usual, I make my way to the very back of the crowd before the race started. I really need to gauge crowds better, because once the race officially started, it took me three full minutes to cross the actual start line. AC/DC’s “Thunderstuck” played at the signal of the race start, and it sounded almost done once I had room to run. I’m not fast anymore, but according to Strava, it took me 10 and a half minutes to complete my first mile, mostly from being around the back crowds. But I still had fun because I knew I couldn’t compete with the likes of sprinters, fitness fanatics, professional runners, and people still in the military. I will say that my mile times throughout the race got better as I moved past people and as the crowds thinned out.

That first mile may have been very crowded, but it didn’t have the huge incline. The second mile contained all of the bridge, and while the top of the bridge was only 100 feet higher than the rest of the ground, that incline got to a lot of people. I thoroughly enjoyed it though, which is surprising because that incline is a steeper angle than what takes place in Charleston. Once I crested the top of the bridge, that steep incline gave way to a steep decline, but I still ran with a relatively smooth pace or at least what felt like a good pace. During my time on the bridge, I paid sharp attention to the traffic. Everyone running in the race stayed in the marked-off right lane of the right side of the bridge, with the left lane of the right side of the bridge allocated for traffic going the same way as us. The left side of the bridge had two lanes open for oncoming traffic. I wish the right side of the bridge was completely shut down for just pedestrians and vehicle traffic restricted to the left side of the bridge. This thought came to mind as a semi-trailer rolled past a bunch of us and we breathed in its exhaust. Fortunately, that was the only big vehicle going past us during the race.

The third mile occurred during the off-ramp and contained the one other incline for the race, something that mentally caught me off-guard. But that was uneventful and my third mile time jumped back to a somewhat normal 8:30ish mile time. As I neared the finish area, I saw a supportive crowd behind pedestrian gates. I rounded that corner and saw the finish line, got my finisher’s medal after crossing and looked for a bottle of water. The overall atmosphere at the finish line felt festive.

One of the biggest things I think about when it comes to a race is water station placement. I am used to water stations near mile markers or at easily accessible spots along the course. This course had two stations: one around the .4 mile mark and again at the 2.7 mile mark. I presume the organizers placed the water stations before and after the bridge due to space limitations on the bridge itself, but I know I was not the only one who would have enjoyed a refreshing drink after running a mile. I found the water table after the finish line and two different size water bottles were offered to finishers. I also got to eat some fruit; there was no shortage of bananas, much to my delight.

The medal itself looks very nice and I’m quite impressed with the weight, feel, style, and overall composition of the bridge medal. The long sleeve race shirt is a thin Delta Dri shirt and will definitely be worn in cool weather while I’m running.

Other than the weird water station placements and traffic driving in the lane next to us on the bridge, this was definitely a nice experience and something I recommend to anyone who would be in the Savannah area in early December. Walking or running over the Savannah River on the Talmadge Bridge is not something that can not normally be done unlike the Ravenel Bridge in Charleston. So when an event like this happens, that is your ticket to conquer this particular bridge.

You can check out what the race looked like around me with this video: https://youtu.be/sNBplXtLq2k

I participated in a preview run of the 2018 Governor’s Cup 13.1-mile race. The preview had us go over the first eight miles of the overall course. The last couple of years, the Governor’s Cup had taken place in November, April, and May. The 2018 Governor’s Cup is set to happen in May and it will be this route that I will (mostly) review.

On a cool Saturday morning, about 30 runners and walkers from various running groups gathered to get a feel of the course, see the sights along the route, and to enjoy a sneak preview of the oldest race in Columbia, South Carolina. This year should mark the 45th year that the South Carolina Governor’s Cup has occurred, and that morning felt a little special as we all stood in front of the State capital building and went over the route before we took off.

I walked and jogged the majority of the course with one of my friends. This let me soak in some of the buildings and parks that I normally miss when I’m running downtown. I definitely appreciate being able to see how this course incorporated parts of other race courses in this particular route.

You will start off facing the State capital building and go along a relatively flat route for the first mile and a half. After that, we got a pretty downhill grade for the next mile and a half. It’s in these first three (3) miles that you can appreciate looking at some of the older homes, fixtures, and neighborhoods in Columbia, this includes a repurposed building that used to print Confederate currency before the Civil War but now is open as a Publix grocery store. After the third (3rd) mile, you will cross the first of two bridges that spans over the Congaree River; if you’re into taking running selfies, this would be a good spot.

Just after mile four (4), you will start to feel the uphill burn, though it would last long. However, and this is because the preview run didn’t have markers out there, I forgot to read the map and I missed my turn for mile five (5), so I lost an entire mile out of the official route. We did make up a little bit of the mileage by overwalking our planned route, but we got back on track when we circled back to Naples Ave. At about the six-and-a-half-mile (6.5) area, there will an intersection that should be clearly marked on which way to go, because when you left turn to run north along the course, there are actually two roads that go north. Like I said, there should be markers showing which way to go.

After mile seven (7), you will cross the second of two bridges that go over the Congaree River. I suggest caution on this bridge if you do a selfie because the safety rails and walls are lower here than on the Gervais St Bridge. But that means you will have more of the river in your picture.

Once you cross the second bridge and hit mile eight (8), catch your breath as much as you can because this is where you will start hitting all those uphills and elevation increases. There’s a bridge that goes over the railroad tracks and I had flashbacks to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5k race; that bridge can be a pain while going over it, but it doesn’t last long. A little bit after that bridge, you will catch a short reprieve before you climb up somewhat steep hill. It was after this hill that our preview run ended when we headed back to the State capital building, but when I looked at the map, I could see that the elevation kept fluctuating with an end result of higher altitude and hills.

On our preview run, we had two scheduled water stations, but the race will have more than that. Water stations are scheduled to be at the 1.5 mile area, the 4 mile marker, near the 6.5 mile area, 9 mile marker, the 10.5 mile area, and the 11.5 mile area.

Since the race will take place downtown, you could park where I did, at the Taylor Street public garage. It’s two streets away from the starting line. There are several other garages in the area and they will all be free since public downtown garages are free on Saturdays (contrary to what some of the meter parking signs say… they need updating).

Based off of what I saw, the Governor’s Cup race looks like it will be very scenic, test your cardio, and worth going to.

The Greenville Zoo held its Zoom Through the Zoo 5k Race and Children’s Fun Run on Saturday May 12th. Since I have participated in the Riverbanks Zoo’s 5k run for the past two years, my wife and I were fairly interested in seeing how another zoo does their spin on an event like this. We registered about six weeks before the race’s date at a very reasonably price of 25 dollars a person. We loved our visits to Greenville in the past and thought we’d make a day out of it; our son’s high school had other plans which we didn’t know about until later so we had to cut that day’s activities short. Nevertheless, we looked forward to doing the race and checking out the Greenville Zoo afterwards. I couldn’t quite make out the course on the map but saw that some of it took place outside the zoo right around it.

We received several emails from the Greenville Zoo the week prior about packet pick-up which if you could make it, would be at the Fleet Feet store in Greenville. Or you could get your packet the morning of, starting at 7 AM since the first race started at 8 AM. We went with the second option and hit the road at 5 in the morning and got up to the zoo’s parking lot just after 7 AM. The race packet included a free pass for one person to enter the zoo; our bib and four safety pins; fliers for the Pelham Medical Center and its services; upcoming events for the Greenville Zoo to include a Brew at the Zoo extravaganza, a concert on the zoogrounds, and a zoo camp for kids; and of course, the race shirt. The shirt is a tech shirt from Expert Brand. I’m a big fan of tech or performance shirts for running and exercising so this race was starting to look good in my eyes. A little after 7:30, I saw a longish line form for packet pickup. I later learned that over 1100 people registered for either the 5k or the 1 mile fun run.

At 8:15, almost 900 racers got in the starting corral area. Before I knew how many people were in the run, I could see the crowd forming there. I love starting in the far back and working my way up as much as possible throughout the race. For this race, however, I started towards the back with my wife, but not too far back since we saw over a dozen jogging strollers back there and the first 100 meters or so before and after the starting line was a little narrow. I am going to spoil the end of the race a little, but I came in with almost a two-minute difference between gun time and chip time. The 30 other people who finished before me in my age group, except for one, had an average difference of 15 seconds between gun and chip time. That is how crowded it got towards the back.

Once I cleared the starting line, I felt like I was back in the military with my three to five second rushes between groups of walkers and runners before I would slow to an almost stop when I came across the next group of people. While most would find this frustrating, and probably jockey for a spot closer to the start line, it’s this chaos at the beginning that I love to be in the middle of, though I do wish the occasional two-person group of walkers wouldn’t stroll down the exact middle of the course while giving mean glances at people trying to go around them. After about a third of a mile, the crowd started to thin. The hills were not mountainous, but I could definitely notice them, especially in the motions of some of the runners before and around me. Depending on where they pop up in a race, I love hills (again, something that hearkens back to my military days) and I watched as people slowed down or started walking up these little challenge barriers.

While running, I ended up checking my Strava app several times because I never saw a course mile marker out there. Another thing that was a complete surprise to me was the complete lack of water stations along the course. At roughly the two-mile mark, I slowed down to figure out where the water was. The overall course was very shady and under tree cover, though, and it greatly helped that the weather was cool with a small breeze hitting me at all the right times. After running for 2.5 miles, we hit the entrance to the Greenville Zoo and I got to see a pair of vultures, the red pandas, the siamangs, and some lemurs while running around inside the zoo property. I finished the race with a time of 26:35, but the gun time was displayed and I felt bad for myself when I saw I cross at 28:30. I knew the hills at the end of the course were messing with me, but I didn’t think I did THAT bad. The organizers, SVE Timing, had a table set up to pull up results and that’s when I realized it took almost two minutes for me to even get to the starting line when the race occurred.

Some areas that could be improved with the Greenville Zoom Through the Zoo run would be to have some of the numerous volunteers hand out water along the course and at the finish line; you had to go to the refreshment area to get bottled water once you were done with the race. There were plenty of volunteers out there, so water management would have been a boon out there. I also wish I could see a mile marker somewhere along the course, even if it would just be a sign that pointed out the halfway point or the two-mile mark.

But there were a lot of positives for this race, too. I was really surprised at how many people came out to take part because I don’t remember the crowd being that big for the Riverbanks Zoo run. The overall course was fairly nice especially with the amount of tree cover; in fact, the course could have been great with any name. Being associated with the zoo was a bonus. For the price, getting a tech shirt and free admission into the zoo afterwards was well worth the cost. I don’t know if I’ll travel up to Greenville again next year just to do the race, but if I am in the area when it takes place, I wouldn’t have to think too hard about it.

For the third year in a row, I got to run in Charleston’s Cooper River Bridge Run. This is my favorite 10k that I’ve taken part in and considering how much I love running an amusement park in the Run and Ride series, that’s saying something. The Bridge Run has it all for me from the large expo the day before to the big crowds at the start and during the race to the great view and rare opportunity on the middle of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Then there’s the Finish Festival that takes place half a block from the finish line with all the food, swag, music, and general interactions. There is a reason this 10k race is consistently voted as one of the top ten 10k events in the United States, especially when the annual race draws between 25k to 35k participants for race day.

I feel like I should start with BEFORE the race and a review with the expo. The Cooper River Bridge Expo is THE biggest race expo I’ve ever attended. A couple of people I know have said the Bridge Run Expo rivals many marathon expos in size and vendors. Check in is easy for anyone who didn’t have their race packet sent to them, like me.

The Expo took place at the North Charleston Convention Center, just south of the Charleston Airport. Parking was relatively easy for us, but we were warned that parking would be an issue if we showed up later because Jimmy Buffet was in town and would be playing at the Convention Center later that night. Once we made it through the doors, we saw the wall of names for all runners and walkers would didn’t get their packets sent to them. Those runners would have to look up their names to get their bib number. Once the bib number was determined, a runner would go through the double doors and head towards the bib pick-up and after receiving their bib, walk just a little further to get the rest of their race packet. I observed several people do this, and it was a relatively painless process, especially with volunteers all around directing people which way to go if they needed to get their packets.

After we walked through the packet pick-up area, we strolled through the aisles of vendors, sponsors, and various race organizers. A lot of vendors offered an expo discount, to include Fleet Feet, Garmin, and RSports. Several alcohol producers were present as well and they offered plenty of samples if you were of age. We got to sample some well-made vodka, bourbon, and several varieties of wines in addition to a few drink mixers as well. Our bib has a special voucher on it that allowed us to get a free full drink from one of four minibars behind the music and relaxation area just outside the Convention Center.
The day of the race was pretty easy for us. If you missed the part at the beginning where I said that the Bridge Run about 30k people taking part in the race, I’m just going to re-iterate it here. To get to the race, if you somehow aren’t physically located near the starting line (somewhere in Mount Pleasant), then you have to catch a charter bus from one of several locations. Buses run from 5 AM to 7 AM. For my wife and I, we stayed at one of the hotels across the street from the Convention Center, which besides being where the Expo was located also doubled as a busing point for the race. There was PLENTY of parking at the North Charleston Convention Center. Volunteers show you where to go and encourage you as you load onto the buses. It took us about 25 minutes to ride the bus from the North Charleston Convention Center to the starting area of the race, and it was still dark.

We dropped out check-in bag at the proper location which was very easy to spot since it was along the way to the corrals. We joined the zombie-like crowds of runners making their way to their respective corrals, but not before passing several establishments catering to the morning crowd to include Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks coffee. The Bridge Run organizers had several port-a-potty locations set up, and my tip for when you first get off the bus and have the urge to pee is to keep going until you get close to your corral because there will be a bunch of port-a-potties set up and they won’t be as crowded as the first set you see after getting off the bus. I will say that 30 minutes before the race, all the portable bathrooms will have a line, so go early if you can.

The race started promptly on time; wheelchair athletes took off prior to 8 AM and the first competitive wave set off right at eight AM. I was in corral A and we moved up after the elite heat and the red, white, and blue colored bib racers took off. The other corrals followed us in the move towards the starting line.

Once our wave started, everyone in corral A moved with a purpose. There was no shoving or pushing, but you could easily see that wherever you were, you would be in close proximity of other runners; personally, I love that feeling. The first mile and half were very flat. Once we hit the on-ramp for the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, we began our ascent to the apex of the giant obstacle. It started easy with a slight incline, but it soon we trudged on with a 5% grade for what felt like a straight mile. Even when I reached the zenith of the bridge, I swore I was still running upwards. I do want to point out that once you’re on the bridge, it is a good time to pull off to the side and snap some memorable pictures.

The 3-mile marker and the 5-kilometer split appear after cresting the bridge and it really is all downhill from there, because once you get off the bridge, you are running on flat ground all the way to the finish line. I felt a little out of energy by the time I made it to the five-mile marker, but since I was still in a crowd of runners, albeit a smaller crowd, I felt the urge to continue on and not walk or stop. The downtown area along the course has the greatest number of supporters who will cheer on all the runners, joggers, and walkers who participate in the race. I saw gym instructors spinning on their stationary bicycles, I got to sample some great bacon from one of the local restaurants, and I read many signs of encouragement or attempts at humor. The crowds definitely make the final two miles so fun and worth running. However, all along the course 22 bands set up and played music for all the running and walking passers-by and they sounded pretty good out there.

Once I crossed the finish line, I walked about 100 feet or so to get my finisher’s medal, my token of achievement for this annual journey I partake. I continued on to the “finishers’ festival” in the plaza just to the north of the finish line. Harris Teeter, the local grocery store chain in Charleston, provided all sorts of fruits, muffins, and water by having two semi-truck sized stands set up on opposite ends of the plaza. Several vendors also handed out free samples of refreshments and protein snacks. Various gyms, running clubs, and colleges also had stands at the festival and amazingly I saw some apartment and living space companies there as well. Johnsonville Sausages had a rather large set up on the side street and they prepared some great, and free, brats for everyone. We stayed for the awards ceremony and they had a category for best costume… something to think about if you know you won’t go fast on this race.

When we were ready to leave, we headed out to the bus staging area. This is a minor complaint, but there were not enough volunteers at the bus area to direct the runners on which buses to take back to their original locations. I make it sound worse than it was, because everything was moving smoothly for the most part, but when you’re tired and ready to just go home, one of the last things you want to see is a bunch of people “cutting in line” to get on the bus sooner. Again, minor complaint, because the race was very well organized and they seem to have just about everything down to a science.

We made it back to our car okay and vehicle traffic around the Convention Center ran a lot smoother than I would have expected.

I fully plan on running in this race again next year and I highly recommend that everyone try this race at least once in their life; it is a great experience and something to enjoy.

I'm attaching a link that shows the highlights from the Bridge Run so you can see what I saw out there.
https://youtu.be/h2DdZqAO5-c