Savannah Rock & Roll Marathon course announced

My wife and I have done several 5ks together, and I recommend it (even if I have to run at her pace, it's cool to get to do it together). The nice thing about this is even if you decided to go for the full, you could probably still run the first 11 miles together.

It seems like the nicest parts of the course are on the marathon route though. It's not really all that exciting of a half marathon course, comparitively speaking.

That is interesting. If the second half is better than the first, that would represent a significant change from other Rock-n-Roll marathons. I have run a few of these and RNR usually go with the utilitarian approach of making the half fairly scenic while cramming in the last  half wherever it can fit - Nashville (out and back to run around a park); New Orleans (run around a park); Vegas (out and back away from the strip). This is understandable given that the ratio of full to half runners is usually around 1-3 or 1-4.

RNR usually does a good job putting on a certain type of race (urban, lots of spectators and live music, organized), and this one should be no exception.

The start, middle and finish of the half will all pass through the historic area, but the in between areas are kind of ghetto. I went back through Google Maps and looked at some of the areas I don't typically go to, and they're a little better than I initially thought.

Thinking about it more...there are only two ways to get from Savannah and the westside out to the islands - islands expressway from downtown or Victory Drive (hwy 80). Since downtown was going is going to be nearly impossible to get through with 15000 people running, they probably had to leave Victory open to traffic. That means the only way to get to the southside and some of the other scenic areas would be to take the Truman, which goes over the top of Victory (which is what the marathon does). I guess they were trying to keep the half from having to do that, and the best area of downtown is only one square mile, which means most of the run has to be in the surrounding areas.

Guess I never thought about how complicated it would be get 26.2 miles without completely shutting down the city. I'm sure it's going to be a fun race. I've been signed up since December, and am looking forward to it!

Just letting people know...

This race is now up to 20,000 people signed up, and will be capped at 23,000. Pretty crazy how popular it's gotten for a first year race.

Karen might be in the Philippines, but if not she's running!

I signed up for the half mary (first one!) today. Just curious, how can you guys tell how many people have signed up?

The coupon code 11RNRMG is good for $10 off registration.

I found out because it was in the paper here in Savannah. Either them or our running store (Fleet Feet) have been announcing the number whenever it hits some sort of milestone.

Looks like the AVIA hotel--owned by Hyatt has rooms for $329/night.

http://aviasavannah.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?extCorporateId=

It's only 2 blocks away from the race start.