DoomBuggy Runner

	Half Marathon State # 08 Half Marathon #15

On Saturday, November 08, 2014, I ran with my running partner, Rachel, in the Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Savannah, GA.  This was my 8th state toward my 50 By 50 Challenge to run a half marathon in all 50 states before I turn 50.  It was also my 15th half marathon.  Savannah is a beautiful city, and everything is relatively close.  Because I had planned to do this race in 2013, I already had a plan, so I booked a hotel early, as they fill up even before the race registration goes out.  We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, which is an awesome location, because you are halfway between the start and finish lines.

This was the view from our room.

We woke up about 5 AM, had a little breakfast & fluids, got ready, and off to the start line we went.

I planned a meetup for our Fifty States Half Marathon Club at the start line (Customs House) at 6:15 AM.  I had never met anyone from the club, so I was apprehensive if anyone would show.  I made a sign, and that helped us all meet up.  I think there were 11 of us to show.  A great turnout!  We only chatted for a few minutes, then we all had to get to our various corrals.

It was a beautiful morning for the race.  It was a little chilly for the start at 43 degrees, but warmed to about 55 near the finish.

This turned out to be a really nice shot with the start line and City Hall in the background.  The starting line was at the corner of Bay Street and Bull Street.  The Customs House and City Hall are on the corners.

We started in Corral 7.  Rachel actually registered right, and got Corral 4, but since I could not move forward, she moved back to start with me.  She registered with a finish time of 1:55 and I registered as a 2:00 finish time, so if you are registering, make sure you do so on your finish time anticipation.  It worked out great for us though.

Rachel and I got to the front of our corral when we got in.  As the corrals advanced at the start, it was our turn to start.  Since we were at the front of our corral, we were right in front under the starting line, when it was our turn to go.  They let corrals go about every minute, and there were 21 corrals.  When they told us to go, we were out front for a good clip, it felt as though we were actually leading the race.  At about 3/4 of a mile, we started catching the previous corral.  We had some really great splits in the first few miles.

It went through a lot of not so scenic locations for a while, then we made it into the more historical sections of Savannah that offered nice scenery.  Here is a link to the course route from a vehicle, since we did not take any pictures on the course.

The race went well for us.  The water, Gatorade, and GU stop (Mile 8) were placed really well.  We did gels at Miles 4, 8, and 11.  The GU gels they offered at Mile 8 were Salted Watermelon and Banana Strawberry.  I really like the Salted Watermelon, so that was my choice.  We took a couple of 30 second walk breaks in the race, with the final one being near the end, because my feet felt like tiny needles sticking me.

The race finished in Forsythe Park.

Here is the stage at the finish line.  The headliner was Phillip Phillips.  We wanted to stick around for his concert, but it wasn’t until 11 AM and we didn’t want to have to wait an hour and a half, so we missed it.

It was a really good race.  I had not run with anyone in a while, so it was nice to have Rachel there to pace & chat with.  It made it so much more enjoyable!

Here was my stats from the website.

Here is a the race medal.  It was a little disappointing from previous years.  The medal did not really capture the essence of Savannah.

This is not the only medal I was able to acquire this weekend.  Because I am a Rock ‘n’ Roll series “Heavy Medalist” (meaning I have ran 2 or more races with the series in a calendar year), I get another medal.  They will be sending this to me in the mail since I completed this and the Nashville County Music Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon back in April.

Expo

We drove down on Friday, and got to the expo about 2 PM.  The expo was at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.  There was plenty of room, and lots of vendors on hand.  The process, like most Rock ‘n’ Roll expos, was exactly the same, and easy to navigate.

Corral 7 – 7,000 t0 7,999

Here is us with the countdown clock.

As we exited….

Dining

As with most of my recaps, I like to briefly discuss where we ate, as well as, identify a cupcake shop in every city I do a race.  Friday night, we ate at The Distillery Ale House on Liberty Street.  This was a really great restaurant that had most of your normal foods.  I had the Distillery burger and fries, and it was awesome.

Saturday, after we got freshened up, we went to the Savannah Mellow Mushroom.  I had a Meat Lover’s calzone, and it was awesome. This is what freshened up looks like!

After lunch, we did some shopping.  In the process, I saw this rickshaw driver.  He had one of our race Mylar sheets wrapped around his neck like a cape.  It was hilarious!

On Saturday night, we were all craving seafood.  We found a spectacular restaurant on River Street called The Cotton Exchange.  I had shrimp & grouper with fries and a side salad.

Now… the Cupcake Store!  We found “Sweet Caroline’s Cupcakes“.  As you know, I love cupcakes, and try and celebrate each half by finding and visiting a local cupcake store.  This one did not disappoint.  That had a lot of rare varieties which were all amazing.

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Here are some other random shots from Savannah.

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Savannah was a great race venue.  I highly recommend this race if you are looking for something in Georgia or the Southeast.  I hope you enjoyed the recap.  It will not be long before my next recap, as I have another half marathon this upcoming Saturday.  It is in our town of Summerville, and is the inaugural Sweet Tea Half Marathon, so no traveling!  So check back next week for a recap of this race.

Here the 2014 medal rack updated after this race.