I have to say, I was a bit concerned about running the 2012 after I read the 2011 Savannah R&R reviews, especially since im not a big fan or the RnR series anyways. But I was pleasantly surprised on race day.
Ok:
So the expo was across the river. Not a big deal for us. We got into town the night before, caught the first ferry (free) Friday morning, no prob. There were lines for the ferry later in the day, but nothing too terrible looking. The parking was apparently terribly hard in town, but we flew in, got a hotel (Ridiculously overpriced for the race) in town and never needed to park anywhere. RnR races never seem to give out much swag and the tshirts aren't as nice as some other large races I've run, but at least this year they had women's sizes available! Yay!
Good:
Nice course, beautiful scenery..my god, every street is tree lined and every block has a park!! Thought it was supposed to be completely flat, but there were some slight 'hills' to keep things interesting. Ample toilets at start (WTF with the 'pay extra for rock star potties?' Didn't need them, didn't want them.) good course support and the med tent around mile 23 was perfect placement as that seemed to be where a lot of peeps started needing ITband, etc. help.
FREAKING AWESOME:
The miles through the university!!! Not only was mile 18 on their track (Hooray for hauling a** on a rubber track for a minute) but the students cheering people on were amazing. At one point I stopped to get a gu and this huge group of guys started chanting 'don't give up'..I have no idea if it was for me, but their energy was better than any gu!
Disappointment:
The race shirt was the same color and almost the same design as the RnR New Orleans.

All in all the race was a great experience, good fans, beautiful town. You should run it, just bring your wallet full, it's expensive ;)

The race was a total logistical nightmare, and that is putting it mildly.

1. Race # pick-up was a joke. Let's put it on an island with only one road on and off. Traffic was backed up all the way to I-16. No police presence the entire time to direct traffic. Sat in the gridlock Friday afternoon for 3.5 hours before getting to the Expo.

2. Shuttle service from Savannah Mall was a joke. No semblance of order of any sort in boarding. Waited over 2 hours for the shuttle that got lost and got me and several other runners to the start 20 minutes late.

3. Baggage check was chaotic. It was an adventure at the finish trying to figure out where your bag had gone.

4. Shuttle back to the Mall. At the finish there were shuttles taking people to several locales. The shuttles were poorly marked and people didn't know which shuttle was which. Our driver was from Jacksonville and didn't know the area at all. She could not navigate her way back to the Mall and a local had to direct her. The bus driver did not have a map of the road closures and did not have a real-time GPS or dispatch person telling her where to go.

Pretty happy with the race. Positives:
- very good crowd support, and as everyone says, the part at SC State U was great
- most of the course is very good except the part on the highway, but not much is as scenic as you might hope a race in Savannah to be
- seemed fairly fast
Negatives:
- medal is a bit small and chintzy
- T-shirt doesn't even mention running or the marathon on the front - walking around town wearing it, people were asking me what the Rock'n'roll event was
- band at the post-race party was horrible and far too loud (guess that is taste and age?)
- Expo needs to stay open later - for a race on a Saturday, many out-of-towners will arrive in the evening - by 6:45pm they were turning the lights off, just had time to grab packet, unable to see the vendors in the dim light
- race packet had NO information about the race: no map of the course or of the start, NOTHING
- hotels in Savannah are way overpriced for this event, even the ones way out by the airport

No complaints about refreshments, facilities . . . except the zillions of half-marathoners made the line for the free beer FAR too long, as obviously they got there before most of the marathoners

First time running this course but I would love to come back and do it again. Mostly shaded, except for the highway segment and while winding through Savannah University, but the spirit of the college students made up for the lack of shade. Flat and fast. Plenty of aid stations and enthusiastic spectators. Wish the marathon medal was twice the size of the half marathon medal. Expo was large and it was fun to ferry over to the convention center.

I loved the course that wound around many of the beautiful parks in the city of Savannah. The Savannah residents were enthusiastic and friendly, often telling us 'Thank you for visiting Savannah'. The shady streets and well-stocked waterstops were much appreciated. Running through Savannah State University was a hoot with pockets of students spread along the course cheering us on, and I loved running on the track and getting encouragement from all of the sports teams. Bagpipers and poetry rappers were among the bands. A couple of negatives: it took a long time to wait for the ferry to get across the river to the expo Friday afternoon; running on the expressway is boring and hot; I'm not at all impressed with the medal. We stayed outside town at one of the airport hotels where the staff was friendly and helpful and we were outside the traffic jams of Savannah.

I had a great experience. The course was flat and fast despite many turns. It toured a great mix of neighborhoods including the historic district and several parks. About 3 miles were on a highway (2 miles out, 1 mile back). It was worth it as it brought you to Savannah State which was a highlight...students were out cheering culminating in a 400 meter loop around the track in their stadium. Organization was good, which from last years comments, seems to have been an improvement. We had no problems with number pick-up (4:30 PM on friday). Finding the bag check at the start and the bag pick-up at the finish was a challenge. They were pretty far from start/finish and there were no signs. Weather was great (50F at start). Spectators were enthusiastic but sparse at spots. Bands were good. Good venue at the finish (Forsyth Park).
This has the potential to be the premier FAST marathon in Georgia. Anyone looking to qualify for Boston needs to check this one out.

The course was changed and was much better than last year. Work still needs to be done, but the event overall was better than the first one.

The organization was not that great. I spent about an hour in a huge jam trying to get to the expo.

The course was boring and I did not even see the famous fountain shown on the medal. The last few miles were on a highway with nothing to see.

The food at the finish line was poor and cheap.

The medal was not what I was expecting from a highly priced Rock and Roll event.

The bus driver that brought me back to my parking spot did not know how to get back to the shopping center. She had to wait for another bus and then followed it.

I will not recommend it. Go run the Georgia Marathon in March instead.

Savannah is a charming town to visit,however the race needs work.I would not run it again unless they changed the course.

pros:1)beautiful town 2)the energy of a big race 3)bands on the course 4)the volunteers at the aid station had a lot of pep and were energizing to me as a runner 5)gu on the course 6)runner tracking available 7)corral system worked well 8)Great expo-lots of vendors

cons:1)expo/packet pickup on Friday was easy. expo/packet pickup the day before the race was a traffic nightmare.People spent over an hour trying to get to the expo.2)not enough shuttle buses and the shuttle drivers didn't know the route 3)crowd support was so-so. a lot of people out just watching,not cheering 4)The course was a HUGE let down. the website promised scenic. Very little of the course was in the beautiful parts of Savannah. Long stretches of interstate-which were ugly & lacked crowd support. 5)There were virtually no pictures of me available for purchase 6)no post race massage 7)unimpressed with post race food 8)a lot of the bands were not actually playing when I ran by.9)needed more prerace portolets

We LOVED the town of Savannah. Wish we had seen more of it on course! We spent too much time outside of town on long stretches of boring highway.