The good:
-Great expo with very good race clothing and good vendors
-Race website was very good-with pertinent info leading up to the race
- Savannah residence were made to feel a part of the race as it showed in their enthusiasm and volunteerism
-Large mile markers very visible on the course
-Weather conditions (time of year) are ideal for racing
-relatively Flat and Fast course
- Corral system worked well
-Finish line area was very nice and large. Beautiful park with lots of space. Post race concert and beer = good

Now for the bad-
-I had no problems with the expo b/c I went on Thurs. BUT- for the countless thousands of people that couldn't take off work and had to go on Friday it was a disasterous traffic nightmare. Our friends were stuck for hours....HOURS trying to get to that island where the convention center was. Put a big damper on the day (and that day being part of a vacation makes for a rough start to it). Could they not have the expo on the city side of the river at the Civic Center? People could walk to it. You could even have shuttle buses doing loops from various hotels to and from during expo hours (NYC marathon does this). If they cant' move the expo to the Civic Center, they need to really figure out the traffic situation to the convention center across the river...
-We drove to the Mall where the shuttles were picking up runners. There were 4 in our group got ON the bus at 5:55. We finally got to the start line at 7am. (not much time to get to your corral when you have to check a bag and sit in a 20+min line for the bathroom). It should have been no more than a 15 min drive at that time in the morning. Even the runners on our bus FROM Savannah couldn't understand why these drivers were going the way they did to get to the start. At one point after we had been on some highway for 25 min, I see that we are ramping on to I-16 only to then see us drive by a 'Savannah- 6 miles sign' on the side of the road. WHere the heck were they taking us? It turns out they didn't know how where they were going. Many hundreds didnt' make it to the start line by the start time b/c of this ineptitude.
-If you are going to advertise cytomax at every aid station on the route maps on your website, make sure you follow thru. 'Most' runners need electrolytes during marathons/half marathons. Don't put it at every OTHER aid station
-Some comments on the course. The first 5.5 miles were the most uninspiring scenery of any race I've ever done. If you are coming to Savannah, you'd expect to run thru live oak lined streets and the squares that the city is famous for. Not much of that to be seen. Please rethink the course a bit for next year.

A race this expensive should not have as many logistical issues as this. Especially from a company that has been doing it for years.

STILL- all the negatives aside, I would do this race again- I would just take matters into my own hands as far as getting to the race and plan (as I did) by hitting the expo early if at all possible.

I PR'd with a 3:07, but wouldn't make a special trip to run it again. If you want a better marathon for this weekend do the Marshall Marathon in Huntington, WV. It's a flat course, and you actually do have the scenic course that I expected Savannah to have. If they fixed the traffic into the Expo and got rid of the 5 miles of highway running then you'd have a pretty good event. The course is pretty flat. Comments about 'the hood' are a bit exaggerated. Give me a break - welcome to America. Would you prefer they sent us through a gated community? If the hood scares you then run faster. The highway stretch in the late miles was boring, gotta figure that one out. If you do run this go at least 4 or 5 hours early to the Expo (if you have to go on Friday) and whatever shuttle option you take (I did the mall and it was fine but I was one of the first ones there) go as early as possible (which you should probably do for everything associated with something that you trained 4 months for). Great separation of the marathon and 1/2 marathon at the end. Worth it if you want a pretty flat course, and are interested in spending a few days in Savannah - otherwise there are better marathons to do either on this date or near it. Spectators aren't at the New York or Boston level, but they seemed genuine and I never felt alone.

This inaugural Rock n Roll marathon had so many problems its hard to capture all of them here. Let's try:
- Putting the Expo on an island with inadequate parking resulting in total traffic gridlock which overwhelmed outside staff and police.
- No buddy packet pick-up w/ photo ID.
- Inadequate boat/ferry service from Savannah to Expo location. Some folks waited in line 1.5 hrs!
- Inadequate race day shuttle service resulting in runners showing up late to the start.
- Shuttle bus drivers who actually got lost going to the start location!
- Late Gear Check start time w/ volunteers not properly briefed on what to do!
- Blaring a Pat Benatar song while our National Anthem was being sung. Inexcusable!
- Aid stations running out of water and Cytomax. Inexcusable!
- Routing the course mostly through the 'hood' and next to a garbage truck depot (This is how you want Savannah showcased?).
- Four switchbacks and a 6 mile out and back on a deserted highway. Boring.
- Crappy post race food selections- water, bagels, bananas, a fruit cup, and Cytomax.

The bottom line: Savannah, GA is incapable of supporting this level event. Save yourself the headaches and spend your money on another running venue.

My first R&R race, I was excited to run in the beautiful city of Savannah. The reality wasn't so great. The race should have been capped at 10,000 runners instead of 23,000. This would have greatly alleviated traffic, hotels and overall organization. We booked 4 months in advance and still couldn't get anywhere close to downtown. Our driver got lost on the way back - resulting in a 20 minute drive taking over an hour. The course barely went through downtown at all - instead choosing to run through industrial areas, downtrodden neighborhoods (while the residents were so supportive and friendly, the course wasn't scenic). Unless they make significant changes to the course, I won't be back.

Pros: 1. good first time marathon
2. excellent destination marathon
3.perfect weather
4.good organization
5.great expo
6. Savannah beautiful city
7.good course

cons 1.serious, serious lack of Cytomax sports drink along course
2.noticable absence of food like bananas, orange slices, pretezels along course.
3.major traffic congestion on Savannah historic district streets on days prior to race. Police should have been assigned to many congested intersections to direct traffic.
4.shuttle buses back to airport hotels were not available for back of pack runners until later in day. Had excessive wait.

Included in runner's packet was a brochure explicitly extolling the virtues of hydrating with only sports drink as opposed to dilution with water along the course, but there was sports drink at only a few of the stops and some of the stops ran out of Cytomax before the majority of back-of-the-packers arrived at these fluid replacement locations. There is absolutely no excuse for that happening.

Corral start was extremely well done. The course never felt overly crowded. The first 20 miles were relatively flat and the traffic was almost non-existent. Most streets were completely blocked so we rarely shared a road with cars. The temperature was perfect and the start time was adequate. The water stops were always full and never choked; plenty of volunteers handing out water. Energy GU was abundant at both stops. Would have liked to see some solid food offered at some point. Only thing to criticize is that last 6 miles! It was almost completely uphill and seemed like a direct headwind. What a struggle and buzz-kill. Finally, I'm grateful for the one free beer by MGD but selling subsequent cups for $4 each is a crime. The finish line/area was absolutely awesome and uncrowded. Very well done! Beautiful city and great course.

I myself had no issues with the expo, except they gave me the wrong bib which was easily fixed, but I do know that late arrivals were stuck on the bridge for hours and they had to extend the expo 3 hours. The course was very boring and unpleasant, mostly highway and mediocre neighborhoods. There were only a few areas on the course that had spectators, the rest felt like I was out for a weekend run. I feel like this run has a great deal of room for improvement and did not live up to the rock n roll name. Also, just a personal side note, they started the event with a religous prayer which I found offensive being that I am not Christian; I think when you have 20,000 runners the chances of them all being the same religion are very slim and therefore prayers should be left out of it.

THE GOOD: Savannah great place to visit. Tours, restaurants, lively riverfront. Expo very good for first time. Bands; just not enough of them. Weather was near perfect in low 50's. Running in historic downtown with Spanish Moss laden trees- beautiful. Good music in park at finish. Medical people well disbursed along course and at end.
THE BAD: Winds from north at about 20 mph in last few miles. Cytomax drinks. (Bring on Gatorade). What little fan support they had was energetic, but very few of them. Bagels and water at finish. Could have done more food options. Some guy in a Competitor.com jacket riding his bike alongside riders- strange and dangerous. Course clogged and crowded through most of first 12 miles.
THE UGLY: Running along a closed highway from mile 21-24. Awful.

Most aspects of this race were terrific with the exception of packet pickup, course scenery, and shuttle buses.

Packet Pickup was a mess due to the small facility. Race organizers should not have allowed over 20,000 runners to participate knowing that parking and other infrastructure facilities could not handle the size. Packet pickup was a frustrating maze, both outside and inside.

The course for this race starts and finishes in the scenic historical district but several early miles pass through smelly, industrial areas and miles 21-24ish follow a boring, windy 4 lane highway. I finished the race thinking that the course layout was poorly planned or severely restricted by City officials.

Tybee shuttle drivers never checked for armbands and were not provided directions to and from the race. Whomever managed these drivers dropped the ball. Fortunately, we helped direct the drivers so they did not get lost.

This race would be much better if it were capped at 10,000. Unfortunately, it will likely get much bigger and therefore see even worse logistical nightmares. I love Savannah but do not know if I will return due to the long lines and chaos.

This was Savannah's first marathon and was put on by the RNR folks. Here are my pros and cons.
PROS
1. The marathon was well supported by Savannah. As we ran thru neighborhoods folks would come out and wave and cheer us on.
2. Huge expo-lots of vendors and helpful volunteers at expo.
3. Finish area-nice finish in Forsyth Park with plenty of room for family meet up, nice band and a free beer!
4. Course-mostly flat with enough turns to keep it interesting.
CONS
1.Expo traffic-traffic was backed up late Friday afternoon as folks were trying to get race numbers. Bad location.
2. Mile 22-24. We ran on a closed highway against a stron headwind that was brutal. Even without the wind, a better route could have been found.
3. Starting Corrals-lack of security let many folks in corrals they had no business being in.