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May 17, 2024

Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.0

Organization 3.1

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 66 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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Z. Z. from North Carolina (11/11/2013) "Improving each year" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Did the half in 2012 and came back to do my first marathon in 2013. Very good event overall. Organization much better this year than last. Positives - Well organized race, flat, and good crowd support for most of it (notably Savannah State University, which was absolutely awesome). Very friendly town and great 'destination race'. Though some areas the course went through are not the best, the support there was great and there are enough sections in the historic areas to make it a nice run. Cons - The sections along Truman Parkway were tough, particularly the brutal return trip at miles 23-25 into the wind. The 2013 course added distance back to the Parkway, but we were promised more bands, etc. during that stretch but that did not happen at all. While some running on the Parkway is probably unavoidable, it would be great if it did not have to happen so late. It would be better if the course could be changed to make the Savannah State section happen closer to the end, where the support is really needed. The 7 pm closing time for the Expo made getting to it and parking a zoo for late arrivals, though I must say that once you get in it was very well organized. Really should be open later.
A. A. from Louisiana (11/11/2013) "Terrible Organization!!" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 I ran the Savannah Marathon this past weekend. It was the most poorly organized marathon I have ever seen. To the point of laughable. Rock and Roll expects us to pay 120.00 plus for a marathon - and it was compelte crap. See summary below... Expo - a nightmare - there were so many people and the expo was at the convention center in savannah on the other side of the river. It was so confusing trying to catch the ferry and trollies. There were no signs and all of the workers were really rude. We get to the expo - it's mass chaos - a huge long line to even get in. The shirts are true to their size. The swag bag? Compelte crap. We got some beef jerky, and some other snack and that was basically it. The medals were crap too - it looked like someone decided to paint some moss trees on it. My biggest complaint. THE SHUTTLES. We purchased the $20.00 shuttle tickets from the expo. We saw a big list of hotels - the guy told us just find our hotel - the hilton garden inn. We paid the 20.00 and got our wrist band. We were supposed to be on the 5:00am shuttle. We get to the lobby that morning with 10 other people who have the same wrist bands. 5:30am comes and goes - no shuttle. We all start to panic. surely it would eventually show up. NO! we were not picked up!!! We had to beg another shuttle service to let us on and they eventually said yes (Thank GOD) I talked to the shuttle organizer at the race - she said it was only hotels north of the airport where the rock and roll shuttles went. (we were in midtown - also north of the airport) WTF?! We aren't from Savannah - we had no idea! This was NOT clarified at the race either. We were all very upset. We had to walk back to our hotel (2 miles away) after the race. VERY sloppy! I will never do another rock and roll series marathon again. Also, the morning of the race - no one could find the gear check. there were no signs. NOTHING. it was awful. If it weren't for the spectators(they were fabulous) I would be a lot more upset. The bands were crap too btw. Only had 2 descent bands. Truly disappointing experience. The course was great I have to say - other than that Rock and Roll needs to get their sh*t together!!!
S. S. from Atlanta, Ga. (7/21/2013) "Decent course, pricey" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Great fans. Expo average and inconvenient. Course is nice, flat and fast, although Savannah is a beautiful city and the course could show more of it. Prices at hotels within a mile or two of the race are a scandal, worse than anywhere I've visited in the US or overseas in terms of value for the price. The local chamber should be ashamed of the price gouging.
Kara Lee from Seattle, WA (12/11/2012) "Great marathon, would run it again" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 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 ;)
M. C. from Atlanta, GA (11/26/2012) "God awful" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 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.
T. G. from South Carolina (11/10/2012) "Definitely a good one" (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 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
C. R. from Gaithersburg, MD (11/8/2012) "Scenic course, great spectators, aid stations" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 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.
L. G. from Vermont (11/5/2012) "fun race" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 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.
K. F. from Atlanta, GA (11/5/2012) "Fast...great Boston Qualifier" (about: 2012) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 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.
T. P. from Savannah, GA (11/5/2012) "Much better than last year." (about: 2012) 6-10 previous marathons \| 2 Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 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.

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