Finisher Medal from the Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon
Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon
For the last year, we'd been talking up the Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon to all our friends. Luckily, we convinced a few of them to join us in 2016. We now are hoping that in twenty years, Savannah Magazine writes a quick blurb about us, and how we’ve run the race every year since its inaugural running in 2015. Just as we hope for long and successful running careers for ourselves, we hope for a long and successful history for the Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon.
Since we wrote a race recap of this event last year, this post will just add some additional information and address any changes that may have been made to the race. For the 2015 recap, go to: http://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/publix-savannah-womens-half-marathon.
Expo
The expo was once again held at the Hilton DeSoto in downtown Savannah. Registered runners received a participant gift rather than a race shirt. For the second year in a row the gift was a New Balance bag, though as opposed to last year’s duffel, this year’s bag was a tote… and a nice one, at that.
For the last year, we'd been talking up the Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon to all our friends. Luckily, we convinced a few of them to join us in 2016. We now are hoping that in twenty years, Savannah Magazine writes a quick blurb about us, and how we’ve run the race every year since its inaugural running in 2015. Just as we hope for long and successful running careers for ourselves, we hope for a long and successful history for the Publix Savannah Women’s Half Marathon.
Since we wrote a race recap of this event last year, this post will just add some additional information and address any changes that may have been made to the race. For the 2015 recap, go to: http://www.serialrunner.com/half-marathon-race-recaps/publix-savannah-womens-half-marathon.
Expo
The expo was once again held at the Hilton DeSoto in downtown Savannah. Registered runners received a participant gift rather than a race shirt. For the second year in a row the gift was a New Balance bag, though as opposed to last year’s duffel, this year’s bag was a tote… and a nice one, at that.
Accommodations
Visitors to Savannah should take advantage of the numerous offerings on vrbo.com. We were able to rent a home less than a half mile from the starting line for less than the cost of a hotel room. VRBO required us to stay a minimum of two nights, which “forced” us to experience all Savannah had to offer, post-race, on Saturday. Additionally, the full kitchen in our rental allowed us to cook dinner the night before the race, and house an ice cream cake to celebrate a birthday.
Places to Eat
On this trip to Savannah we enjoyed lunch at The Public, which is located one block down from the Hilton DeSoto, site of packet pick-up. There was something on the menu to please all of us, and everyone was thoroughly impressed with their meals. Post-race on Saturday, all seven members of our party enjoyed the meals ordered at Moon River Brewing. In fact, the beer drinkers among us were more impressed with the food than the drinks. Though it was a little over a mile from our accommodations, Moon River was well worth the walk.
Course & Fan Support
After running this race a second time, we remain convinced that this is one of the prettiest courses of all the half marathons we’ve run. It’s one of the many reasons we will return to run Publix Savannah year after year.
Visitors to Savannah should take advantage of the numerous offerings on vrbo.com. We were able to rent a home less than a half mile from the starting line for less than the cost of a hotel room. VRBO required us to stay a minimum of two nights, which “forced” us to experience all Savannah had to offer, post-race, on Saturday. Additionally, the full kitchen in our rental allowed us to cook dinner the night before the race, and house an ice cream cake to celebrate a birthday.
Places to Eat
On this trip to Savannah we enjoyed lunch at The Public, which is located one block down from the Hilton DeSoto, site of packet pick-up. There was something on the menu to please all of us, and everyone was thoroughly impressed with their meals. Post-race on Saturday, all seven members of our party enjoyed the meals ordered at Moon River Brewing. In fact, the beer drinkers among us were more impressed with the food than the drinks. Though it was a little over a mile from our accommodations, Moon River was well worth the walk.
Course & Fan Support
After running this race a second time, we remain convinced that this is one of the prettiest courses of all the half marathons we’ve run. It’s one of the many reasons we will return to run Publix Savannah year after year.
The last .1 miles of the Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon Course
Post-Race Party
The post-race festivities were just as excellent as those in 2015, if not better. After chatting pleasantly with the Savannah Magazine representative at the race expo, we scored VIP passes to their post-race tent. This entitled us to post-race massages, hot food, and couches on which to sit. Runners who purchased a one year subscription to Savannah Magazine were given a VIP bracelet, which allowed them access to the tent.
All runners were treated to live entertainment by the talented A Nickel Bag of Funk. One of us even answered the call to act as a backup dancer for the band by joining them on stage for a song. Check out this band’s website (http://anickelbagoffunk.com) or Google them.
Our one minor critique of last year’s race was that the age group awards were given in ten year increments. We were happy to discover that this year, race organizers made a change and runners were awarded in five year increments.
Final Verdict
This race is now a yearly tradition for us. Look for us there in 2017, and look for us there in 2027. The scenery, the organization, and the post-race festivities all add up to a race one wants to return to year after year.
For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/SavannahWomensHalf or http://www.savannahwomenshalf.com/.
The post-race festivities were just as excellent as those in 2015, if not better. After chatting pleasantly with the Savannah Magazine representative at the race expo, we scored VIP passes to their post-race tent. This entitled us to post-race massages, hot food, and couches on which to sit. Runners who purchased a one year subscription to Savannah Magazine were given a VIP bracelet, which allowed them access to the tent.
All runners were treated to live entertainment by the talented A Nickel Bag of Funk. One of us even answered the call to act as a backup dancer for the band by joining them on stage for a song. Check out this band’s website (http://anickelbagoffunk.com) or Google them.
Our one minor critique of last year’s race was that the age group awards were given in ten year increments. We were happy to discover that this year, race organizers made a change and runners were awarded in five year increments.
Final Verdict
This race is now a yearly tradition for us. Look for us there in 2017, and look for us there in 2027. The scenery, the organization, and the post-race festivities all add up to a race one wants to return to year after year.
For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/SavannahWomensHalf or http://www.savannahwomenshalf.com/.
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