In early November I traveled down to Savannah, Georgia for the Rock n' Roll Savannah Marathon weekend! This was intended to be my 18th marathon in my 18th state, and I even planned on meeting up with my parents and sister to make it a fun lil vacation (they all live fairly close to Savannah!). Little did I know that this weekend was about to be full of surprises!
The arrival terminal in Savannah was all decorated to welcome runners!
I arrived in Savannah around 11AM on Friday morning, where I met up with my parents at the airport! They scooped me up and we made arrangements to meet up with my sister in the city. Once the four of us were finally together we headed over to the riverfront where we grabbed a bite to eat and some drinks at The Warehouse. Time to celebrate being together for the first time since Christmas!
It was a cold and rainy day, so after the expo we ducked into a coffee shop to warm up a bit and caffeinate after a long day of travel.
And then we were finally able to check into our little Air BnB and relax! I gathered my gear for my flat runner (below) and we ate some dinner - home made meals made by my parents and transported up from their homes in Florida! Nothing better than a homecooked meal the night before a big race, right? We were all pretty wiped so we had a fairly early bed time. I had to mentally prepare myself to run in what was looking to be pretty rough conditions the next morning, so I wanted to get as much rest as possible so I could go into race day with the right mindset!
I woke up before everyone else to start getting myself ready. The winds and rains were BRUTAL outside and to be honest I was not looking forward to getting outside in the rain for 26.2 miles, but I had to remember that through this 50 state journey I was going to have to deal with all sorts of weather! I tried my best to get mentally prepared. And then about an hour and a half before the originally scheduled race time, we received this text message:
TEXT: "Good morning. Due to deteriorating weather conditions we have determined we cannot host the full marathon. We will host the half marathon and relay. All marathon participants have the option to participate in the half marathon.
Savannah is unusually COLD and WET this year. To help prevent hypothermia [low body temperature] you should dress in layers. Your outer garment should be waterproof, and under that wear something warm, like a sweatshirt over T-shirt. IF it dries out and warms up at all, these can be tied around your waist. If you feel you are getting too cold, stop into one of Medical Tents along the course for help."
I was a mixture of disappointed and relieved to receive this news. Disappointed because obviously I wanted to run my 18th marathon in my 18th state surrounded by my family, but relieved because the conditions were AWFUL and while it would be great to check off another state, it would have been a really terrible experience solely based on the weather conditions. I had to reframe my mindset at that point from running a full marathon to running a half instead, and after readjusting I felt a lot of pressure lift off of my shoulders!
I will say that there were SO MANY people who were PISSED by this decision, and they made their opinions heard on social media. While there are occasions where maybe frustrations are justified when events get canceled or changed, I don't think that this was one of those situations. The weather that weekend in Savannah was terrible and definitely not anywhere near acceptable to keep a race course open for 7+ hours where there would be thousands of freezing runners, volunteers, and spectators. It wad pouring rain, 40 degrees, and wind gusts of up to 30+ mph, so I personally canceling the full marathon for health and safety reasons was totally warranted. I wish folks could try to be understanding of everything that gets taken into consideration when making these decisions. I feel like I have a much different perspective on these types of situations because I plan events for a living and that probably makes me a bit more understanding, but you can't control the weather, y'all!
Because it was offered to the marathon runners, I opted to run the half marathon. I had traveled all that way, so I may as well at least run something! So we all headed out into the deluge and down to the start line.
The start was scheduled for 7:30am, but unfortunately there was a massive hold up and we were standing and waiting in our start corals for about 20-25 minutes just getting absolutely soaked. 😭 Apparently there were some issues with the course that they needed to secure before letting the runners go, but again, folks were pissed. We were all standing there freezing to death and just wanted to get the race underway, so it's understandable why folks were frustrated about this! Eventually they finally let us loose on the course and for that I was so thankful. I just wanted to get warm! 😂
Aside from the horrible weather, I actually had a great time on this run! Rock n' Roll does such a fantastic job with on-course entertainment, and even though it was pouring rain, they did not disappoint. Despite the weather, there was a band or DJ playing every mile and a half or so which I really appreciated. I was also so impressed with the energy of the on-course volunteers and the crowds throughout the entire course. I honestly went into the race thinking it was going to be crickets and I wouldn't have blamed anyone if it was because the weather was just that awful, but Savannah came out in droves to cheer on their runners. I had such a great time!
My favorite mile by far was mile 11. This mile was decorated with so many unicorns and rainbows everywhere which was so much fun to run through towards the end of the race. 🌈🦄 At this point I was cold and soaked to the bone, so having a bit of cheer at this point in the run was just what we all needed! If this was mile 11 during a torrential downpour, I am so curious what the course would be like during some good weather!
I came across the finish in 2:16:17 which is not too shabby considering how stinkin' cold and soggy I was! 😂 I did receive the medal for the full marathon at the finish line. A lot of folks with marathon bibs were not accepting those medals, which I totally get. I decided to accept the full marathon medal, although it will hang on my half marathon medal rack. I think this medal has a great story behind it, and I will always remember this race weekend whenever I look it!
Note the quick post-race wardrobe change 😂
After the race (and after having the opportunity to shower and warm up!) the family and I went out to grab lunch. While we were out I did receive an email that said all runners who were registered for the full marathon were able to register for a future Rock n' Roll marathon for free, which I really appreciated. I signed up for the 2022 Savannah marathon, with the hope that the third time I have registered for this race will be the charm! 😂 Big thank you to Rock n' Roll for giving this offer to your runners who had worked hard for 26.2 and making the best of a tough situation! Despite what other folks may think, I feel that Rock n' Roll did the best they could with the hand they were dealt.
Day 2 of the Rock n' Roll Savannah weekend was even more surprising than Day 1!
I'll be posting my review of the Rock n' Roll 1-Miler very soon, so stay tuned!
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