Its been a week since my trip to Savannah, GA. I think I have processed it enough now to share my weekend.
On Thursday, November 5, we got in the car for the long ride. We passed the Sombrero and were on our way to Savannah. We made it in good time, checked into our hotel (which was awesome!), and planned our day. Of course the first stop had to be the expo for packet pickup. I'm so glad we went Thursday.
Ferry across the river to the convention center and it was quiet. No major lines or craziness. We got our bibs and off to check out the Brooks section.Once we passed "customs" we saw a giant shoe in a pool, a hut with goodies, and treadmills. We got our "passport" and Mary said she wanted to ride the shoe! So off we went to the shoe. It was like a mechanical bull and at 14 seconds, she popped the emergency stop since she did not want to fly off. On my turn, totally lost track of time and off I flew legs in the air, ass over teakettle! We picked up our free goodie, got our gate analyzed and tried on shoes. The result? A sweet cooler bag!
We checked out the rest of the expo, picked up our shuttle and VIP passes and headed back to Barracuda Bobs for a meal. Love this place. We ate there often! Friday we started the day walking around the beautiful squares. She showed me Forest Gump square and I have to say, Savannah is just as pretty as I remembered! We also went back to the expo, got our beer tickets and then off to Wet Willis for lunch.
Saturday morning was race time. First, I am glad I brought shorts. It was damn hot and 99% humidity. My hair told me so. Shorts and a tank to run in. We went to the host hotel for breakfast and coffee and then to the start to watch the wheelchair and elite start. Super blur. They are some fast folk!
We made our way to our corral and decided it was going to be fun! I took a ton of pics while walking. We saw a ton of awesome signs. The people of Savannah are super creative!
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| zoom in on signs available on my FB page |
The bands were a combination of uh.....? First band was drum and pipes. Yes, I love it. But not really Rock n Roll. But whatever, I think I have determined it is music, not so much rock. Sadly, there were a total of 5 bands I counted (more on this later).
The people of Savannah are awesome. Just awesome! We ran through neighborhoods ranging from rich to poor and all in between. Every neighborhood was out. Cheering. There was a woman yelling about "the gold is yours to take! The GOLD is for YOU!" who was too cute. There was a kid playing the drums and that was awesome too (kid got talent). People cheering and holding signs. People were also giving out ice, and water. But it was hot. Very hot. More and more people were walking as the morning went on. Tables were running low on water, cups and Gatorade. Later we found out that tables were packed up and there was no water or Gatorade. Minimal misters and the hot weather plan went to hell. The people of Savannah answered. They came out to help their runners. They brought water and ice. They did what they could to help runners cool down.
We ran the mile markers that day. At around mile 8, we were turned around. The race shut down and everyone was diverted back to the finish. A police officer was sitting in his truck telling runners through the megaphone to divert and head to the finish line. Confusion! What? Why? So, we did what we were told. We made our way to the finish. Many people were confused. Especially when we merged with this group like "where did you come from? Cheat?" And as we told them the race got cut, they were realizing something more happened. As we got closer to the park, more and more people were laying on the side of the road being treated for heat exhaustion. We made it to the finish in a huge mass. There was a big crush of spectators trying to find their people because they knew the race was cut short. Much, much later we found out that someone died on course. Talk about heartbreaking.
We stumbled into the area with water, Gatorade, (chocolate milk for Mary), and looked for the VIP tent. Just as Rascal Flatts were starting up. Yes, not rock. But I dont care. I admit, I love me some Rascal Flatts. I watched a little and headed to the tent to get some food and liquid (beer counts). VIP is the way to go. Doing that again. I am happy to say that I got to hear the song I wanted to, Bless the Broken Road. They are awesome live.
As we headed back to the hotel to relax, help my blisters (still have 10 toenails yay!!) and think through the morning, we started to look at the RNR Savannah page. We saw a lot of bad feedback. I understand why the course was diverted. They did their best to prepare but it was not enough. The medical staff were swamped and runners were very lucky how amazing the people of Savannah are. It was sad about the death as well. We also started to see how marathoners were cut short of their marathon and were getting full comp to another race. We emailed to see what was going on and found out that they did not realize that the half marathoners were cut off too. A week later, we are waiting on responses from RNR regarding the half marathon.
The rest of the day was dedicated to rest, Wet Willies for drinks and food and having a great time with friends we met at last years 1 mile race.
With that, I will end here. Part 2 will include the 5k and 1 mile!
First was the 5k. It was cold and not like Saturday. It was cold and there was call for rain. We walked it, in part due to blisters and I wanted to make sure no legs fell off. The course was pretty, even going through the woods. We went by some horses as well. How could we not stop for a photo opportunity with them?? As we were nearing the end, the rain started. Our finish? It was running through the stadium. Talk about a cool finish! The medal was a pretty 5K in purple.
