Savannah ditched 2 marathons. Can shorter race find Peachtree-like success?

SAVANNAH ― The locals call them the “runnerati,” and each November for much of the last 15 years, the have-race-will-travel crowd has descended on this historic city for a weekend. Their ideal getaway involves sweat, swollen joints and a souvenir finish line medal, and they’re smitten by Savannah’s scenery, flat topography and selfie-friendly cocktail and culinary scene.

But road races, particularly marathons with 26.2-mile-long courses, are disruptive, and some residents haven’t returned the runners’ embrace. The objections center on traffic-snarling road closures and daylong takeovers of Forsyth Park for finish-line festivals.

The angst has peaked recently, with government leaders running two large-field marathons out of town in the last three years.

Yet officials see value in high-profile running events — City Manager Jay Melder calls them a “cultural amenity our residents want” — and aren’t giving up on finding a signature race to love. And they’re taking relationship advice from Atlanta and the AJC Peachtree Road Race, considered the world’s largest 10K: Shorter is better.

The Savannah Southern Half-Marathon debuts Saturday, with 6,000-plus runners — including about 2,500 out-of-towners — registered to race in either the 13.1-mile feature event or a 5K run on a portion of the same course. The race’s distance is half that of the longest events of its banished predecessors, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and the Team Milk’s Every Woman’s Marathon, meaning fewer streets impacted by the course, fewer crossings of major traffic routes and a shorter time duration.

And the Southern Half will start at Forsyth Park, not finish there, freeing that popular space for the weekly farmers market and typical fall weekend R&R treasured by locals. Race finishers will hit the tape at Daffin Park instead, running through the Savannah Bananas’ home ballpark, Grayson Stadium, along the way before basking in the day’s accomplishments and comparing mile splits and personal records.

City officials point to the success of other shorter-distance races run in the city — such as the Publix Savannah Women’s Half each spring and the 5K and 10K Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run each December — as reason to try, try again with a large-field event.

“I don’t think we’re a marathon city,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said. “We’re trying to figure out our sweet spot.”

Runners, runners everywhere …

The Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, first run in 2011, was sweet to Savannah tourism, which at the time of the race’s debut was still recovering from the Great Recession. The series had a cult following with runners nationwide built on well-organized runs in scenic locales complemented by live musical performances along the race course and at the finish line.

Runners went from race to race like Deadheads did Grateful Dead concerts.

Local runner Mike Nadeau labeled the Savannah Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon “a Super Bowl.” “It was a big-name event that put us on the map within the runners’ world,” he said. (Casey Jones/Savannah Sports Council 2015)

Some 23,000 runners participated in Savannah’s first event. At the finale a decade later, the race was still drawing 16,000 registrants. Headliner bands during the 10-year run included Old Crow Medicine Show, Rascal Flatts, Fitz and the Tantrums and 2012 “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips.

Local runner Mike Nadeau, who operates local running gear retailer Fleet Feet Savannah, labeled the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon “a Super Bowl.”

“It was a big-name event that put us on the map within the runners’ world,” Nadeau said. “People came from all over, and they keep coming back.”

Finishers pack Savannah's Forsyth Park following the 2015 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon event. The race routinely attracted 15,000-plus participants during its decadelong run. (Casey Jones/Savannah Sports Council 2015)

For Savannah’s tourism industry, the impact went beyond one weekend.

The race’s runner demographics leaned toward young, active females with deep pockets: 57% of runners were women, according to Rock ‘n’ Roll officials, and USA Track & Field’s national runner survey pegged the typical female race participant’s average age at 38. The same study revealed more than 70% had household incomes greater than $73,000 annually.

Runners would discover Savannah on a race weekend and come back for a vacation or weekend getaways with their families or girlfriends. Often more than once, research showed.

Hoteliers were disappointed in 2022 when the mayor and city council announced the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon would not return. The race meant full hotels and restaurants during a lull in Savannah’s busy tourism calendar.

The local runners’ community pushed back as well. The event’s 2011 arrival sparked curiosity about running and fitness among Savannahians, Nadeau said, and a decade later the interest had become a movement.

Road race courses in Savannah tend to pass along the streets of the city's downtown, with its stately live oak trees and historic homes. It's those type of views that led racers to return to the city for vacations. (Casey Jones/Savannah Sports Council 2016)

Runner demand for a Savannah race led organizers of a new event, the Every Woman’s Marathon, to pitch to the city last year. They pledged a relatively small field of 7,000 runners, covered all race costs and made a significant donation to local nonprofits.

But the Every Woman’s Marathon was an untimed race committed to runners of all abilities and effectively shut down streets near the route for as many as eight hours last November.

The community outcry led city leaders to mandate the marathon’s return was contingent on a preset finish time. Race organizers balked and moved the marathon to Scottsdale, Arizona, where the 2025 edition will be run Sunday.

Enter another road race operator, Motiv Sports, earlier this year. Motiv runs events in 16 locales, most of them at less-than-marathon distances. Motiv pitched a half-marathon and 5K that ends after 4 hours, 30 minutes.

The city agreed. At noon Saturday, Motiv will pick up any runners still on the course and transport them to the finish line.