8,000 runners expected for Southern Half Marathon and 5K in Savannah

by Alex Rivero

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - About 8,000 runners are expected to take part in the Southern Half Marathon and 5K on Saturday, organizers said.

Both races start at 7 a.m. and begin and end at Forsyth Park, near Drayton and Huntingdon streets.

The course

Organizers expect about 8,000 runners for the second year of the event. The half marathon course will take participants through downtown, Savannah neighborhoods and Historic Grayson Stadium.

One of the race organizers also will be on the course, on a bike. Crystian Kumnick, managing director of North America for Motiv Sports, said he will lead the race.

“The thing I do is I ride at the front of it. So I will stay at the front of the race on my bike, and I’ll bring the winners through the finish line. And then I go backwards and kind of just go see how the course is doing, how the runners are,” Kumnick said.

Road closures

Drivers should expect closures and delays and plan an alternate route.

Kumnick said roads will reopen as runners move through the course.

“We can start opening up those intersections and let traffic start flowing as we kind of go through the course, as opposed to locking down an entire section of Savannah for the full five hours,” Kumnick said.

According to the Southern Savannah Half website, Drayton Street between Park Avenue and Gaston Street is closed from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drivers are asked to check the closure list and plan ahead.