I've been trying to get into this race for a few years now. Finally did this year!

The only negative is the parking situation. Lynchburg is a small town with small town roads. Definitely plan on arriving earlier than usual. Race management does a great job communicating this and directing traffic, but there's no way around out. We came down the night before and got an AirBnB, and will definitely do that in the future.

The course is awesome. Really, really hilly, but that's part of the reason you do this race! Whiskey Hill is a great challenge. The whole town rallies around this race and comes out to volunteer and cheer.

The swag is the best! The medals, made out of old whiskey barrels, look and smell amazing. The jacket you got this year is one of my favorites now.

Put this one on your list for 2020, but make sure to set your alarm on registration day!

My first time coming to Savannah. My girlfriend and I bought the discounted entry on National Running Day last year, so we've been waiting a while to come. Not my first Rock 'N Roll event, as I've run the Nashville race 5 times, but it was my first outside of Nashville.

Expo: Getting to the expo was a lot of fun. Since we had to drive from Nashville, we didn't get in until early afternoon on Friday. We had heard horror stories of people trying to drive over the bridge to get to the expo center on Friday, so we decided before arriving that we were going to take the ferry over. It took us a while to find the loading dock, but we didn't totally mind as walking down the pier was fun in itself. Once we got on the ferry, it was a quick ride over to the expo - though we did notice that the bridge was devoid of any traffic backup. While it would've been nice to avoid the light rain, riding on the ferry was still a cool experience. Getting our bibs and t-shirts was a piece of cake - no lines whatsoever. Having both done Rock 'N Roll events before, we knew that we had to walk through the expo before leaving. We didn't need anything, so this is always a minor annoyance. I also wanted to buy a t-shirt which would double as a Savannah souvenir, but they were out of the men's larges. True, it was Friday, but running out of a popular size is still aggravating.

Pre-race - We Uber'd to the race from our Air BnB, but our driver had some issues with road closures. People who drove in probably had a heck of a time finding decent parking. The city is awesome, but it's simply not designed for thousands of people making their way into town all at once. I recommend staying at a hotel within walking distance of start/finish line (our original idea, but our first Air BnB cancelled 2 months before the race!) or Ubering in like we did. Saves a huge headache. Plenty of portable toilets all around the starting area. Finding one was not difficult at all. There are also several hotels near the start line, and several runners said that they found some that allowed runners use of the bathrooms before the race, so kudos to those hotels!

The course: I gave it a 1 star for elevation difficulty, but that's just because there was next to no elevation at all. There was a bridge you had to cross at mile 1, then the "biggest" hill was around mile 4 1/2. This is a long, but very minor, incline that you barely realize you're on. There's another hill at around mile 12 1/2 that I thought was the worst, but this is only because at this point, your everything hurts and a speed bump is an unwelcome sight. However, even though I gave it a 1, this was a challenging course for me. Living in Nashville, I am constantly running on hills. Even on the routes I choose to avoid hills, there are hills. To me, long, straight, flat courses are more challenging than courses with rolling hills. The monotony of a 3 mile stretch with no turns and no hills messes with my mind and is almost more challenging for me than a big hill where I can tell myself "Make it up this hill, then I get a big downhill." At least the scenery was outstanding. Running down Oglethorpe - maybe the longest, straightest, flattest stretch I've ever run - was my favorite part of the race. The old architecture, the Revolutionary War-era cemetery, the Spanish moss hanging over the road... it was beautiful and really kept my mind off of the monotony of the run.

SWAG: I've never been a huge fan of Rock 'N Roll SWAG. The medals are ok. They're heavy and made of quality material, but for how big of a company it is and how much money they make, I would expect these medals to blow all other medals out of the water. They never do. They're just meh. It's got a bike on it. Ok. Cool. I never like the shirts, either. I like my shirts to be almost minimalist. Small designs win for me. This has a giant peach on it, which while important to the area, makes a shirt I probably won't often wear.I may be in the minority on this, though.

Things to do in the city: WOW! My girlfriend and I loved our time in the city. If you're looking for a destination race-cation, put this on your list. We toured several of the squares (you have to get your picture at Chippewa Park!), went to Bonaventure Cemetery, toured the Revolutionary cemetery, ate ice cream at Leopold's, and spent our last afternoon at Tybee Island, a short 20-ish minute drive from Savannah. Even though the Atlantic was cold, we were able to dip our toes in the water (a big deal for us land-locked people!) and took a sunset dolphin tour with Captain Keith's Dolphin Tours. We did not see any dolphins (supposedly one of the few that doesn't) but it was still worth every penny being on the water when the sun was setting. Since we didn't see any dolphins, we even get a free tour whenever we make our way back to Savannah. Highly recommend this tour!

I've done around half of the Tennessee Running Tour races, and this one is definitely up there as one of my favorites. For the price of admission ($22 w/ a shirt, or $10 w/o), you really can't expect much, but they definitely go above and beyond. *Disclaimer* If you do any of these races, you have to know that they are bare-bones... don't expect a lot of swag. You do these to travel the beautiful state of Tennessee, see some fantastic state parks, and run with a group of people that after a few weeks, you get to know. Oh, and the competition is pretty sweet, too.

The Race: It is hard to settle into a nice routine, as the first few miles are on a paved narrow path that winds through the woods. The scenery is a breath of fresh air compared to the city streets that most races wind through, but the narrowness makes it difficult to path. You're essentially running single-file. A few times I stepped off the path to pass some slower people, but that's a risky proposition running through the woods. Once you get off the path, you go onto a two-lane road that now feels as wide as the Great Wall is long. Again, though, it's hard to settle into a nice pace, because after a quarter mile or so, you begin a long, steep downhill, under a wooden covered bridge (cool!), then up a long, steep hill that never seems to end. A few years ago I was in fantastic shape and killed the hill... this year, I'm not in as good of shape. Add in the 80+ degree temps (I love that these start times are at 11:00 on cold, winter days - not so much on these hot fall days), and I had to walk a good chunk of the hill. It's a tough one. After that, you make another turn onto a long, mostly straight out and back for 2-ish miles total. Rolling hills which are made tougher after the beast of a hill. If you are feeling good, you can gain a lot of time here that you may have lost in the woods or on the hill.

Post-Race: Some of these Running Tour races have excellent post race options. For example, it's worth it to do Bigfoot Scramble just for the post-race BBQ that they have or Johnsonville Charge for their chili. This one just has bananas, cookies, and water. Still, as I said at the beginning, you don't do these races for the swag. Anything you get is a bonus.

Race Management: I have to add that one thing I love about this race is the director. The race is ran by a guy and his two kids. That's it. They start the race, run the two aid stations (plenty for a 10k, and two more than you receive at most of these races), and do the post-race awards. I love watching them work together.

Swag: The running tour always has similar shirts for each of their races. Sometimes the design varies, but that's rare. The colors are always difference. It's definitely worth it to get at least one shirt from the tour each year. This one is pretty cool as it's the 40th anniversary of the tour. Nice design on the front and a nice dark blue color. Instantly becomes one of my favorite long-sleeve tech's that I have. Be aware that not everyone receives a medal. You need to place in your age group to receive one. Most of the races are small enough where you will be competing with 5-ish people in your AG, but some are larger. This one is one of the smaller ones. None of the medals are large or heavy, but they are all unique to the park. This one features Davy Crockett on it and has your AG place.

Overall, if you haven't checked out a Tennessee Running Tour event yet, put at least one on your calendar this year! You won't be disappointed.