Publix Savannah Women's Half Marathon & 5K

Course highlights

The race is set to begin in the heart of Savannah’s historic district, along Drayton Street at the edge of Forsyth park, whose 30 acres were first set aside for recreation and relaxation back in the 1840s. From there, the out-and-back race route unfolds first by heading toward the Savannah Riverfront, taking runners north to Byron Street downtown.

Once they reach downtown, they’ll turn left and head west along Bryan Street and past the first two of 10 of Savannah’s historic squares, which were laid out when the city was designed on a grid back in 1733. Most of them — like Ellis and Johnson squares, which runners pass after the mile 1 marker — are named for historic people and events in Georgia’s history.

After making their way around Ellis Square, runners head south along Barnard Street for a stretch that takes them past four historic squares, nearly all of which are lined with trees draped in Spanish moss as well as gorgeous historic homes and buildings, many of which date back centuries. Runners follow Barnard all the way back south in the direction of Forsyth Park and turn left on Duffy Street.

Here, the race takes runners from the historic district and into the city’s Ardsley Park neighborhoods, and the race becomes almost an architecture tour of Savannah. There’s a gentle downhill between miles 3 and 4 and then a section that takes runners out and back to four turnabouts, almost like the spokes of a wheel, and then into the 80-acre Daffin Park.

The course takes runners all the way to the eastern end of Daffin Park and enters the park next to Grayson Field, the home of the Savannah Sand Gnats minor league baseball team. After that, runners head back onto Washington Avenue and then start the return route back to Forsyth Park, where they’ll cross the finish line at the park’s famous fountain.