Savannah River Bridge Run-Dec 1, 2012

The Enmark Savannah River Bridge Run is known as the Toughest Bridge Run of the South. The bridge is about a mile and half long with a 5.5% grade. There is a 5k, 10k, and 15k (aka the Double Pump)….that is once, twice, or three times over the bridge! This was my sixth year participating in the Bridge Run and is one of my absolute favorite races!

I arrived Friday afternoon to enjoy the gorgeous weather and relax at the Westin Resort on the river….Holiday lights, Christmas trees, Gingerbread houses galore, hammock, bonfire, and much more!

 

I had a sunset nightcap at the Bohemian Rooftop where you have the best birds eye view of the town, bridge in distance, and overheard a couple from out of town ask a waitress if there was ever a race over the bridge. After the waitress said ‘No’, I couldn’t help myself but interject and tell them about the Bridge Run. I excitedly gave them all the details and even told them about my costume. Little did I know that they were actually going to register that night and I would run into them later at the race! I just amazes me that so many locals do not know about their own local events, especially ones that bring in thousands of people! It’s the same almost everywhere I go.

 

Staying at the Westin was the best decision I have ever made! Usually I do the 2 1/2 hour drive the morning of the race, or stay further in town for a cheaper rate. This time I splurged and it paid off! Even though I still had an early wake up of 530a, I had a birds eye view of the people in traffic and the Starting line. It definitely put the mind at ease not having to deal with the parking or shuttles or same day packet pick up!

Taking the short stroll over to the start, all my worries of the costume disappeared as people immediately started bursting out laughing! I was worried people would not ‘get it’…but really I only ran into a couple older people that never hear of the song, but they were usually with someone that explained it. Lots of pictures were taken as we waited to start.

 

The weather was PERFECT! Sunny and cool with a nice warm up after the race! (usually we are freezing!) Winds were calm too, so the top of the bridge was Gorgeous!

I was registered for the Double Pump, as I planned on not running in costume this year! I still was going to try to push it, as I have YET to do complete Double Pump, but it was going to be all up to how the costume handled the bridge.

The race is of good size…about 5000 runners/walkers. It is very family friendly, getting kids involved in a healthy lifestyle! This is more of a Fun experience race, instead of a time beating goal.  I was excited this year as they had a new game plan to separate the runners and walkers on different sides of the road, separated by the median, and the runners were to start about a minute ahead of the walkers. The anthem was played, the gun was fired, and we were off! All of us! What?! Why are the walkers going? The walkers ended up going at the same time, therefore getting ahead of most of us runners and making it even MORE difficult to weave around them compared to prior years! =/

For the Double Pump, you have to complete the 5k and get yourself to the 10k start line (a couple blocks over from the 5K finish) all in about 40 minutes. This is very difficult when you start on time. Then add in the extra minutes it took to even get to the ‘START’ line. Then add on the minutes it took to get around the walkers in the first mile and half. I just couldn’t stay running. There was no weaving around people with the costume.  Someone really screwed up. I know it was all miscommunication, and I do look forward to them getting that under control next year, but it really screwed me up this year.

My calves were really tight, front and back, from the very first steps….probably from the insane sprinting I did the other night after that ridiculous break up most of you know about. The front of the phone was bouncing a lot, so I had to end up holding both sides the entire way. Of course, I am used to that with previous costumes, so just went with it.

I got to the finish line at 41minutes. I think that was the longest I have EVER taken! But then again, the big cluster F@$! at start didn’t help! I said Oh Well and headed to the Brunswick Stew and Beer Tent! =) I later found out they delayed the 10k start about 15min, so I technically did have enough time to get over there if SOME one would have told me that at the finish line of the 5k!….Oh well! I watched the runners coming in, and mingled with the rest of the finishers. This was probably the most popular costume I have done yet! Seriously at one point I just stood there and kept turning in circles as every time I tried to walk away, there was another camera for me to smile at! =) The best part is people would just look and Laugh Out Loud! Its good to make people laugh!

There was a pretty good band this year as we waited til all the runners finished. Then as we were waiting for the costume results, a girl was called up on the stage. She was going to shave her head for reaching her donation goal for JC Lewis Cancer Center! This year the Bridge Run partnered with the Cancer Center and encouraged people to raise donations. The race will also donate money to the center. I love how community involved Savannah is!

There were a lot of group costumes this year. For the contest, they give $400 for 1^st, $200 for 2^nd and $100 for 3^rd for both individual and group costumes. This year however, they ended up giving away 5 places for groups with KISS getting 1^st place. As soon as they won, they announced they were donating all of their winnings to the Wounded Warriors org!

 

They called up 3 of us on stage for individual costumes…it was between me, a shower curtain, and the boy from the old school Rudolph movie. They used a ‘crowd o meter’ to register the crowds applause to figure out 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd  place. It was a very close call for all of us, but I ended up with 3^rd, the boy from Rudolph in 2^nd, and the shower curtain 1^st.  Guess I shouldn’t have come to the race alone? lol

All in all, I am extremely happy. It was one of the best Savannah trips I have had yet. The Westin is definitely the way to go if you want a relaxing get away. The weather was perfect for running. And I raised $100 all for a day and half worth of work and less than $20 in materials! My employer will match it, and now we have a $200 donation towards the 26.2 with Donna breast cancer org! =)