"This is the most challenging race I've ever done, and not because of the people," co-race director Michele Redrow told WSAV the day before the first Savannah Southern Half last November. "The actual course is, you know, has a lot of turns. So, there is a lot of intersections."
On Saturday, November 14, 2026, the race runs again, and the course has changed. The half marathon now starts and finishes at Forsyth Park. That one change shapes the whole day. Most of the course reopens on a rolling schedule through the morning. The posted closures on Drayton Street along the park run into the afternoon and evening. If you live south of Gaston Street, those are the times to plan around.
Last Year's Race Ended Two Miles Away
The 2025 race, the first one, started near the fountain in Forsyth Park and finished inside Daffin Park. WTOC counted nearly 4,500 runners on a route through the city's historic neighborhoods. WSAV reported ahead of that race that more than 40 street segments were set to close at different times, with traffic hits expected downtown, in Starland and in Midtown. That Daffin Park finish put the crowds around the same park we covered when it hosted its first car-free Street Stroll.
The race still goes through Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Bananas. Now it loops back north to finish under the live oaks at Forsyth. The start is near Drayton Street and East Huntingdon Street. The finish is at Drayton Street and Waldburg.
The city has been here before with bigger races. WSAV noted that Savannah hosted the Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon for about a decade and then Every Woman's Marathon. Disruption to neighborhoods, resident concerns and effects on other tourism led the city to deliberately scale back from full marathons. WJCL reported in 2022 that the city's Rock 'n' Roll agreement ended with the 2021 race. The Southern Half is what replaced it: a shorter race with a tighter permit.
An 11 a.m. Permit Sets the Pace
The organizer's course page says the city permitted the route on the condition that the main road stays closed only until 11 a.m. The half has a hard cutoff of 3 hours and 43 minutes, a 17-minute-mile pace. Runners who fall behind are redirected. Both the half and the 5K start at 7 a.m.
Closures roll. Each street is closed for the stretch of time when runners and cleanup crews are on it, then it reopens. So a street on the race map can still be open at the hour you need it, depending on where you are on the course.
The Morning, in the Order Streets Reopen
These are the windows on the organizer's 2026 traffic page, ordered by when each group is listed to reopen. The page notes that Gwinnett and Stiles close in one direction only.
| Listed window | Streets |
|---|---|
| 6:30 to 8:15 a.m. | Broughton Street between Lincoln Street and Montgomery Street |
| 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. | Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Gwinnett Street; westbound Gwinnett between Montgomery Street and Stiles Avenue; northbound Stiles between Louisville Road and Gwinnett; Park Avenue between Montgomery and Bull; Montgomery between Broughton and Park Avenue; Barnard Street between Park Avenue and Henry Street; Bull Street between Park Avenue and 37th Street |
| 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. | Duffy Street between Barnard and Drayton |
| 7 to 11 a.m. | Washington Avenue between Habersham Street and Bee Street; Atlantic Avenue between Henry Street and Baldwin Circle; Paulsen Street between 41st Street and Washington Avenue; 45th Street around Theus Park and Guckenheimer Park, including Chatham Crescent, 46th Street and Atlantic Avenue |
| 7 to 11:30 a.m. | Henry Street between Barnard Street and Atlantic Avenue |
The table follows the runners. Downtown and the west side come first: Broughton reopens before most people have finished their coffee, and the MLK and Gwinnett closures end at 9:30. Bull and Barnard through the Victorian District and Starland run on that same 9:30 schedule. Our Starland roundup covers what's open on that stretch of Bull once the runners have gone by. The southern loop, with Washington Avenue, Paulsen and the blocks around Theus and Guckenheimer parks, is listed until 11 a.m. Henry Street is last on the list at 11:30, as runners head back north toward the finish.
Four Intersections Where Cars Can Cross
You don't have to sit out the whole morning if you need to get across the course. The organizer lists four "flow through" points, with approximate times when runners will be there:
- Liberty Street at Bull Street, 7 to 8 a.m.
- Oglethorpe Street at Bull Street, 7 to 8 a.m.
- Whitaker Street at Henry Street, 7:10 to 9:35 a.m.
- Henry Street between Abercorn Street and Atlantic Avenue, 7:15 to 11 a.m.
Savannah Police will let cars through intersections when they can, depending on how many runners are passing. The organizer advises drivers to take other routes, stay away from the course, allow extra time and drive carefully that weekend. Last year WSAV reported the worst delays between 7 and 11:45 a.m. Going by the 2026 windows above, that range is still a good guide for most of the course.
Drayton Street Is the Exception
Two entries on the traffic page break from the morning schedule:
- Drayton Street between Park Avenue and Gaston Street, closed 3 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Drayton Street between Gaston Street and Taylor Street, closed 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On the same page, the organizer says every street is scheduled to reopen by 12 p.m. that Saturday. Those two statements don't agree. The Drayton windows fit the new layout, though. The start, the finish and the organizer's post-race music and food gathering are all at Forsyth Park, right along that stretch of Drayton. Last year the course was designed to clear Forsyth Park within two hours, because the race ended somewhere else. This year the race ends where it began.
If you live on Drayton or a cross street between Park Avenue and Taylor, assume Drayton is closed for the whole day unless the organizer says otherwise. The closest end of the closure starts at 3 a.m. If your car is parked on that stretch and you need it Saturday morning, move it Friday evening. You can ask about the exact reopening time at [email protected]. Runners in both races are told to park near the Forsyth Park start, which will add to the parking demand around the park that morning.
The Saturday Market Sits Inside the Closure Map
Forsyth Farmers' Market runs year-round on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the south end of Forsyth Park, at Bull Street and Park Avenue, rain or shine except in extreme weather. On race day, Park Avenue between Montgomery and Bull and Bull Street from Park Avenue to 37th are both listed as closed until 9:30 a.m. So the market's usual opening time lands half an hour before the streets beside it are listed to reopen.
Check the market's site and channels for its November 14 plans before you go. If it opens as usual, getting there on foot or by bike will be much easier than driving and hunting for parking near Drayton.
Race Weekend Starts Friday on East Broughton
The organizer's packet pickup page lists the race expo for Friday, November 13, the day before the race, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Venues at Trustees' Garden on the Kehoe Iron Works Campus, 660 East Broughton Street. Race-day pickup costs extra. WSAV reported last year that runners came from 24 states and filled hotels across the city. Expect more people than usual on the east end of downtown that Friday afternoon, a day before the closures start.
Saturday is the day to plan around. On most of the course, street access depends on the time of morning, and by 11:30 a.m. the list is down to Drayton. Drayton along the park is the one stretch to plan for the full day.
On race morning, it makes a real difference whether your house sits on Henry, near Theus Park, or on that stretch of Drayton. That block-by-block detail also matters when you price a Savannah home. If you're wondering what your place is worth in today's market, the team at Homes by TLC can give you a free home valuation based on your street and your neighborhood. Get My Free Home Valuation.
