Why Drayton Street Carries Savannah's Half Marathon This Year

When the Savannah Southern Half comes back on Saturday, November 14, which part of downtown will feel it longest? Last year the answer was spread across the race route. This year most of it falls on one street running along the east side of Forsyth Park.

Organizers rebuilt the course for its second year so that it starts and finishes in Forsyth Park. The race's half marathon page calls it "NEW COURSE FOR 2026." With that change, downtown's race morning becomes two different mornings. The squares, Broughton Street and the cross streets north of Gaston have closures that are early and short. Drayton Street along the park has the longest closure on the map.

A shorter race on purpose

The Southern Half exists because Savannah stepped back from something bigger. WSAV reported in November 2025 that the city hosted the Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon for about a decade, and then Every Woman's Marathon. After disruptions to neighborhoods, resident concerns and effects on other tourism, the city chose to scale back from hosting major full marathons. The station described the first Southern Half as a test of whether a shorter running event could work downtown.

In that same report, co-race director Michele Redrow described what makes Savannah hard to plan for:

"This is the most challenging race I've ever done, and not because of the people... the actual course is, you know, has a lot of turns. So, there is a lot of intersections."

WSAV counted more than 40 separate street segments closing at different times. Organizers also told the station they were already preparing to come back. The City of Savannah's 2025 race notice said more than 4,000 runners had signed up for the half marathon, most of them from within 30 miles of Savannah.

What the 2026 permit asks of the runners

The organizers changed more than where the race ends. The 2026 half marathon page lists a hard cutoff of 3:43, which works out to a 17-minute-mile pace. It says the city permitted the course on the condition that the main road stay closed only until 11 a.m., and runners who miss the cutoff will be redirected.

The race leaves downtown and comes back. The course page describes a route from Forsyth Park "through the heart of the city," then through Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Bananas, before ending back under the oaks at Forsyth. The 5K and the half marathon both start at 7 a.m. near Drayton and Huntingdon, at the park's southeast corner. The event schedule also has a second half marathon entry at 7:30 a.m., so check the start time on the race schedule as the date gets closer.

Drayton Street went from a dawn closure to an all-day one

Last year's numbers show how much the new course changes things. In 2025 the city's notice said Drayton would close at 4 a.m. to build the race setup and reopen by 8 a.m. The half marathon ran out through the Ardsley Park area and finished at Daffin Park.

For 2026, the organizer's road closure page shows Drayton Street closed from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Park Avenue and Gaston. Drayton between Gaston and Taylor is listed as closed from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Last year's closure lasted about four hours. This year one stretch is listed at twelve hours and another runs past dark.

The same page says closures roll as runners pass and that all streets are scheduled to reopen by noon. The Drayton listings run well past noon, though. If your morning depends on Drayton, plan around the longer times printed for it.

Here is how the rest of the closure list breaks down by time window:

Some intersections are only crossing points. Organizers list runner impact at Liberty and Bull and at Oglethorpe and Bull from about 7 to 8 a.m., at Whitaker and Henry from 7:10 to 9:35 a.m., and on Henry between Abercorn and Atlantic from 7:15 to 11 a.m.

For the historic district north of Gaston, the table tells a short story. Broughton reopens by 8:15. Runners have cleared the Bull Street crossings at Liberty and Oglethorpe by about 8. Montgomery, Barnard and Bull south of the squares are listed until 9:30. After that, the race has mostly moved to Midtown and Grayson Stadium, while Drayton stays closed along the park.

The park hosts a festival and a market

Ending the race in Forsyth Park means the race's whole finish operation will be set up there. The event schedule lists a Finish Festival from 8 a.m. to noon in the park, with sponsors, exhibitors, merchandise and photo spots. The race homepage also promotes live acts, DJs, dance troupes, street food and drinks.

The Forsyth Farmers' Market runs in the same park every Saturday, year-round, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In 2025, the city said the race would not affect the market, but that was a year when runners finished at Daffin Park. On November 14, the finish festival's last three hours fall inside the market's regular hours. The market's online calendar currently runs through October 31, and the market says schedules can shift, so its site is the place to check before you head over with a tote bag.

If you usually walk to the market from the north end of the park, Drayton will still be closed to cars on that side. Gaston to the north and Whitaker on the west side are not on the closure list.

North of the squares, the morning opens early

Since the race leaves the squares early, the north end of downtown mostly gets its Saturday back by breakfast. Le Flâneur, the new French brasserie inside Recess Hotel & Club at 7 East Congress Street, looks out over Johnson Square and Bull Street. The Savannah Morning News reported that it is open to the public and serves breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m., including crepes, tartines, French omelets and pain perdu. Reservations are recommended but not required. The building opened as Hotel Savannah around 1912 and is now a 221-room hotel.

There are other new names nearby. The Savannah Chamber listed a grand opening for Cosimo at 6 East Liberty Street on October 16. It also listed a reopening for Stoner's Pizza Joint at its relocated downtown location on October 9.

Friday's expo is on the east side

Race weekend starts the day before. Packet pickup and the race expo run Friday, November 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Trustees' Garden on the Kehoe Iron Works Campus. That puts Friday's crowd at the east end of downtown, far from the park. On Saturday the race moves back to Forsyth Park.

If you're still on SCAD Savannah Film Festival time when this week ends, the festival runs through October 31 at venues including Trustees Theater and Lucas Theatre for the Arts. That leaves two Saturdays before the race.

Whether you're mapping out race morning or thinking about which downtown blocks fit your daily routine, McIntosh Realty Team knows these streets block by block and is glad to talk them through with you. When a question comes up, we're here. Contact Us.