Every Woman’s Marathon

Some of you know that I won a free race entry, airfare, and hotel from Prices Dairy for the inaugural Every Woman’s Marathon in Savannah, Georgia! Since Team Milk put on this race, there were dairies across the United States that sponsored ambassador/influencers and then they were able to do a giveaway for others to win, too. This was such an incredible gift and the VIP treatment from the whole Every Woman’s Marathon/Team Milk team was beyond what I ever expected! This is a long post, but I want to capture this all here so that I can look back on it and remember the details. Please enjoy! And, yes, I HIGHLY recommend this race!

Thursday morning started with a dark, rainy, and windy drive to the Portland Airport. Of course, security was interested in all the liquids I had, but luckily, everything was cleared to go and my precious gels made it through with me!

My amazing parents came with me and decided to make a little trip out of it, staying longer to explore. We had a quick layover in Washington, DC and then were off to Savannah. Once we landed, the humidity hit us immediately- which made me a little nervous for race day. It was really easy to find the people with Team Milk, they were waiting and directed us (a little group of other contest winners and influencers) to a party bus to take to the hotel. The hotel was beautiful and while I couldn’t see much of the town on our way in, it looked great too! It was a very long day of travel, but we explored the hotel and saw the roof top bar, the downstair bar/restaurant, and nice views of the city. We were able to have a late dinner and drinks at the hotel bar and then went upstairs to get some much-needed rest before the full weekend ahead!

My alarm went off really early on Friday morning (especially with the 3 hour time difference), but I am so glad I got up to be a part of some awesome shake out runs! The rain from the previous night cut the humidity and it was actually cool in the morning. I met a friend in the hotel lobby, and we went over to the Rabbit shake out run at the Trustees Garden, which was part of the whole race area. There I got to see the founders of the company, some fellow Rad Rabbit ambassadors, and then a couple of other friends. We ran down on the waterfront and got about 2.5 miles in. The second “Unofficial Shakeout Run” was at 8:30 and led by Alison Mariella Desir, through Savanna and historical sites. It was powerful and heart wrenching. I met new friends and was thankful to have been able to be a part of the run.

After the shakeout, my friends and I went to get brunch before the expo. Brunch was great and I was happy to be able to find a place that had gluten free options. I ate lots of hash browns, gluten free toast, and eggs! I also drank orange juice Thursday on the planes and Friday when I could, to get more carbs in that way.

Everything for the race was in close proximity, and we walked back to the Trustees Garden area to the expo. The expo was unlike any other I’ve ever seen. Every Woman’s Marathon took over a big park, built a stage and, and filled the beautiful buildings connected. I pick up my bib and Rabbit race shirt (so cute!) and the swag bag was full! I got an awesome Spibelt (which I can’t wait to try!) and lots of other treats. On the stage, a (woman) DJ played music, there were tons of cool photo ops, a “milk lounge” with free milk, area for shopping for last minute race items and memorabilia, and a sign making station. They had a huge wall with name tags all over in the EWM colors. Each person had a name tag, and the color of the tag corresponded with the number of marathons she had run, which was so cool! They hosted mobility and yoga classes, cooking classes, speakers, and other presentations.

My friends and I sat and watched all the team captains, Kathrine Switzer, Alison Mariella Desir, Des Linden, Deena Kastor, and Danielle McLaughlin give a talk. After the talk, I was able to get my race bib signed by Des Linden!! That was incredible and I felt, good luck! Later, I got to meet Kathrine Switzer and talk with her for a few seconds before getting our photos taken. Seeing Des and Kathrine at the expo and seeing Alison at the shakeout, was so cool. I read Des, Alison, and Deena’s books, so it was so cool to see them in person and interact a little bit.

Some of the talks included Kathrine Switzer and Alison Mariella Desir speaking about running communities. Deena Kastor taught a cooking class (which I was signed up for but missed due to going to brunch- I was hungry!!) They even had hair braiding. When I read that it would be an option, I thought it sounded a little unnecessary, but let me tell you, when you see women walking around the expo with beautiful, unique braids filled with sparkles, you want them too!

After the expo, I went back to the hotel and relaxed for a little while and got my race kit all set out for the morning. When it was my turn for hair braiding, we walked back to the expo and I got to get my hair braided! It was so cute, they had a salon with good music and sayings on each mirror like, “braids make you faster.” Honestly, they thought of every.single.detail with this race and the braiding was a huge hit! It is just an example of the way they made the runners feel like VIP’s. Everything in the expo and related to the race was in the EWM signature colors and had cute signs and branding.

That evening, I had a special pre-race dinner with the other contest winners and influencers at our hotel. The food was so yummy and I was really grateful that they had lots of gluten and dairy free options for me! The dinner was a buffet and open for a few hours. Since I chose to get my hair braided, I missed the team captains giving a pre-race pep talk, but I wasn’t too disappointed because I got to interact with them earlier in the day and I loved having my hair done for the race.

Thankfully I was so tired from running five miles, walking another five, and the incredible high from the day, that I slept great the night before the race!

My friend and I met in the hotel lobby at about 5:45 on race morning and were able to get breakfast from an incredible spread they set up in the hotel restaurant. We weren’t expecting it, so it was a nice treat! After eating, we walked a little less than a mile to the starting area and that’s when things started to get real. Over 7,000 people (mostly women) registered for the race, so it was exciting, and the energy was electric! At the start there were lots of pink porta potties and a gear check and so we dropped warm clothes off and then went to line up. It was really empowering to be around pretty much all women in the race area, something unlike any other race I’ve run before.

The poet who promoted Every Woman’s Marathon, Amanda Gorman, (best known for her poem delivered at President Joe Biden’s Inauguration) was unable to be at the race, but they played her EWM poem and it was really powerful to hear before starting. They also did a moment of silence for the women who had been killed while running, which was powerful. The national anthem was sang and then we were off!

My friend and I lined up with the 4 hour pacers and then ran into another couple of friends we knew, so it was fun to run together at the start. The race was much less crowded at the start than I expected, because the road was nice and wide. We ran up a short hill at the beginning but then I was able to settle into a comfortable pace. I focused on staying comfortable and taking in all the sights to see in Savannah. We ran by Forsythe Park and many other beautiful parks and squares, Savannah State University, and even got to run around the track where a marching band was playing for us! Then we saw the stadium where the Savannah Bananas baseball team plays, and throughout many beautiful neighborhoods. For the first time in my last three marathons, I needed a porta-potty and you better believe that they had the fancy trailer kind on the course! I was able to use an actual bathroom while marathon running! Not only were there the trailer bathrooms, the porta potties on course were pink! Each area had tampons, pads, hair ties, sunscreen, Vaseline, and other personal hygiene items you may need. They also had a lactation area halfway through the race- how cool is that?

All along the course the fans were absolutely amazing. There were girl scouts, cheer leaders, and tons of friends and families with inspiring signs. Apparently, there was even a pot belly pig on course, but I sadly missed it. On a particularly long, highway section, there was a DJ spinning music for us, and it was awesome!

For 42% of the women running, it was their first marathon! It felt like a day of celebrating how far everyone had come and the incredible comradery of being women runners.

Throughout the race itself, I felt good overall. I was able to carb load and sleep so well compared to what I had anticipated for flying all the way across the country and having very specific dietary restrictions, so that helped a lot! I took my regular gels at my regular increments and had my handheld bottle with Nuun. I filled it up with Mortal Hydration (the electrolytes they had on course) when I ran out, and I had practiced with it before, so I knew my stomach tolerated it well. There really wasn’t anything remarkable about my running except that I did a bathroom stop and stopped to refill by hydration bottle. My parents were able to be all over the course, so it was so much fun to see them and it meant a lot to see them cheering and holding their sign!

After I crossed the finish line, I immediately saw Kathrine Switzer and was able to get my photo with her again! My parents were close by so I reunited with them and had a few moments to get some snacks and photos taken with them before walking to the bag check and grabbing my comfy recovery slides to put on. We were able to track my friends running and got to see them come into the finish line as well, which was so much fun! They did so great and for one she got a PR and the other it was her first marathon!! We all went over to the finish line party and relaxed, ate some yummy pizza (I had been looking forward to some gluten and dairy post-race for so long!!!), and reveled in the glory of completing our races!

I went back to the hotel and relaxed in the pool for a bit, then showered and felt really good, so my parents and I decided to go walk around and see Savannah. We were able to walk and see a majority of the main sights and then found our way to a traditional southern restaurant where we had delicious fried green tomatoes, and I had a yummy shrimp and scallop creamy pasta and then traditional southern drinks. After dinner we walked around more and got some souvenirs. I love getting a Christmas ornament from places I travel, so it was fun to get one from Savannah to put on the tree.

We made it back to the hotel and there was a concert with a bunch of food trucks in the park by our hotel, so we got drinks and met up with friends. I met more new friends, and we all enjoyed sharing stories about our race experiences. It was so cool to hear about each person’s race and how they felt and to see the pride just brimming. Marathoning is such a special thing, and it really brings people together.

The next morning, we all met up for photos with the SAV sign near our hotel and then I got a delicious burrata, pesto, tomato, sandwich to take on the plane with me. I got to meet another person I love following, Latoya Shauntay outside the restaurant, and that was so cool! I said goodbye to my friends, and it was really hard to leave Savannah, but I was looking forward to seeing my husband and kids. The party bus shuttle took me back to the airport and I made my way home.

I can’t believe how fast time flew. I had traveled for half marathons to other states, but now I get the appeal of traveling with friends to races across the country. The whole weekend was full of good vibes, woman empowerment, and marathon glory! I thoroughly recommend this race and give it an 11/10! Thanks for reading the longest post ever! 🙂