City Talk: Will Every Woman's Marathon turn out to be a winner?

This is the City Talk column by Bill Dawers, a longtime contributor to the Savannah Morning News.

It’s not often the announcement of a major new initiative in Savannah is accompanied by a poem.

For the launch of Every Woman’s Marathon on Nov. 16, Milk commissioned poet Amanda Gorman, who is perhaps best known for her appearance at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, to create an “international mantra” about women’s strength and empowerment.

The video of Gorman delivering the poem features female runners of various backgrounds, ages, body types and life situations.  The poem and the race itself are part of ongoing efforts to get people thinking of milk as “the original performance drink” and to encourage more women to run.

In a press release announcing the new race, Mayor Van Johnson and City Manager Jay Melder emphasized the marathon’s positive impacts on the Savannah community, especially for women.

City officials have already made it clear that Every Woman’s Marathon and related events on that weekend will be less disruptive than the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, which had broad community support when it launched in 2011 but brought too many hassles and costs.

Without the need to erect stages along the 26.2-mile route, the new race should require much shorter road closures and will not require any towing of vehicles.

The race will begin at City Hall, but Bay Street should be open to traffic by 9 a.m. Streets in west Savannah and in the Landmark Historic District should be open by mid-morning. The race will end near Trustees Garden on East Broad Street, so the Forsyth Farmers Market can have a normal Saturday.

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The starkly different logistics will prove far less frustrating for residents, workers and visitors in the greater downtown area.

Of course, there will still be negative impacts anytime several thousand runners are traversing the city.

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While the details have not been finalized, a map on the race website suggests that the route will be similar to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.  After swinging through west Savannah and downtown, runners will likely head east, eventually reaching Savannah State University. The final miles will go through a portion of Ardsley Park and then north on East Broad Street to the finish line.

The course time limit will be 7 hours, 45 minutes, according to the website, so if the marathon starts at 8 a.m., some streets near the end of the route could be closed until about 4 p.m.

Residents and businesses on Savannah’s east side seem likely to face the biggest disruptions on race day, but officials with the city, Visit Savannah and Milk should have time to work on the details.

While the marathon is called “a race for women, by women,” it’s worth noting that male and non-binary runners can also register. The city’s press release says that about 5,000 runners are expected to participate, but there could be far more. Savannah will likely be a great destination for a mid-November marathon.

But the new race’s relevance to the community will not be determined by the number of heads in hotel beds. If local officials and race organizers can find ways to inspire and empower women who live here, they might have found an event that is truly a good fit for the city.

Bill Dawers can be reached via @billdawers on Twitter and CityTalkSavannah@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: City officials say the Every Woman’s Marathon won't be disruptive.