The 2nd Savannah Sprint Triathlon (500 yds, 16, 5k) is tomorrow morning (Sunday June 1). The race starts at 7:30 a.m. at L. Scott Stell Community Park, which is about two miles off I-95, just south of Savannah.
As of today, there are 200 pre-registered individual participants and 7 relay teams. Online registration is closed, but you can still register race morning for $60, and $90 for a relay team.
The water Temperature is currently 76 degrees, so take your wetsuit, just in case the water temp stays below 78 degrees.
Radek Parnica is the race director, and if you don’t recognize his name, you probably should. He’s easily one of the top 5 triathletes in the state. The first Savannah Sprint was last October, which was also Radek’s first time directing a race. I raced the event last year and think he did a great job, plus he’s filling a huge void in the Savannah area since this is the only Savannah triathlon.
Hilton Head has a pretty active tri community with several races, most of which are sponsored by Go Tri Sports – a really good Hilton Head-based tri shop. Savannah itself has a strong community of triathletes, and an active tri club. But until Radek stepped in, they had no triathlons. Radek also provides endurance coaching and can work with athletes in all disciplines. You can get all the details at Radek’s website.
If you decide to do this event, you’ll probably need to leave around 4:30 if you live in Charleston. That’s doable.
Race Details
The swim is in a small pond at the park. It has the same vibe as the James Island County Park swim. It’s a little funky on the bottom, and there are mutant duck/geese things swimming around, but it’s a pond, so what do you expect?
The transition area is first come, first served as far as rack placement. The 16-mile bike is typical back roads with little traffic, but do watch for cars since it’s an open course. The surface conditions are decent with no real rough spots. Police are there to man the intersections and there really isn’t any chance of getting lost. The run is a two loop affair inside the park, basically around the pond. Short and sweet.
Radek did a nice job with the post race food and award ceremony. There was a massage tent set up, music, professional photography and timing, and even a buddy of his riding around filming the race, which was later posted on YouTube. Pretty cool.
I won’t be racing tomorrow, but if he does it again in the fall, I’ll certainly be there. Highly recommended.
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