The Falmouth Road Race

What’s that you say? You’ve always wanted to run a race that starts on an incredibly narrow drawbridge and finishes right next to the Atlantic Ocean? Then look no further than the Falmouth Road Race.
The Falmouth Road Race is held in the middle of August. It starts in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (site of a famous oceanographic institute and the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard) and ends 7.1 miles later in seaside Falmouth. More than 8,000 runners take part every year. For an application, write P.O. Box 732, Falmouth, MA 02541; or call (508) 540-7000.
Falmouth is great for several reasons. It embodies the celebratory nature of racing that I’m so fond of; you finish right next to a huge field, where a post-race party/barbecue is held. Although some of the best runners in the world are in the field, the race has a vacationlike feel. I know one runner who makes it his only race of the year; he’s just so drawn to the atmosphere of New England by the ocean in late summer. I also like the point-topoint course that builds momentum as you near the finish, like at Boston. Speaking of the course, Falmouth’s course is one of the most beautiful in all of road racing. At about two miles, you run past a lighthouse that looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. For most of the race, you’re either running along the ocean or on roads through shaded forests. Right at the end, you come over the top of a hill to descend the last few hundred yards to the finish line, where there’s always a huge crowd.