FALMOUTH – You really can’t help getting caught up in the joy of the Asics Falmouth Road Race where more than 11,000 runners take on the seven-mile route, bar to bar, from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights.
This year was the 54th running of the popular race and an estimated 100,000 spectators lined the route cheering the runners on. The spectators hold signs and banners, sometimes cheering just one special runner but inevitably cheering them all. Piped in music to motivate the runners can be heard along the route, including a live band on Surf Drive.
The start line is just outside the historic Captain Kidd bar and restaurant in Woods Hole. The first mile brings a huge challenge, running up the hill to the majestic Nobska Lighthouse.
Then the course is hilly but shady until about mile 3.2 when the runners pass Trunk River Beach with full sun as they run along Surf Drive and then around Falmouth Harbor.
The final mile to the finish line takes them up the huge Falmouth Heights hill and then down to the finish line in front of the Casino restaurant, which was a rather rowdy bar when the race started back in the 1970s.
As the head of the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce said recently, Falmouth Road Race weekend is like a second Fourth of July for Falmouth. Some year-rounders may bemoan the crowds and traffic. But we advise getting into the spirit of the thing. And why not? It’s only once a year.
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