Falmouth Road Race Returning In-Person

FALMOUTH, MA — The Falmouth Road Race will return as an in-person event this summer, organizers announced Tuesday.

The 49th annual race is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 15., and has space for 8,000 runners. Those who registered during the initial registration window and selected, "If given the chance, I would like to run in Falmouth," will be guaranteed a place within the limited in-person field. Runners who have not yet registered but are looking to secure a spot in the race can do so by registering to run on behalf of a charity. A comprehensive list of 164 charitable organizations is available on the Falmouth Road Race's website.

“We are excited to welcome athletes back to Falmouth for this summer tradition, and we look forward to welcoming a full field for our 50th running next August," said Road race President Scott Ghelfi.

Ghelfi said an in-person return means a lot to him after having to shift the race to a virtual event in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. He said the race has encompassed so much of his life. Ghelfi became a track and cross-country athlete after running the road race for the first time as a teenager.

"The event is like Christmas to me," Ghelfi said."Every year, I look forward to it. Last year was extremely painful to not have that to look forward to."

In addition to the in-person race, the virtual edition of the Falmouth Road Race is still on, as is a virtual youth race, the SBLI Kids At-Home Challenge. Both events will see participants lace up their running shoes in their own neighborhoods from Aug. 7-14.

Ghelfi said organizers learned last year that people from different countries and states had the opportunity to compete when they normally couldn't because of distance. Ghelfi said he still wanted to give those runners an opportunity to compete virtually.

For registration information, visit the Falmouth Road Race's website.