Leonard Korir 1st U.S. Man To Win Falmouth Road Race In 31 Years

FALMOUTH, MA — The Falmouth Road Race saw its first American men's winner in 31 years Sunday. Leonard Korir – wearing a U.S. Army singlet – crossed the finish line with a time of 32:11. The last American man to win was Mark Curp in 1988.

"It’s so motivating," Korir said in a statement. "Like, that’s history."

Korir, 32, has been the runner-up twice in the past three years, including a back-and-forth battle with Stephen Sambu in 2017 that saw both men awarded the same time. This year, Korir overtook Sambu at 5.5 miles.

"I was feeling relaxed; I was feeling strong. I think today was my day," Korir said in a release.

Kenya's Silas Kipruto led the opening miles of 4:27 and 4:36, before a pack of five came together along the shores of Vineyard Sound. Kipruto, Korir, Sambu, Edward Cheserek and David Bett were together for a mile before Sambu strung the field out in single-file fashion through 5K in 14:05.

Sambu did his best to separate from Korir as they ran side by side through the fourth and fifth miles. Korir’s winning move came just as the pair took a sharp downhill around 5.5 miles. He rounded the next turn, and by six miles was in command.

Korir earned $10,000 for the victory, plus $3,000 for finishing as the top American and an additional $5,000 for winning "The Countdown." A beat-the-clock handicap race, "The Countdown" features a finish line clock that starts when the first woman breaks the tape, counting down the number of minutes and seconds the winning man has to beat, according to a pre-determined formula.

Sharon Lokedi, a 25-year-old Kenyan making her Falmouth debut, won the women's race with a time of 36:29. American Sara Hall, 36, finished second, just five seconds behind Lokedi.

Daniel Romanchuk and Tatyana McFadden broke their own course records in the Wheelchair Division, finishing in 21:58 and 26:15, respectively. It was McFadden's fifth win in Falmouth, and Romanchuk's third. Both took home a $1,500 course-record bonus on top of their $3,000 first prize, in honor of the wheelchair division’s 45th running.

The top Massachusetts finisher was Jacob Thomson of Boston, 10th in 33:19, one spot behind former Wachusett Regional High School and Syracuse University standout Colin Bennie (9th, 33:15), now living in Charlottesville, VA.