YEARS ofYEARS of

"Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could get Frank Shorter to run

in a race on Cape Cod?"

So said a bartender and runner named Tommy Leonard, in Falmouth Heights, Massachusetts, back in 1972. Leonard

had just seen the American on TV, winning the Olympic Marathon in Munich, and he was transfixed.

The first Falmouth Road Race took place the following year, with about 100

participants. (As for Shorter, he wouldn’t run Falmouth until 1975—when he faced

down a kid named Rodgers.)

In the decades that followed, Falmouth would swell to include thousands of runners, among them some of the biggest names in the world of road

racing: Shorter and Rodgers, of course, but also Benoit Samuelson, Salazar, Dixon, Waitz... The list went on, and

many of them returned year a!er year to test their mettle, and one another, on the seven-mile course from Woods Hole

to Falmouth Heights Beach.

Forty years in, here are a few of our favorite memories.

Joan Benoit Samuelson in 1985

November 1978“THE RACE TO DECIDE THE KING OF THE ROAD” by Amby BurfootWith Bill Rodgers's first Falmouth victory in 1974 and Frank Shorter’s 1975 and 1976 wins, a rivalry between the men emerged. Falmouth caught the attention of Runner’s World when the 1978 race included 13 sub-four-minute milers, 16 individual NCAA or AAU champions, and nine Olympians.

“Race director John Carroll was…calling it ‘the best American race field since the 1976 Olympics.’ These fellows have been together before in the Trials and Games, but never in the same race. Bill Rodgers headed the list, having won the 7.1-mile Falmouth race the year before in a record 32:23.”

“In all, there were six runners who clawed their way through the muggy 7.1 miles at under 4:40-per-mile pace, 18 who were under 4:50, and 41 under 5:00. Moreover, the course—despite its seaside countenance—isn’t an easy one. Shorter has called it ‘a lot tougher than you’d think.’ And Greg Fredericks, fifth this year, said, ‘It’s hard to say why, but this course gets to you after three to four miles.’”

After Rodgers’s third Falmouth victory in 1978, his fame was cemented.

“So Bill Rodgers remains King of the Roads, though his crown is weighing ever more heavily upon him with speedy track runners taking to the roads in unprecedented numbers.”

November 1985CAPE CRUSADERS by Amby Burfoot

Though the men of Falmouth were impressive, it was the women who captured the spotlight in the mid-1980s. Known for setting the 1983 course record with a painfully infected toe, and of course for her gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles, Joan Benoit Samuelson became the standing favorite woman. She continued to impress at the 1985 Falmouth, when she set another course record.

“Now it was 54 weeks to the day since her Olympic triumph. Benoit was eager for solid signs of a rebound. So, as she began the climb up curving Nobska Lighthouse a mile into the Falmouth race, Benoit was all eyes and ears. What she saw surely delighted her—Nobska’s sloping green lawn, scattered clouds, the rising lushness of Martha’s Vineyard four miles off her right shoulder, and the same lapping Atlantic waters that wash into the salt hay of her backyard in Freeport, Maine. The sounds were even better. First Benoit noticed that the trailing footsteps of Lesley Welch and Larrieu Smith had faded away. She turned her attention to the mile split and heard 5:07. The magic was back. ‘I felt totally under control,’ Benoit said later. ‘I was back in the groove, not breathing hard at all. I don’t know why it is that my fastest races are always my easiest.’”

Joan Benoit Samuelson in 1985

Runner’s World cover from 1978 (photo by

Don Flanagan)

Craig Virgin, Mike Roche, Alberto Salazar, and Bill

Rodgers in 1978

November 1994ONE THAT GOT AWAY (Race Report)It is almost impossible to ignore the ocean, alive and inviting, next door to the Falmouth Road Race, and throughout the years, athletes have been known to take advantage of the sea. In 1994, Runner’s World reported on runner-up Arturo Barrios, who spent the weekend bass fishing on the cape the weekend before the race.

“When he’s not racing, Arturo Barrios likes the challenge of sport fishing, which makes a weekend in Cape Cod twice as nice. Barrios landed a couple of striped bass the day before the race, but couldn’t reel in what would have been his biggest catch of the summer—Benson Masya, the killer shark of road racing in the 7.1-mile Falmouth Road Race. Barrios settled for a second-place finish. As for Masya, his main challenges these days seem to come from racing the clock. His 31:59 on an overcast, humid morning left him just seven seconds shy of the course record he set in 1992.”

November 1997POINT TO POINT by Bob WischniaRunner’s World and Falmouth celebrated the 25th anniversary of the race, inviting back champions from years past.

“Seventeen accepted the invitation, and 14 of them actually ran the 7.1-mile race on August 17. Among men, 1973 champ David Duba ran 45:01, ‘75 and ’76 champ Frank Shorter 42:01, ‘79 champ Craig Virgin 45:53, and ’80 champ Rod Dixon 41:45. Among women…six time champ Joan Benoit Samuelson [ran] 39:18 (to win the masters division).”

April 1998HUMAN RACE by Michael BennettThe Falmouth Road Race is unqiue because of the unparalleled dedication of those runners who return to the event year after year. Shorter, Salazar, Rodgers, and Benoit Samuelson have all come back to the race at some point, bringing new rivals with them each year. Having raced 39 consecutive years to date, Ron Pokraka, Mike Bennett, Brian Salzberg, Don Delinks, and Tom Brannelly are dubbed the “Falmouth Five.”

“This August, Michael Bennett, Ph.D., will run the Falmouth Road Race for the 26th consecutive year. Bennett, 67, is one of only five runners to have run every Falmouth, a 7.1-mile jaunt from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights along the beautiful Massachu-setts coast. ‘It’s too hot, too humid, and too crowded, but I’m always ready to run on that day,’ says Bennett. When he lined up for the first Falmouth in 1973, there were only 92 entrants. Last year 9,500 signed up. ‘It’s a bit of a zoo, but I keep coming out because I know the other four 25-year runners will be there,’ says Bennett. ‘We're all trying to outlast each other. Johnny (‘Old John’) Kelley was one of us until two years ago.’"

From le!: Dave Murphy, Rob de Castella, and Steve Jones just past

the six-mile mark in 1985

Wheelchair race start in 1994

November 2003RACING REPORT SBLI FALMOUTH ROAD RACE 7-MILE Jennifer Rhines represented the American distance women in her seaside victory, while the American men fell behind when Kenyans took the top five spots in 2003.

“American Ace: Jennifer Rhines scored the first triumph by an American woman at Falmouth since 1994 as Catherine Ndereba and Olga Romanova unexpectedly dropped out late in the race. John Korir joined Bill Rodgers as a three-time men's winner.”

May 2005THE BOSTON LEGEND by Amby Burfoot

Bill Rodgers wrote about seeing John Kelley, known for running 58 Boston Marathons, at Falmouth in a 2005 Runner’s World story.

“I met Johnny for the first time at Falmouth in the early 1970s...I was probably 26 at the time, and he was maybe 74. He was standing on the front line, too. He was such a fierce competitor, he wanted to be sure to get a good start. I'm not as old now as Johnny was then, but I wouldn't dream of getting anywhere near the front.”

August 2001MY FAVORITE RACE by Pam StoneIn Runner’s World’s August 2001 issue, Pam Stone of Marietta, Georgia, recounted her favorite race: Falmouth.

“More than 9,000 runners lined up for the 28th annual Falmouth Road Race last August on scenic Cape Cod. The national anthem played. Helicopters flew overhead. A few clouds floated in a bright blue sky. Temperatures hovered in the upper 60s. And I thought, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’

"Led by dozens of elite runners, the field took off from Woods Hole, a small fishing town on the southernmost point of the peninsula. From there we followed a picturesque 7.1-mile route along the Atlantic seacoast. At the one-mile mark, we passed the Nobska Lighthouse, the most prominent landmark on the course. Then we headed into the woods for some short hills before returning along the coast to Falmouth Heights.

"If you like to travel as I do, this race is definitely worth a trip. The scenery and spectators made Falmouth one of the best races I've ever run.”

2007CHASING HISTORY: A WORLD-CLASS FIELD AND SEASIDE CHARM LURED RUNNERS TO FALMOUTH IN THE ‘70s–AND BRING THEM BACK TODAY by Michelle HamiltonThirty years after the Falmouth of the 1970s, when Shorter, Benoit Samuelson, and Rodgers ruled the distance-running kingdom, the trio returned.

“These hall of famers are the linchpin of the Falmouth formula. Everyday runners come for the rare chance to join a heritage that stretches back to the rise in American distance running in the ’70s and to line up behind today's top talent...

“This year, the honors fell to the Kenyans. Ndereba won her fourth Falmouth title in 36:31, and 21-year-old Micah Kogo claimed his first in 31:53. [Meb] Keflezighi, who led the field along with Kogo, took second in 32:13. (Rodgers, 59, ran in 48:04, and Benoit Samuelson, 50, placed first in her age group in 41:56. Shorter? He never wears a chip, so no one really knows his time.)”

Start of the 2005 race (above). Masters female

Colleen De Reuck (far le!). Men’s winner Gilbert Okari (le!).

Women's winner Catherine Ndereba in

2007 (top). Men's winner, Micah Kogo, le!, Meb Keflezighi,

and Nelson Kiplagat.

2011THE BARTENDER, THE BLUE WHALE & THE QUAINT LITTLE RACE-BY-THE-SEA

by Steve RushinIt takes a special personality to create a race with as much character as Falmouth. In a 2011 Runner's World profile, Steve Rushin captured the essence of Tommy Leonard—and the race he founded.

“Tommy used to run the Boston Marathon while stopping for beers along the route at The Happy Swallow in Framingham and the Tam O' Shanter in Brookline, finishing in under four hours while keeping one eye on his splits and the other on his Schlitz. And then there was the morning after his senior prom, when Tommy showed up to run the state high school track championships wearing his tuxedo pants and the faint scent of malted beverage. Still, he managed to finish fifth. ‘I was young and foolish,’ says Tommy, capable of blushing 60 years later. ‘I didn’t take it seriously.’

“Tommy doesn’t keep score when it comes to beer and running, having vowed, years ago, never to keep count of the drinks or the miles, but simply to enjoy the ride…”

It was his energy and excitement that enticed Bill Rodgers to the race in 1974, who later convinced Shorter to race it a year later.

“How did Tommy attract Boston Billy, as the eventual four-time Boston Marathon champ would come to be known, across the bay? They were a perfect match: Rodgers, the free spirit, and Tommy, who served spirits. In those days, Tommy tended bar on the night shift and ran early in the morning along the Charles River. He sometimes ran around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, where the Greater Boston Track Club worked out. He got to know the club's members, including Rodgers, and invited them to the Eliot, which quickly became the clubhouse of the GBTC, and a magnet for Boston runners. In fact, in 1973, the year after he started at the Eliot, Tommy offered free beer to any marathon finisher bringing in a bib number. He used a similar carrot on a stick to get Rodgers to run Falmouth. ‘Tommy promised there'd be girls in bikinis handing out Gatorade on the course,’ says Rodgers. ‘There weren’t.’ To make matters worse,‘the town towed my car.’ Rodgers at least managed to win the race in a duel with Marty Liquori and, as champion, had his towing fee paid.”

The record-setting times and elite athletes who travel to Falmouth are an impressive aspect of the race, but Leonard encourages runners of every level to love the sport and run for the fun of racing.

“‘To me, running is about friendship,’ [Tommy] says. ‘It’s boy meets girl. The Falmouth Road Race started during the Vietnam War. I was fed up with the drug scene. I thought: Want to get high? Run down to Falmouth Bay and watch the sun set.’ Tommy apologizes for tearing up. ‘I’m a mushy, sentimental Irishman,’ he says, waving his hand as if clearing invisible smoke from the air.”

Tommy Leonard at the dedication of the new start line (top). Leonard reading an article from Runner’s World covering the 1982 Falmouth (middle). Leonard’s bar, The Captain Kidd (bottom).