PACERTRIP CITY EDITIONUS / RACE GUIDE

Falmouth Road Race

Name: New Balance Falmouth Road Race Event Highlights
Uploaded: 2016-01-12
Description: Started in 1973, it has established itself as a signature race of the American summer season. Everyone from Olympic athletes to everyday runners runs the 7-mile coastal course together.

The city you want to run becomes your next trip.

Falmouth
US

Rod Allday · CC BY-SA 2.0Whoisjohngalt · CC BY-SA 4.0Wikimedia Commons · T.S. Custadio (ToddC4176), CC BY-SA 3.0Wikimedia Commons · Chris Rycroft, CC BY 2.0

Race date in 314 days: Aug 15, 2027 Sun
City · Distance: Falmouth · 7M
Entry fee: Fee TBDVaries by event and entry period
Status: SoonSee how to enter ↗

2027Date Aug 15, 2027 · Soon

2026Date Aug 16, 2026

Official website ↗

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D-day as of Oct 5, 2026

About the race Runner stories How to enter Course Race Prep Travel

Why you dream of this race

THE DREAM

ABOUT THE RACE

A day you'll remember,
long past the finish line.

Started in 1973, it has established itself as a signature race of the American summer season.

Everyone from Olympic athletes to everyday runners runs the 7-mile coastal course together.

The road to your own record

Picture the course in advance
and find the pace that fits you.

When the city cheers

Streets lined with cheers, runners all around.
You'll be part of that scene.

The trip that follows the run

Take it slow with the finish still in you,
and meet the city all over again.

Stories from those who ran it first.

From the joy of finishing to the tough moments — read what runners wrote themselves.

Race reports: 3

Olguine AugustinRan in 2025 · Finish time 52:05

“Olguine completed the race in 52:05 which placed her in seventh for her age division at the Falmouth Road Race.”

Olguine Augustin completed the 7-mile 2025 Falmouth Road Race in 52:05, placing seventh in her age group. The same piece also features the coastal course and runners crossing the finish line.

Read the original on Boston Running Scene

Melody F. ThomasRan in 2025

“The horn sounded and we took off straight into Falmouth’s signature rolling hills.”

Melody F. Thomas experienced humidity, hills, and coastal scenery at the 2025 Falmouth Road Race 7-mile course. She ran with a 17-person team and said the crowd's support and the community atmosphere made an impression on her.

Read the original on A Tribe Called Run

Chrissy CarrollRan in 2017 · Finish time 1:28:00

“I ended up finishing with a time of 1:28 – about a 12:40 minutes per mile pace.”

Chrissy Carroll completed the 2017 Falmouth Road Race in 1 hour 28 minutes. She experienced the bus-based point-to-point format, the early hills and coastal sections, and the final climb, and recorded a negative split in the back half of the race.

Read the original on Snacking in Sneakers

We translated a short line from each public race report and summarized the experience. Finish times are as stated by the author, and past editions may differ from this year's weather and operations.

See it on video,
feel it through their stories.

Preview the course and read what runners who went before you wrote.

Highlights

View on YouTube

This may be from a past edition. Check the organizer for this year's course and operations.

The way in that fits you

YOUR ENTRY

How to reach the start line —
start with what fits you.

Here are the ways to enter and what each requires.
Check the organizer's page for whether entries are open.

We'll fill this in once the official entry rules are out.

Official race website Entry options

From the start line to the finish

RACE WEEK

The 7M I'll run

Know the course and time limit, and race day comes into focus.

Runners start · local timeFrom 7:40

The start time and cut-off follow the official announcement (checked 2026-08) — re-check on the official page before entering.

City center · not the start line

We have not confirmed the start line coordinates yet. The map shows the host city.

START

Woods Hole

FINISH

Falmouth Heights

Cut-off
If you haven't finished by 10:45 a.m., you may have to complete the race on roads open to traffic. The finish area also starts coming down at 10:45 a.m.

Original course map · falmouthroadrace.com

Runners start · local time — 2026 race day: Sunday, August 16 — Start times: the Wheelchair Division goes first at 7:40 a.m., followed by the wheelchair duo at 7:41 a.m. The elite women start at 7:50 a.m., and the elite men and seeded runners at 8:00 a.m. The first general-entry wave (pulse) starts at 8:04 a.m.

The race starts next to Captain Kidd Restaurant & Bar in Woods Hole and finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights, 7 miles away.

The opening section is the hilliest part of the course.

After a steadily steepening climb, the course enters a narrow wooded trail, then opens onto a winding coastal stretch past Nobska Light.

You then run through woodland over a series of gentle rolling hills before emerging onto Surf Drive.

This exposed section follows Martha's Vineyard Sound, with beach cottages on stilts lining the shore and no shelter from the wind.

The course then turns inland toward central Falmouth and continues along Falmouth Harbor.

The final section returns to the coastal road and climbs the last 1/4-mile hill, cresting just before the finish.

The course was long listed as 7.1 miles, but it was measured and certified at 7 miles in 2006.

Typical race-season temperature: around 22°C (72°F): Hot race — plan fluids and electrolytes

Participant benefits

Not yet confirmed in the official race guide

From the most recent edition

Free public transit 2026

7-mile road race

This may change for the next edition.

To the start line,
step by step.

Pick up your bib, check your wave.
So on race morning, you can just run.

Stations & transport near the venue

Getting to the start

Woods Hole (Water Street) - no train/subway station; access on race morning is by official free bus only, loading from Lawrence School from 5:00 AM

Getting to the finish

Falmouth Heights (different from the Woods Hole start)

More details

Free official race buses run from Lawrence School starting 5:00 AM (arrive by 6:20 AM);

drop-off only also available at Falmouth High School, 5:15-6:15 AM.

Private vehicles and boat drop-offs are barred from Woods Hole on race morning.

Stations & transport near the venue

There is no local transit card or subway system on Cape Cod - Falmouth is reached from Boston via Peter Pan intercity bus,

the seasonal CapeFLYER train to Hyannis, or a rental car/rideshare, then local taxi or rideshare into town.

On race morning itself, Woods Hole is closed to private cars,

so runners must use the free official shuttle bus from Lawrence School rather than trying to drive or Uber to the start.

Source · checked Aug 24, 2026

READY TO RUN

From race morning to after the finish.

Your start time, fuel and bag drop.
Know them ahead and the run feels easier.

The number of applicants far exceeds the field limit, so entries are allocated by lottery rather than first come, first served.

Applications are taken online through the race website during a short window in the first half of May,

with a separate allocation reserved for Falmouth residents.

The race is held every year in mid-August, and the 2026 race is scheduled for August 16.

The Wheelchair Division and elite runners start first, and the general field follows shortly after in a staggered start.

The race is run by the nonprofit Falmouth Road Race, Inc., with proceeds going to local charities.

Dave McGillivray has long served as race director, and ASICS became the title sponsor in 2021.

Outside the World Marathon Majors, it draws one of the strongest fields of any race,

with Olympians and future Olympians regularly lining up alongside recreational runners.

The “Falmouth Five”—Mike Bennett, Tom Brannelly, Don Delinks, Ron Pokraka and Brian Salzberg—have each finished the race 46 consecutive times.

Times are local to Falmouth. Check the latest official information before the race.

A trip built around the race

STAY A LITTLE

MAKE IT A RUNTRIP

The race is one day,
the trip can be longer.

From a hotel that makes race morning easy,
to the meals and views you'll enjoy with the medal on.

Hotels that make race morning easy

1 places

Distances are straight-line from the start.
Check real travel times and booking terms with each hotel.

Treehouse Lodge

Motel · 585m

8.8/10(17)

View on Booking.com

Swipe sideways to see more hotels.

View on map →

Time for you, before and after the finish

33 experiences

Rest a little, wander a little.
Pick what suits you and whoever you're with.

RECOVERY & SPA1SIT-DOWN TOURS7CARB LOADING7LOCAL TRANSIT1FAMILY PASS5CITY TOURS6EASY WALKING6

Boston Harbor Sunset Cruise

Harbor cruise to relax while watching the sunset · ₩44,192

View on GetYourGuide

Newport Champagne Sunset Sail

₩90,660

View on GetYourGuide

Newport, Rhode Island: Scenic Narragansett Bay Cruise

₩59,496

View on GetYourGuide

Boston Whale-Watching Catamaran Cruise Tour

₩110,163

Falmouth Road Race

About Falmouth Road Race — what makes it special

A day you'll remember,long past the finish line.

The road to your own record

When the city cheers

The trip that follows the run