Bogtrotter

Not too late to register for 10/28 marathon in Falmouth

As in the 3oth annual Dunkin' Donuts Cape Cod Marathon, which limits its field to 1,200 runners and as of the last update on its website,  "More than 1,000 registered - we expect to fill up soon!" 

Two words of warning - signing up won't come cheap, at $80 - and the course is among the most arduous around, the marathon's grueling 26.2-mile distance aside. Starting and ending at the town green in Falmouth on Sunday Oct. 28 at 8:30 a.m., the single-loop course is relatively flat for its first three-quarters until hitting the hills of West Falmouth, Sippewissett and Woods Hole. Runner's World magazine has described it as one of the 10 most scenic marathons in America.
(the photo at right shows runners passing Falmouth Heights beach in the early stages of last year's race).

The marathon is also a relay race, with legs ranging in distance from 3.05 and 6.35 miles, but the relay is full and topped with a 17-team waiting list. Perhaps more importantly to most of the runners, the race is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, which requires runners to finish a prior marathon within a certain time, depending on age and sex. Like the Olympic marathon, you gotta earn it to run in Boston.

Course records for the Cape Cod marathon, first run on Otis Air National Guard Base in 1978 and without "Dunkin' Donuts" in the title, are 2:17:35  by Randy Thomas in 1986 for men and 2:37:06 by Cathy Schiro O'Brien in 1987.

While the Falmouth marathon's registration cost is a bit steep, its amenities are among the best around. Here is just a partial listing, with the rest to be found here at the race website:

- splits at miles 1, 5, 10,  15, 20 and 25 mile marks.
- water and Cytomax stops every 2.5-miles.
- all mile, 5-kilometer and turns  marked on roadway.
- medical teams along course and at finish.
- "Elvis" sightings in later stages of race.

Something else to keep in mind - use of portable music players such as iPods prohibited "for safety reasons," a controversy roiling among runners, to the extent such things happen. 

Early start to this one, 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday, but this means midday finishes for most runners and an afternoon spent nursing blistered feet and battered knees and basking in the praise of family and friends.

The first male and female finishers and winners in age categories share in a $12,600 purse, with another $2,400 shared by runners competing in the  USATF-NE (USA Track & Field New England) championships. The age categories break down thus : open, 14-39; master, 40-49; senior, 50-59; veteran, 60-69; grand veterans, 70+;  "Clydesdale," men weighing 190 lbs+; and "Filly," women weighing 140 lbs+.

If you'd like to volunteer for the race and help out at one of the great annual events on the Cape, one well worth continuing, you'll find more information on that by following this link. The race director is still Courtney Bird, a true Cape Cod original and, my guess, the person behind the Elvis sightings. Courtney can be reached at marathon@cape.com or 508-540-6959.

(photo credit, the Dunkin' Donuts Cape Cod Marathon)