A History of the Falmouth Road Race: Running Cape Cod by Paul Clerici

(On July 6, 2015, the first-ever book entirely about the Falmouth Road Race will be published. Entitled “History of the Falmouth Road Race, Running Cape Cod ,” it is written by Massachusetts runner and writer Paul C. Clerici, author of “Boston Marathon History by the Mile” and “History of the Greater Boston Track Club.” In a series for Recover Your Stride, he has provided some anecdotes, tales, and tidbits that will run here on a regular basis leading up to the 43rd edition of the Falmouth Road Race on August 16.)

Paul C. Clerici: It was an extreme pleasure writing this book. I interviewed nearly 100 people from all facets of the race, reaching back to its inception in 1973 and earlier. Tommy Leonard, who founded the race, regaled me with numerous stories and recollections. It’s always fun talking to this great man. One story in particular involved his telling of how prizes were obtained in the early years. Tommy recalls entering the old Malchamn’s store in Falmouth and soliciting the owner for any kind of item which he could use for the race. After listening to his impassioned pitch, she eventually decided on an expensive women’s handbag. So excited was Tommy at receiving the accessory that he recalls exiting the store and floating down Main Street with a whistle on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, which must have certainly been a sight! Tommy was also gracious enough to provide the foreword for the book, in which he thanked, among many others, longtime organizers John and Lucia Carroll and Rich and Kathy Sherman.

I met Paul last year and was thrilled to find out that he was writing a book on the history of The Falmouth Road Race. This is the first of many tidbits from the race that he will be providing my blog in anticipation of its publication in July. If you are like me and enjoy reading background information and hearing the history of the great runners and races from the "running boom" years, you might want to do a few things in anticipation of reading Paul's upcoming book.

My blog has a lot of photos and information on the early days of the Falmouth Road Race. The first year that I ran was the historic 1975 race. You can read about it here. Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher tells about the runners and the races that made the "running boom" and the 1975 Falmouth Road Race plays a pivotal role. You can read my review here. Paul has written other books on running including Boston Marathon History by the Mile and History of the Greater Boston Track Club I am very much looking forward to reading Paul's new book on The Falmouth Road Race.