History of the Falmouth Road Race: by Paul Clerici What day of the week was the first race held?

(On July 6, 2015, the first-ever book entirely about the Falmouth Road Race was published. Entitled “History of the Falmouth Road Race,” 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.)

I bet you didn't know on which day of the week the first Falmouth Road Race was held.

Paul C. Clerici: The Falmouth Road Race has always been held in the month of August, but on various weeks throughout its history. The date of the first Falmouth Road Race was Wednesday, August 15, 1973. It was the 40th birthday of its founder, Tommy Leonard. It was also, as he points out, a Holy Day of Obligation! For its second year, the race date moved to Sunday, August 18, 1974. It remained on the third Sunday in August until 1984, when it was moved to the fourth Sunday, August 26. But it returned to the third Sunday the following year and stayed there for 16 years until 2001 when it was moved to the second Sunday, August 12. In 2010, the race was held on the third Sunday, followed by the second Sunday in 2011, and back to the third Sunday in 2014, where it remains.

 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 one of many tidbits from the race that he will be providing my blog in anticipation of this year's Falmouth Road Race. 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.