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2016 Falmouth Road Race + Start Line Logistics

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Hi, guys!

I ran the Falmouth Road Race on Sunday and, as expected, I had a grand old time. In fact, when I crossed the finish line, I said to myself (in my head – I’m not a total creep): “Yep, still my favorite race.”

Falmouth is an experience. And if you’re a runner, I highly recommend that you put this race on your bucket list. I promise it will not disappoint. A huge THANK YOU to Health Warrior for providing me with a bib. I can’t express enough how thankful I am to run my 4th Falmouth Road Race.

falmouth road race health warrior

Since we stayed on the Cape last week, Mal, Quinn, and I headed into Falmouth on Friday morning to pick up my bib and check out the race expo.

falmouth road race expo

Number pick-up was a breeze and the expo was excellent. I wish I had taken a photo, but it was really rockin’ with all sorts of great vendors and running-related opportunities.

falmouth road race number pick-up

We headed home from our vacation on Saturday morning, so I woke up bright and early on Sunday to drive back down to Falmouth for the race. I live about an hour away and wasn’t sure how things would go with getting bused to the start line in Woods Hole, so I gave myself about 1:45 to get there– just in case finding parking was tricky or the lines for the buses were super long.

falmouth road race start line logistics

That extra 45 minutes ended up being more than enough time. Parking was a little nuts at the bus drop-off area, but I found a lot nearby, which was a quick walk away. FYI: I parked at the John Wesley United Methodist Church at 270 Gifford Street. The folks there were super nice and even had water, bananas, and oranges for runners when we picked up our cars after the race!

falmouth road race parking

The church lot was about a 5-minute walk from Lawrence School (113 Lakeview Avenue) where the buses took you to the start. I arrived just after 7:00 AM and there were lines everywhere! (I kept singing: “Lines, lines, everywhere a line. Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind”… in my head, of course.) There were two lonnggggg lines for the buses and one long one for the porta-potties, so immediately jumped in to wait. FYI: There were plenty of porta-potties at the start in Woods Hole with much shorter lines, so, next time, I’ll probably just hop on the bus and skip the porta-potty line.

Falmouth Road Race bus drop off

The porta-potty line actually took awhile, so I was kind of worried that I would miss the “final” bus at 7:45 AM, but there were still TONS of people waiting to get bused to Woods Hole at that time. Basically, the last bus isn’t really the last bus, but I would still aim to be on it.

falmouth road race buses

I arrived at Woods Hole at about 8:15 AM, so I had a solid 45 minutes until the race started. I hit the porta-potties again (why not?), found my way to the start line, and waited.

falmouth road race start

Ready to run!

IMG_0669 (2) (960x1280)
Wearing:  Brooks Distance Running Tank Top // Chaser 3″ Shorts // Juno Sports Bra

The race organizers used a “pulse start” to spread out runners, which meant it took my group (I lined up with the 9 minute pace runners) about 15 minutes to cross over the start line after the gun went off.

falmouth road race start

The first mile of the race winds around Nobska Lighthouse, which was so pretty, and continues along a number of hilly, but shaded (!) roads. I started out slow and steady with my pace and enjoyed the race experience.

  • Mile 1: 8:58
  • Mile 2: 9:15

falmouth road race course

Around mile 3 or so, the course flattened out along Martha’s Vineyard Sound, and I was feeling pretty good at this point. I picked up the pace a bit, but I was definitely feeling the heat. The sun was blazing down, and I really wished I had worn a hat (or more sunblock). I took advantage of the water stations and spectators spraying hoses along the route to keep cool.

  • Mile 3: 9:12
  • Mile 4: 9:18

falmouth road race route

The next couple of miles were PACKED with spectators. Everyone was having a great time and there was so much energy, I just naturally picked up my pace. I was cruising along, but I knew there was a massive (and quite infamous) hill right before the finish line, so I saved some energy.

  • Mile 5: 8:14
  • Mile 6: 8:50

falmouth road race spectators

I lost a little of my pep on the final mile (probably because of that huge hill), but I finished strong and sprinted from the top of the hill to the finish line!

  • Mile 7: 9:00

Total time: 1:03:33 (9:05)

falmouth road race finish

After the race, there was all sorts of food, vendors, and entertainment for runners and their families to enjoy.

falmouth road race finish after party

I grabbed some water and a couple of snacks before I hit the road home.

health warrior falmouth road race

Once again, the Falmouth Road Race did not disappoint.  I’m so happy for the opportunity to run it again. THANK YOU, Health Warrior!!

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