Preparations Set For 36th Road Race

By MARTHA V. SCANLON
As Richard A. Sherman heads into his 36th Falmouth Road Race, he pretty much has the routine down, though that does not stop the event’s co-founder and co-director from getting excited about new additions.
“We’ve done it 36 times, so we’re pretty experienced, but there’s always something else that we try to add to it,” Mr. Sherman said.
The seven-mile race starts Sunday in Woods Hole with wheelchair-racers at 9:30 AM and runners at 10 AM.
New this year, runners’ times will be logged automatically when they finish the race by a paper-like tag attached to their shoelaces, Mr. Sherman said.
The tag, called the Chronotrack D-Tag Timing System, will help streamline the process at the finish line because they are disposable and do not need to be returned to race officials following the event.
Also new this year, the race is asking participants and volunteers to donate old cellphones for the Norwell-based charity Cell Phones for Soldiers, which sells unwanted cellphones for recycling to provide phone cards to people serving overseas.
Cellphones can be dropped at the Gus Canty Community Center, 790 East Main Street, for the program
There will also be portable toilets located for runners along the route. “So runners who drink too much Gatorade before they’ve run will get to be a little more discreet,” he said.
Hundreds of doctors, nurses, and EMTs volunteer each year, many of whom are from Falmouth Hospital, Mr. Sherman said.
Cape Cod Ambulance also donates the use of three ambulances, which prevents the town’s fire rescue personnel from being tied up in the race, he said.
Falmouth Fire Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Mark D. Sullivan said that four firefighter/paramedics will be on bike detail during the race, allowing them to respond quickly and assess injured runners without sending in an ambulance.
This year, Mr. Sherman said that about 1,400 year-round Falmouth residents are registered to run the race, with another 600 Falmouth property-owners registered.
He said that Falmouth residents have guaranteed acceptance into the race, meaning that this year they turned away about 3,000 runners from elsewhere.
And again this year, Mr. Sherman said that the race is contributing thousands of dollars to the town for increased police and DPW services.
Last year, he said, the race paid more than $6,000 to Falmouth police and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department for their presence, and this year they are also paying $8,000 for recycling.
He added that the event is also good for business in Falmouth, not only because of the large amount of people who come to town for it every year, but because of the runners who return for vacation or other local races.
“We believe that it’s very positive for our number-one business, which is tourism,” he said.