Falmouth in the Fall race has its own rich history
By Bill Higgins
It was simply another local race on a crowded Cape Cod road running calendar when it first appeared more than 40 years ago as an event to benefit a Falmouth policeman.
Shipwrecked Falmouth in the Fall – or colloquially now known as FITF – traces its roots to 1979. There have been several different names over the decades, but by any title, it remains a vibrant part of the community and is the perfect autumn companion to the famous summer ASICS Falmouth Road Race. Falmouth in the Fall returns on Sunday, Nov. 2, and the 2025 edition marks the 45th running.
FITF is favored by many runners in no small part because it’s also run over the same scenic Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights course as the iconic summer race that attracts a world-class field every August.
How popular is FITF? When registration opened in mid-September, the limit of 1,500 runners was filled in less than 24 hours.
“Shipwrecked Falmouth in the Fall is a boutique race experience and gives runners a chance to see a different side of our community and our race course,” said Megan Faulkner, executive director of Falmouth Road Race Inc., which manages both the ASICS Falmouth Road Race and Shipwrecked Falmouth in the Fall.
The first iteration of the autumn race was on Nov. 11, 1979. The Run For John Busby was a fundraiser for the Falmouth police officer who was shot and seriously injured earlier that summer in an ambush, which attracted national attention.
Phyllis Evenden, well known in Falmouth running circles, was the race director, and received help from, among many others, Rich Sherman, John Carroll and Bill Dougherty, the original organizers of the first Falmouth Road Race in 1973.
According to reports in the Falmouth Enterprise, there were 440 entries in the Busby Run and Henry Phelan won in a time of 35 minutes, 21 seconds. Lauren Murray was the women’s champion in 48:15.
Also competing in that 1979 race was Dave McGillivray, now race director of the summer FRR, and Falmouth High School cross country runner Scott Ghelfi, current president of the Falmouth Road Race., Inc. board of directors. Prizes donated by dozens of local businesses included Nike running shoes, lobsters and vodka. Nearly $2,000 was raised for Busby, who was on hand at the postrace festivities.
In 1980 it was called the Veterans Road Race, sponsored by the Falmouth Track Club, and held again in November in celebration of the Veterans Day holiday. The entry fee was $3. For the next several years, Jack Oser, Jim Gehris and his wife, Betty, were the directors and all were active in the Falmouth running community.
Oser, now 96 and the former principal of several Falmouth elementary schools, remembers the early years of the fall race as an opportunity for many who weren’t able to run in the summer to test themselves over the scenic seaside Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights course.
With the running boom exploding in the 1970s and into the ‘80s, the field for the August FRR swelled into the thousands, and a lottery was instituted, leaving many runners on the sidelines.
“The surge in popularity of the summer race meant a lot of locals were shut out and didn’t get an entry. That seemed like a hardship,” said Oser, an avid runner. “It was no one’s fault, but we felt everyone deserved a chance to run the course, too.
“We took the germ of the Falmouth Road Race and replicated it in the fall,” said Oser. “The tourists were gone and we had our roads back. It was cooler, not as hot as the summer race, and a perfect time to run.”
Well, not always. In 1981, a biting, stinging rain kept the entries down to 175 runners and Jeremy Collie, a marine ecologist studying at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, slogged to victory in 39 minutes. (Dennis Cullinane of North Falmouth ran unofficially in a faster time of 38:45, according to the Enterprise). Mary Ann Gedritis, a Boston University student, won the women’s division in 44:46.
(The race was also canceled in 2014 due to a storm).
The cold chills from the 1981 race were soothed when runners gathered for post-race warmth at the Teaticket school and were served hot dogs and baked beans – baked beans? – by food impresario Bill Dougherty.
“We threw together whatever we could,” said Dougherty. “And I think we had some beef barley soup and probably clam chowder, too.”
In 1984, Randy Thomas, a nationally known runner from the Greater Boston Track Club, set the fall course record of 33:28, which still stands. (Olympic marathon gold medalist Frank Shorter won the 1975 summer Falmouth Road Race in a time only four seconds faster).
Oser remembers that those early years were filled with a generous town spirit and family-friendly atmosphere that continues today. In fact, “Isn’t Falmouth Nice?” became a popular slogan and bumper sticker.
“We all loved running and enjoying ourselves, and at the same time we wanted to do good things for our community,” Oser said. “The police and all the officials were great to us. Everyone was willing to help, and whatever money we could raise, we gave back.”
Ken Gartner, another fixture on the Falmouth running scene for many years, first ran the race in 1986 and remembers Jim Gehris’ pickup truck as the lead vehicle with a large American flag flying. Gehris, a decorated Navy and Air Force veteran who served in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, was very active in veterans’ organizations.
When Oser and the Gehrises were ready to step aside, Don Facey came forward and took the reins later in the 1980s. Facey was a good friend of Tommy Leonard, founder of the Falmouth Road Race. And like the irrepressible Leonard, Facey’s energy and charitable compassion energized Falmouth in the Fall.
Facey was the head of Sports Printers, a company that produced bib numbers for races, and for nearly 40 years, he worked tirelessly to keep FITF at the forefront of the local running scene. With help from Leonard and his connections to the strong Boston running community, Falmouth in the Fall always had competitive and fast races.
Along with being a perennial top contender – he won FITF at least four times – Gartner helped Facey with the organization and remembers him as “quite a character, like Tommy (Leonard), and very generous.
“Don was one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and was always looking for ways to help a cause,” said Gartner. “He did the race on a shoestring budget and always tried to keep the entry fee down. For years, it was $20 and he would give the proceeds to a charity. I remember the Lupus Foundation was important to him, but no matter who he was helping, he’d then add his own personal check, so actually more than 100 percent went to charities.”
Facey passed away in 2022 and Falmouth in the Fall now honors him with the Don Facey Service Award, as a tribute to his 38 years, and a portion of race proceeds is donated to a featured charity partner to assist the Falmouth community. Facey was the first recipient in 2021 and Gartner was recognized in 2022. Other recipients have included “Iron Mike” Garry in 2023 and Mike Norton in 2024.
In 2018 Facey gave the baton to Carl Gustafson, who managed the race for Cape Cod MOVES. Falmouth Road Race Inc. acquired FITF in 2020 – there was no race that November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Falmouth in the Fall under the FRR leadership team was the 2021 edition.
“It just seemed natural that we would someday be involved with the fall race,” said Ghelfi. “Obviously, with what we do in the summer with the big race and 10,000-plus runners, we have the infrastructure, organization and staff to easily handle 1,500. Everything is in place and we get a lot of help from the town, Falmouth Recreation and (director) Julie Williams-Tinkham.”
More than 200 volunteers assist the management team. And with the finish line in Falmouth Heights outside its doors, Shipwrecked signing on as title sponsor was an obvious fit as well. The 2025 race will be the fifth running under the banner of FRR Inc. and Shipwrecked.
The post-race Finish Festival and Beer Garden with refreshments and chowder – what, no more baked beans?? – is at Shipwrecked Restaurant. Race swag for FITF runners includes a pom-pom beanie hat.
“We’re honored to be entrusted as the next guardian of this town treasure,” said Ghelfi. “I’ve run Falmouth in the Fall myself, and always looked forward to it. Preserving its charm will be our privilege.”