Falmouth Road Race

Disclaimer: I've been attending the Falmouth Road Race for many years. For the last 15 I've been involved with the media in some capacity or another. Currently, I'm in charge of the press tent on race day.

The Falmouth Road Race is part of running history. The race is 7.1 miles from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights, Massachusetts. The race will be held on Sunday, August 13, next summer and I, for one, am counting the days! It's a time for me to connect with old friends, have some of great seafood and, of course, "work" on the beach!

This year the race needs a title sponsor, which is part of the reason I'm writing about this. The more people that know about this opportunity the better. Maybe one of you will be the perfect match for this fabulous event.

As for a marketing opportunity...well, let's just say the title sponsor's logo is everywhere race weekend. You can't get away from it even if you wanted to. The four co-directors have forgotten more about sponsorship relations than many of us will ever know. Thousands of runners, who will max out the field by late winter, will see this logo as well as all of their friends, family and folks who live in the town. Falmouth isn't just a road race, it is a happening. One that the whole town participates in and families plan around all year.

This isn't just a regional race so if you are located somewhere besides Massachusetts, don't count it out without looking at all of their entry information. Runners come to Falmouth from all over to run the race and spend a few days relaxing on the ocean. Olympic medalists? Got 'em. Politicians? Usually got 'em. Regional runners? Got lots of 'em. Runners from across the country? Got 'em. International elite runners? Got 'em, too.

Does every single person know who the title sponsor is? I would venture to say that they all do because they can't miss it. The logo is not just on shirts, hats, sweatshirts etc. it's on banners all over the ocean-side course, the break tape, the bib numbers and every piece of media material that goes out. That's just to name a few places...banners at the pasta supper, race headquarters, number pick up, the free mug and poster runners get...I could go on and on.

It's a great race and...if you needed more....they give back, too. By giving guaranteed entries to the quickly maxed out race field to charities such as Lymphoma Research Foundation, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and nearly 25 other charities they were instrumental in these groups raising over $750,000 in 2005. Talk about warm fuzzies.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch. It is. But, it's also passion. I'd go work at this race for free every year just because I love the whole vibe of it. Oh wait...I do. And I'm not the only one. It's truly like no other race. The race organizers would love to find a new title sponsor by the time the big ball drops in Times Square in a couple of weeks. If you haven't made all your sponsorship plans yet, give them a look.

Just a little tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.