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Marathon Details - Cape Cod Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > MA > Falmouth > Cape Cod Marathon

Cape Cod Marathon

SouthCoast Wind Cape Cod Marathon & Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 5K

Falmouth, MA USA

October 12, 2025

http://www.capecodmarathon.com

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Race Details

The new Cape Cape Marathon (introduced in 2019) is faster, flatter and is a much more scenic marathon route, which boasts about 23 miles of flatness with inspiring ocean views. If you're looking for a great BQ, a personal best, or just a fabulous marathon course to run, this is it!

Contact Information

Name:	Jack Afarian
Address:	Falmouth Track Club Cape Cod Marathon Weekend 661 Main St. Falmouth, MA 02540
Phone Number:	(508)540-6959
Email:	Email the organizers

More Information

These details were last updated by the race director on 2/8/24 and may be out of date.
Number of Runners:	1,200
Number of Spectators:	5,000
Fees & Deadlines:	$90/$100
Start Time:	8:00 AM
Course Highlights:	The course starts and finishes at the same location, which is Mullen Hall Elementary School and is situated at about an elevation of 20 feet above sea level. This results in a net elevation gain/loss of zero. The total elevation gain over the entire course is 570 feet. The Cape Cod Marathon race course is a fast and scenic route that hugs the Falmouth coastline of Nantucket Sound. Designed to maximize runners' view of Martha's Vineyard and the beautiful waters of Nantucket Sound.
Course Refreshments:	Lemon Lime Gatorade with Gatorade Gu at mile 16 and Gatorade Chews at mile 19.5
Marathon Ratings:	Course Scenery/Beauty/Interest: Good for First Timers: Crowd Support: Course Speed:

Runner Reviews (142)

Course 4.6

Organization 4.5

Spectators 3.9

Write a review

Number of comments: 142 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 15 > ]

A. P. from Massachusetts (5/3/2024) "Run along the ocean!" (about: 2022) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Small town race feels, well- organized. Unfortunately, no pacers. The course has a mix of interesting views: starts downtown, has bits along the ocean, a bike path, rural roads past a lighthouse, back along the ocean along parts of the famous Falmouth Road Race course, and more ocean, residential, before your loop back along the ocean to the finish.
S. H. from Texas (10/15/2023) "Picturesque and well organizes" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall well organized marathon. Good pre-race communication. Small expo but friendly people. Easy in and out. Race day was organized. Nice temp in low 50's but windy. Course is beautiful with tree canopied streets, bike bath, ocean views, and friendly neighborhoods. Great small marathon!
David Weiss from Brookpark, Ohio (11/9/2019) "Beautiful course, a memorable day" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A memorable day for me as I became a 50 stater at the 2019 race. Beautiful course, chilly; wind and rain played a factor late. Mile 23 3/4 to 25 1/4 were brutal w wind 30+ mph winds straight off the ocean, rain, and upper 40s temp. Plentiful aid stations, friendly volunteers. Lovely course. Met many friendly runners. I wore all Cleveland Browns gear, as the browns-pats game was later, and got much good natured ribbing. Got hugs and congratulations from strangers when I mentioned becoming a 50 stater. Loved race morning packet pickup. Simple, easy parking; beautiful medal, nice long sleeve shirt. Good donuts and hot soup post race. All in all, a very enjoyable way to become s 50 state marathoner!
Thomas Gaudette from Palos Hills, lL (11/5/2018) "Best of Cape Cod-Falmouth" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The people of Cape Cod particularly of Falmouth, their marathon course and the temperate racing day made this event as good as it could be. On Saturday, the ocean covered part of the coastline road because of the nor'easter blowing through. On Sunday, the road was clear. We faced a hilly second half course in a blustery headwind though the forest would protect us. There were no unexpected issues. There were expected issues of course. We could not run tangent lines properly or run the inside lines of road curves because of the moving autos on hand. This is one reason why the course is being changed for next year. A bicycle club of fifteen riders in formation passed us from the opposite direction north of Woods Hill. That was all. We were supported at hydration locations with fun local responses to our diverse racing dispositions. We raced through Cape Cod on a normal Sunday morning. Adequate training prevented any undue reaction to the mid course hills. When we reached the golf course past mile twenty, the beauty of the domain really emerged. Running down the short hill then up the hill on Church Street past Woods Hole lead to a sight which was priceless. Here was the coastline which the race will embrace next year and where we reached Nobska Point. The headwind and hill there had little effect. The sight of all this water and open course to run was exhilarating. Struggling with overall pace maintenance in such a place was unnecessary. The Falmouth Track Club has been the steward of this domain in a genuine way. Changing the course is simply part of the natural evolution of this marathon. Run this marathon, meet the Falmouth people and experience the beauty of Cape Cod.
C. V. from Boston, MA (10/28/2018) "Beautiful Course" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I absolutely loved this marathon. It was not as challenging as I expected based on the previous comments. This is the last year of the current course. It's being retired for several reasons some I agree with others I do not. In terms of challenging courses.. not every marathon needs to be 'flat and fast' occasionally it's nice to run a course for the challenge and scenery. One major con of the course was the roads were open to traffic and I ended up running a third of a mile longer due to the need to stay on a certain side of a road vs. taking tight turns. Some of the cars were also going very fast posing a risk to many of the runners. The new course is supposed to fix that issue and is being touted as a flater and still beautiful course. What i loved about this race is it is small meaning.. you don't have to get up 3 hours before the race to beat the crowds to start line and you can literally park feet away from the start.. nice if it is a chilly morning. The weather this time of year can be tricky. We were extremely lucky.. low 50s for the majority of the race.. the day before was a Nor'Easter with very high winds, pouring rain and flooding. Falmouth is a great town to visit and if you have never been to the Cape or New England I highly recommend this race as a fall destination race.
Allison Herd from California (1/10/2018) "A Great Race to Run a Great Place to Visit" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Both my husband and I ran this race in 2017. We had great running weather. Falmouth was a WONDERFUL destination to visit (great B&B's). I have run 23 races and this is my favorite by far: beautiful race, beautiful town, and a wonderful experience.
S. K. from Poiughkeepsie, NY (12/7/2015) "3rd time running and still great!" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Cape Cod Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my third consecutive year running the CCM. This race is a good one! I am not a fan of large crowds, so the fact that the marathon is capped at 1200 is a good thing. However, the race feels bigger than this due to the fact that there are many relay teams as well. Good on the organizers for finally getting the message on the tech shirt instead of the cotton one. Smallish, but good expo. Crowd support is sparse and this year, due to the growing number of relay teams, my wife had a near impossible task of driving to places along the route to see me and cheer me along. In 2013, no problems seeing me 3 times AND the finish, 2014: 2x. This year?? Once, and that was from her car as she was stuck in massive traffic caused all the relay runners getting to their appointed spots, and their support. Crowd support along the route is sparse...mostly non-existent. Lots of inland running with nice scenery to get you through. Changing leaves, Cranberry bogs. Quaint. The scenery is the best...mile 2-5 or so along the Atlantic. Be prepared for the non-stop rolling hills from about mile 18 on. Great finish down Main Street in Falmouth. I'll be back for year number 4 in 2016!
M. A. from Niskayuna, NY (10/27/2015) "Hilly but Scenic!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great race! Don't go in expecting to PR because of the pervasive hills in this race. However, there are some spectacular ocean views between miles 2-4 and 21-25, as well as pretty foliage, to help occupy your mind over the 26.2 miles. I would note that, while many have commented regarding how flat the first half is, I thought that were actually a decent number of (not steep) hills to endure. While not a ton of spectators along the course, those that came out were very energetic. Good and efficient support from the water stop volunteers too. It also helped to have near perfect conditions for the race - mid-50s and cloudy. Finally, Falmouth has a great downtown area to enjoy some yummy pre-race carbo load and post-race celebratory meals!
L. H. from Boston (11/27/2014) "My first marathon" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 So I ran the 2013 Cape Cod Marathon as my first marathon ever. Pros/Cons: Pros: BEAUTIFUL course, at a time of the year when the weather should be ideal. Not a gigantic marathon so you have the small race perks of free massages. Very cool medal. Cons: The course is not easy. It gets even harder and hillier at the end. There is also a relay that goes on at the same time which can get pretty frustrating (just imagine people that are clearly more out of shape than you running past you, because they are only running a few miles and you are running 26. I know this sounds shallow but it gets very irritating). The shirts are just ok, they are cotton. Overall, this race will always be special to me because it was my first. I have ran 2 marathons since then, so looking back, I'm not sure this is the best race for a first timer. There are a lot of other Fall marathons out there, so it's not hard to find one on an easier course. It's also not the best course if you want a PR. But it's still an awesome experience, so if you are just going for the fun of it, check this one out!
E. U. from Atlanta (11/2/2014) "Great Race" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great Race: - Beautiful scenery (ran through cranberry bog while they were harvesting, ran past beautiful beach front homes, lighthouse, beach-front running, etc.) - New England charm - Well organized - Enthusiastic volunteers - Enthusiastic spectators (although course winds through small towns so don't expect a lot of spectators - sparsely populated summer community) - Nice medal - Easy logistics (parked two minutes from race start and porta-potty lines max 2 minutes) - Well marked course Course can be broken into following stages: 0-10 = easy, relatively flat 10-12 = long gradual uphill climb that is not insignificant, but still lot of energy in legs to not a problem 12-15 = mostly downhill, can accelerate so have to hold yourself back 15-22 = very difficult part of course - lot of hills and despite other reviews they are not 'gentle' or 'rolling', some of these are very challenging and you will need to force yourself to relax and get breathing back in check on the downhill side if you want to maintain pace. This is the make-or-break section of this course. There are two killer hills - one by the golf course and one pre-Woods Hole. 22-26 = average. This sections starts out with some rolling hills and then ends relatively flat as the course goes along the ocean and then turns left up into town. If you have gas left in the tank you can really make up some time here. I had my fastest mile of the course (7:01') on mile 22. Be aware that this is not a PR course for most. There are a lot of twists and turns that add to the distance when you compare official mileage to your GPS watch. My normal tracking error between official and GPS is about 0.1 to 0.3, even on city courses. My tracking error on this course was 0.54 - my watch had a total distance of 26.74. Most of this tracking error is on the second half as I was quite close when crossing 13 mile marker. I suspect that there is an error in the official measurement of the second half and have communicated to race organizer, but I can't prove it. Regardless, be prepared because if you are looking for a time/pace, you need to take this tracking error into consideration. Temps were nice - mid 50't to low 60's, sun shining, but very windy. Had 20mph winds that seem to constantly change direction during the race in order to always be in my face! Contrary to other commenters, I found this added significantly to the challenge. Very happy and can fully recommend this race to anyone from beginner to experienced. Just plan your race strategy accordingly and you will not be disappointed.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 15 > ]



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A. P. from Massachusetts (5/3/2024) "Run along the ocean!" (about: 2022) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Small town race feels, well- organized. Unfortunately, no pacers. The course has a mix of interesting views: starts downtown, has bits along the ocean, a bike path, rural roads past a lighthouse, back along the ocean along parts of the famous Falmouth Road Race course, and more ocean, residential, before your loop back along the ocean to the finish.
S. H. from Texas (10/15/2023) "Picturesque and well organizes" (about: 2023) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Overall well organized marathon. Good pre-race communication. Small expo but friendly people. Easy in and out. Race day was organized. Nice temp in low 50's but windy. Course is beautiful with tree canopied streets, bike bath, ocean views, and friendly neighborhoods. Great small marathon!
David Weiss from Brookpark, Ohio (11/9/2019) "Beautiful course, a memorable day" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 A memorable day for me as I became a 50 stater at the 2019 race. Beautiful course, chilly; wind and rain played a factor late. Mile 23 3/4 to 25 1/4 were brutal w wind 30+ mph winds straight off the ocean, rain, and upper 40s temp. Plentiful aid stations, friendly volunteers. Lovely course. Met many friendly runners. I wore all Cleveland Browns gear, as the browns-pats game was later, and got much good natured ribbing. Got hugs and congratulations from strangers when I mentioned becoming a 50 stater. Loved race morning packet pickup. Simple, easy parking; beautiful medal, nice long sleeve shirt. Good donuts and hot soup post race. All in all, a very enjoyable way to become s 50 state marathoner!
Thomas Gaudette from Palos Hills, lL (11/5/2018) "Best of Cape Cod-Falmouth" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The people of Cape Cod particularly of Falmouth, their marathon course and the temperate racing day made this event as good as it could be. On Saturday, the ocean covered part of the coastline road because of the nor'easter blowing through. On Sunday, the road was clear. We faced a hilly second half course in a blustery headwind though the forest would protect us. There were no unexpected issues. There were expected issues of course. We could not run tangent lines properly or run the inside lines of road curves because of the moving autos on hand. This is one reason why the course is being changed for next year. A bicycle club of fifteen riders in formation passed us from the opposite direction north of Woods Hill. That was all. We were supported at hydration locations with fun local responses to our diverse racing dispositions. We raced through Cape Cod on a normal Sunday morning. Adequate training prevented any undue reaction to the mid course hills. When we reached the golf course past mile twenty, the beauty of the domain really emerged. Running down the short hill then up the hill on Church Street past Woods Hole lead to a sight which was priceless. Here was the coastline which the race will embrace next year and where we reached Nobska Point. The headwind and hill there had little effect. The sight of all this water and open course to run was exhilarating. Struggling with overall pace maintenance in such a place was unnecessary. The Falmouth Track Club has been the steward of this domain in a genuine way. Changing the course is simply part of the natural evolution of this marathon. Run this marathon, meet the Falmouth people and experience the beauty of Cape Cod.
C. V. from Boston, MA (10/28/2018) "Beautiful Course" (about: 2018) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I absolutely loved this marathon. It was not as challenging as I expected based on the previous comments. This is the last year of the current course. It's being retired for several reasons some I agree with others I do not. In terms of challenging courses.. not every marathon needs to be 'flat and fast' occasionally it's nice to run a course for the challenge and scenery. One major con of the course was the roads were open to traffic and I ended up running a third of a mile longer due to the need to stay on a certain side of a road vs. taking tight turns. Some of the cars were also going very fast posing a risk to many of the runners. The new course is supposed to fix that issue and is being touted as a flater and still beautiful course. What i loved about this race is it is small meaning.. you don't have to get up 3 hours before the race to beat the crowds to start line and you can literally park feet away from the start.. nice if it is a chilly morning. The weather this time of year can be tricky. We were extremely lucky.. low 50s for the majority of the race.. the day before was a Nor'Easter with very high winds, pouring rain and flooding. Falmouth is a great town to visit and if you have never been to the Cape or New England I highly recommend this race as a fall destination race.
Allison Herd from California (1/10/2018) "A Great Race to Run a Great Place to Visit" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Both my husband and I ran this race in 2017. We had great running weather. Falmouth was a WONDERFUL destination to visit (great B&B's). I have run 23 races and this is my favorite by far: beautiful race, beautiful town, and a wonderful experience.
S. K. from Poiughkeepsie, NY (12/7/2015) "3rd time running and still great!" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Cape Cod Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my third consecutive year running the CCM. This race is a good one! I am not a fan of large crowds, so the fact that the marathon is capped at 1200 is a good thing. However, the race feels bigger than this due to the fact that there are many relay teams as well. Good on the organizers for finally getting the message on the tech shirt instead of the cotton one. Smallish, but good expo. Crowd support is sparse and this year, due to the growing number of relay teams, my wife had a near impossible task of driving to places along the route to see me and cheer me along. In 2013, no problems seeing me 3 times AND the finish, 2014: 2x. This year?? Once, and that was from her car as she was stuck in massive traffic caused all the relay runners getting to their appointed spots, and their support. Crowd support along the route is sparse...mostly non-existent. Lots of inland running with nice scenery to get you through. Changing leaves, Cranberry bogs. Quaint. The scenery is the best...mile 2-5 or so along the Atlantic. Be prepared for the non-stop rolling hills from about mile 18 on. Great finish down Main Street in Falmouth. I'll be back for year number 4 in 2016!
M. A. from Niskayuna, NY (10/27/2015) "Hilly but Scenic!" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great race! Don't go in expecting to PR because of the pervasive hills in this race. However, there are some spectacular ocean views between miles 2-4 and 21-25, as well as pretty foliage, to help occupy your mind over the 26.2 miles. I would note that, while many have commented regarding how flat the first half is, I thought that were actually a decent number of (not steep) hills to endure. While not a ton of spectators along the course, those that came out were very energetic. Good and efficient support from the water stop volunteers too. It also helped to have near perfect conditions for the race - mid-50s and cloudy. Finally, Falmouth has a great downtown area to enjoy some yummy pre-race carbo load and post-race celebratory meals!
L. H. from Boston (11/27/2014) "My first marathon" (about: 2013) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 So I ran the 2013 Cape Cod Marathon as my first marathon ever. Pros/Cons: Pros: BEAUTIFUL course, at a time of the year when the weather should be ideal. Not a gigantic marathon so you have the small race perks of free massages. Very cool medal. Cons: The course is not easy. It gets even harder and hillier at the end. There is also a relay that goes on at the same time which can get pretty frustrating (just imagine people that are clearly more out of shape than you running past you, because they are only running a few miles and you are running 26. I know this sounds shallow but it gets very irritating). The shirts are just ok, they are cotton. Overall, this race will always be special to me because it was my first. I have ran 2 marathons since then, so looking back, I'm not sure this is the best race for a first timer. There are a lot of other Fall marathons out there, so it's not hard to find one on an easier course. It's also not the best course if you want a PR. But it's still an awesome experience, so if you are just going for the fun of it, check this one out!
E. U. from Atlanta (11/2/2014) "Great Race" (about: 2014) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Cape Cod Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great Race: - Beautiful scenery (ran through cranberry bog while they were harvesting, ran past beautiful beach front homes, lighthouse, beach-front running, etc.) - New England charm - Well organized - Enthusiastic volunteers - Enthusiastic spectators (although course winds through small towns so don't expect a lot of spectators - sparsely populated summer community) - Nice medal - Easy logistics (parked two minutes from race start and porta-potty lines max 2 minutes) - Well marked course Course can be broken into following stages: 0-10 = easy, relatively flat 10-12 = long gradual uphill climb that is not insignificant, but still lot of energy in legs to not a problem 12-15 = mostly downhill, can accelerate so have to hold yourself back 15-22 = very difficult part of course - lot of hills and despite other reviews they are not 'gentle' or 'rolling', some of these are very challenging and you will need to force yourself to relax and get breathing back in check on the downhill side if you want to maintain pace. This is the make-or-break section of this course. There are two killer hills - one by the golf course and one pre-Woods Hole. 22-26 = average. This sections starts out with some rolling hills and then ends relatively flat as the course goes along the ocean and then turns left up into town. If you have gas left in the tank you can really make up some time here. I had my fastest mile of the course (7:01') on mile 22. Be aware that this is not a PR course for most. There are a lot of twists and turns that add to the distance when you compare official mileage to your GPS watch. My normal tracking error between official and GPS is about 0.1 to 0.3, even on city courses. My tracking error on this course was 0.54 - my watch had a total distance of 26.74. Most of this tracking error is on the second half as I was quite close when crossing 13 mile marker. I suspect that there is an error in the official measurement of the second half and have communicated to race organizer, but I can't prove it. Regardless, be prepared because if you are looking for a time/pace, you need to take this tracking error into consideration. Temps were nice - mid 50't to low 60's, sun shining, but very windy. Had 20mph winds that seem to constantly change direction during the race in order to always be in my face! Contrary to other commenters, I found this added significantly to the challenge. Very happy and can fully recommend this race to anyone from beginner to experienced. Just plan your race strategy accordingly and you will not be disappointed.

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Marathon Details - Cape Cod Marathon