FALMOUTH, MA (August 9, 2022) – Falmouth Road Race, Inc., organizers of the annual ASICS Falmouth Road Race, one of America’s premier running events, are pleased to announce the men’s, women’s, and wheelchair division 7-mile elite fields for this year’s race. Defending champions Benjamin Flanagan, Edna Kiplagat, and Hermin Garic lead an accomplished group of athletes participating in the 50th running of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race on August 21, 2022.
While spectators can catch all the action of this year’s race along the course, they can also watch live coverage from gun to tape on Boston NBC 10.
Women’s Open Division
Headlining the women’s race will be defending champion Edna Kiplagat. Kiplagat has won the World Athletics Championships Marathon twice (2011 and 2013). She has also won the B.A.A. Boston Marathon (2017), TCS London Marathon (2014), and TCS New York City Marathon (2010). Other familiar faces vying to take the crown are Diane Nukuri, Makena Morley, and Dominique Scott. Nukuri is a three-time Olympian as well as the 2015 Falmouth Road Race champion. Morley is the 2021 USA 25K Championship (Amway River Bank Run) winner and was 4th last summer at the ASICS Falmouth Road Race. Scott will also be a contender. She’s a 2016 and 2021 Olympian from South Africa who recently finished 14th in the 10K at the 2022 World Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR.
Our 2022 women’s field will also feature athletes who are new to the Falmouth shoreline race. Fresh off her World Championship Marathon in Eugene, the American Marathon Record Holder Keira D’Amato will be in the field and she may very well have the perfect combination of speed and strength to take the win as she excels from the 5K (15:04) to the 10 Mile (American Record 51:23) to the marathon (2:19:12). With a marathon personal best of 2:23, Bruktayit Eshetu is a three-time winner of the Chevron Houston Marathon. Earlier this year, she won the Cooper River Bridge 10K (31:24) and Carlsbad 5000 (15:29) and earlier this month finished 3rd at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K (32:39). Fentaye Belayneh ran the 5K at the 2020 Olympic trials and 30:24 on the roads for the 10K. She won the 2022 Ethiopian 5K National Championship and in 14:44, and most recently won the 2022 TD Beach to Beacon 10K. There is also Mary Munanu who has racked up several top ten finishes this year including a win at the Amway River Bank 10K, 3rd at the Boilermaker 15K, and a 6th place at the B.A.A. 10K.
Men’s Open Division
Will he make it three in a row? Ben Flanagan has won the two Falmouth Road Races (2018 and 2021) he’s competed in, and this year he’s aiming for the trifecta to add to the Canadian National Championship title that he won earlier this year. A 2016 Olympian and 2019 Falmouth Road Race Champion, Leonard Korir will be looking to take the title back. When he won in 2019, he became the first American man to win the Falmouth Road Race since 1988.. He has 10 USATF national titles and holds the fastest-ever marathon debut by an American (2:07:56). Biya Simbassa finished 2nd at the ASICS Falmouth Road Race last year and is the 2021 USATF Road Racing Circuit Champion. Frank Lara returns to Falmouth this year. He finished 4th last year and was a 2021 Olympic Trials finalist for the 10,000 meters, and ran a time of 2:11 at the Chevron Houston Marathon earlier this year. Scott Fauble has a 2018 Falmouth runner-up finish under his belt and was the top American at the 2022 Boston Marathon. New England native Ben True is no stranger to the ASICS Falmouth Road Race course, having finished 2nd in 2013. He holds five national titles, set a national record at the 2017 B.A.A. 5K, and finished fourth in the 10,000 meters at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
There are several runners making their Falmouth debuts who could find themselves on the podium. They include Pat Tiernan who represented Australia at the Olympic Games in both 2016 and 2021, as well as at the World Championships in both the 5K (13:12) and 10K (27:20). Ryan Hill will be running his first ASICS Falmouth Road Race. He’s a three-time USA National Champion (twice in the 5,000 meters and once in the 3,000 meters) and earned a silver medal in the 3,000 meters at the World Indoors in 2016.
Wheelchair Open Division
This year marks the 47th running of the wheelchair division of the Falmouth Road Race, sponsored by Mass General Brigham Spaulding Rehabilitation.
Leading the 11 women strong wheelchair division is returning five-time Falmouth Road Race champion Tatyana McFadden. McFadden is the course record holder in Falmouth, breaking her own course record in 2019 with a time of 26:15. She is a 20-time Paralympic medal winner, winning 3 medals in the most recent Paralympics in Tokyo. Tatyana has also won the World Marathon Grand Slam four-times. She is joined by a Falmouth newcomer, Susannah Scaroni, who broke the world record at the B.A.A. 10K in June. Susannah is a three-time Paralympian, and won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Also joining the women’s race is Yen Hoang — 2016 Falmouth Road Race champion and 2020 Paralympian. A 2019 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Yen participated in the 2014 and 2015 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships.
The men’s wheelchair divisionis led by returning three-time Falmouth Road Race champion and course record holder Daniel Romanchuk. Daniel is a two-time Paralympian who won a gold medal in the 800 meters and a bronze medal in the marathon in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Romachuck is also the world record holder in the 800 meters, which he broke in 2021 at the Swiss Nationals. Joining Daniel is the 2021 ASICS Falmouth Road Race champion Hermin Garic who won the TD Beach to Beacon 10K earlier this month. Garic has been a top finisher in Falmouth in most of his appearances in the race. Garic was the champion of the 2021 Boilermaker 15K, and set the course record at the Cooper River Bridge Run in 2022. Alexandre Dupont will also be joining the men’s race, Dupont placed second at Falmouth in 2019. Alexandre has represented Canada in the Paralympics in 2016, as well as in several Commonwealth Games, where he won gold in the 1500 meters in 2018.
About Falmouth Road Race, Inc.
The ASICS Falmouth Road Race was established in 1973 and has become one of the premier running events of the summer season. Each year the race draws an international field of Olympians, elite and recreational runners out to enjoy the iconic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit Falmouth Road Race organization is committed to promoting health and fitness through community programs and philanthropic giving.
