Yes, it was hot and humid. But you know, for a run under those circumstances, I would not hesitate to do it again there. The organization/coordination of the volunteers to fill the water stops, the Falmouth residents (summer or permanent) who had their hoses out, who had orange slices out, who were clapping and cheering you on was just wonderful. It is truly an experience!
I know of one runner who hesitated to take a break and walk because there were some many people watching, she felt embarrassed. Walking at a water stop is okay though. You want to make sure that you get a good portion of the water inside and dump the remainder on the head and back of the neck.
Remember being told to always where a hat in winter time? That 90% of your heat escapes through your head? Well, it is true and that same heat will try to escape in summer also. Hence, the importance of hats. Hence, putting some water on your head to help cool it off. Putting some water on the back of your neck to help cool off that critical junction point.
With the heat and humidity, the race became a workout. I dropped my target pace down and ran comfortably to finish. There were about 1800 folks in front of me and another 5700 behind me so it was a decent performance for a good workout in these conditions.
To race this course would be a challenge. The crowd and staggered start would provide some real tactical opportunities. One would need to be in the front of their color's corral. One would need navigate carefully through the crowd to gain some running room and then be careful to maintain the pace. Fortunately, the mile markers are well done. There are big clocks running the elapsed time (for the first seeded starters). Assuming you have your own watch, you can check your splits against the official clock. I was fortunate to have my watch be only one second off the official time taken by the chip.
The course itself is challenging but not overly so. The first 2.5 miles or so are rolling through wooded country roads, fairly narrow that twist and bend this way and that. This stretch goes by very quickly. Then you break out into the open running parallel to the beach. The sun was hidden by the overcast on this day. There was something of a breeze coming over our shoulders. At least, it was not against us. At about 4.5 miles, the course turned into the final portion more like city streets, buildings on both sides, some turns but more spread apart, left then right, then right again and soon you are at the 6 mile, then the 10K markers before you make the final turn, climb the final hill ( a respectable one coming at this point but not a real elevation), top out and then cover the last .5 mile down gradually into the finish.
My thanks to all those who helped to make the Falmouth Road Race a great event!
