Given the competition in Boston, what could be done to attract a larger field? Certainly, one of the negatives was the hilly course. The legendary Bill Squires once cornered race director Courtney Bird in the Eliot Lounge and on the third beer informed him in no uncertain words that if Cape Cod had a flat course, it would attract 2,000 runners - no problem.

In fact, the course was looked at. Should it be run in the opposite direction so the hills would be in the beginning? That option was discarded because it would mean that runners would be running into a headwind on the flat parts of the course. A number of other ideas were considered, including various out and back and multiple loop configurations. But all were rejected because it would mean sacrificing much of the spectacular scenic beauty of the course to the Gods of "Flat and Fast."

Finally the race committee decided to try the gambit of offering prize money. The organizers reasoned that prize money would attract better runners, get the race more media attention, and over time start attracting larger fields. The decision was made to advertize the race more extensively, touting the beauty of the course and the idea of making Cape Cod a destination weekend for a fall getaway. The hope was that these approaches would increase the field size to more than 500. By the spring of 1986, additional sponsorship had been secured, and in June the race committee announced the offering of a $5,500.00 prize purse with $1,000 going to top man and woman. The date of the ninth annual edition was set for Sunday, November 16, 1986.

During the summer and fall, the entries trickled in. By early September, the number of registered runners was double the previous year, leading The Falmouth Enterprise to breathlessly proclaim in a front page story that more than 1,000 runners were projected for that year's marathon. In fact, the field closed out at around 385, up only slightly from the year before.

But it was a field with talent. Amherst's Randy Thomas, with a 28 minute 10k and a 2:11 PR in the marathon made him the man to beat. He had never won a marathon, though he had finished fifth in Boston and New York and third in Tokyo, but he was determined to win Cape Cod. Jimmy Fallon of Providence, RI had a PR of 2:17 and hoped to run 2:16. John O'Leary of Dedham had run 2:20 in Boston in the spring; Gregorio Carillo of Costa Rica - 2:25; and Stephen Grygiel of Portland Maine - 2:26. The Women's field, though not as strong, included Shirley Silsby of Cotuit. Beth Nelson was a doubtful starter because of an injury.

Sunday, November 16 was overcast and raw with temperatures in the mid-forties. Thomas, Fallon and his teammate Mark Skinkle, Carillo, and Vin Fleming, Thomas's former GBTC teammate went out together, blowing through the first mile in 4:59. By five miles, the pack was down to three -- Thomas, Fallon, and Skinkle. When Fallon stopped to tie his shoe at 5® miles, Skinkle stayed with him and Thomas surged, hoping to break contact. By 10 miles, which he passed in 51:01, Thomas had opened up a lead of 600 yards over Fallon. Thomas went through the half in 1:06 and had widened his lead even more. While he slowed in the hills, he maintained his record pace and kept glancing over his shoulder wondering when Fallon might come up on him. But Fallon was falling farther behind. Thomas went past the 24 mile point in 2:04, still looking over his shoulder. The hills were behind him, ahead lay Surf Drive and the finish. Small knots of spectators encouraged him on Surf Drive and Walker Street. When he turned onto Main Street for the final 2/10's of a mile, he knew he had it won. His remarkable performance that day - 2:17:35 - took 10 minutes of Rick Bayko's course record and set a standard that has held up for 10 years. When Thomas was asked what he was going to do with the $1,000.00 he'd won, his answer was to pay off $600 in parking tickets he'd accrued at UMass-Amherst, where he was the cross country coach. Fallon was second, crossing the line some four minutes later in 2:21:47. Third place went to Terry Rauch of Natick (2:28:40).

In the women's race, Shirley Silsby took an early lead. By 10 miles, she was 2:45 ahead of Anne Ford of North Falmouth, who had entered the race at the last minute on a whim. By the half, Silsby had widened her lead to four minutes. But as the hills rolled on, she began to slow as a nagging hip injury began to take its toll. Ford maintained her steady pace, looking to meet a personal goal of breaking three hours as much as winning. As the race wore on, the gap between the faltering Silsby and the smooth running Ford closed. By 23 miles, Silsby was in Ford's sights. On Surf Drive, Ford took over the lead and cruised in to a PR and a $1,000.00 purse in 2:58:12. Silsby was second in 3:01:07. Third place went to former three-time Cape Cod winner, Karen Smith-Rohrberg (3:12:32). Ford selflessly donated her winnings to a fund to build a new track at Falmouth High School. While disappointed that the field remained small, the race committee was very pleased with the quality of the event and continued to look for ways to build the field. The date for the 10th edition was set for Sunday, November 15, 1987

1987 - Cathy Schiro Sets Women's Standard

In December of 1986, Cape Cod bid for and was awarded the NEAC Marathon Championship for 1987 -- the first of 10 consecutive years that Cape Cod would host the Grand Prix event. The race committee hoped that having championship status would both increase the size of the field and its quality as well as attract more sponsorship support. Although long time sponsors Peters-Hartel and Shawmut Bank failed to renew their support, the Falmouth Woods Development Corporation, which was in the midst of constructing a major resort and residential complex on 800 acres in North Falmouth, came on board with a commitment of $10,000. The Sandwich Co-operative Bank also committed to underwrite the cost of the t-shirts. With increased sponsorship, Race Director, Courtney Bird, announced in July that the the Cape Cod Marathon would offer a prize purse of $11,000 including $1,500 to the top man and woman and $500 to the top men and women's masters. Additionally, the race organizers increased their advertizing to promote the race in New England and nationally.

Entries came in at a steady clip. By early October, the number of pre-registered runners was running ahead of 1984 when the field had topped 750. Also contributing to the increased field was the one year-demise of the Ocean State Marathon, a late October - early November fixture on the fall marathon calendar since the mid-seventies. By mid-week before the marathon, the number of pre-entered had swollen to more than 650. And the quality of the field was good as well. Jimmy Fallon returned for another try. But he was challenged by a number of top regional runners - Mike Brady, Gregg Cornell, Ron Gillooly, and Mike Casner. The women's race promised to be competitive as well. Beth Nelson was back and running well. But there were others as well. Cristine Maisto had won the Pike's Peak Marathon and had a 2:45:50 recent marathon to her credit; Rhode Island's Kim Goff had run in the 2:40's on more than one occasion; Jackie Regan had won the 1986 Boston Peace in 2:57; defending champion Anne Ford also was registered; and Connecticut's Jan McKeown, a master, had recently run under 3 hours. About 30 minutes before the starting gun, a young twenty year old college student who had dropped out of New York two weeks earlier signed up. Her hope was to qualify for the Olympic trials. Cathy Schiro had the credentials. At age 16, she had placed ninth in the 1984 women's trials with a 2:34:24 and had placed seventh in the Falmouth Road Race in August.

On the Thursday before the marathon, an early snowstorm dumped 10 inches of the white stuff on Falmouth. Despite Bird's fears, the weather warmed and by Sunday only a few stray piles remained along the roadsides. Race day was ideal. A cloudless sky, no wind, and 50-degree weather was a marathoner's and spectator's dream. Swollen by post-entries, the 774 runner field was the largest in the history of the event. Even Jack Coakley was back to see whether he could break his record and meet the 2:10 qualifying time for Boston.

Johnny Kelley fired the cannon, and Jimmy Fallon took off, determined not to be second again. Within a short distance, he and Mike Brady were alone in the front. They ran together for the first eight miles, but there Fallon surged in a short stretch of hills. Brady did not answer. Fallon ran steadily for the balance of the race. Meanwhile, Brady struggled increasingly and dropped out at 21 miles. Gregg Cornell moved into second but never got close to Fallon who crossed the line in the 2nd fastest time on the Falmouth course - 2:20:22. Gregg Cornell finished 2nd in 2:26:18 followed by Vin Fleming in a very respectable 2:26:59.

Thirteen places behind Fallon, came Cathy Schiro. She was never challenged from the start, and she obliterated the strongest field in the history of the race. Her time of 2:37:06 took more than seven minutes off Beth Nelson's course record put her across the finish line 10 minutes ahead of Christine Maisto (2:47:15) and Sally Zimmer of Windsor, Connecticut (2:51:13). The depth of the women's field was evident in that the first six women were under three hours.

Beside Cathy Schiro's record setting performance, course records were set in the Men's Master (John Boyle: 2:30:49), Women's Master (Jan McKeown: 3:02:09). Unfortunately despite Jack Coakley's very gutsy performance that day, he could not best his record, and he settled for a 2:21:06.

By every measurement, the race was a success. There was a record field that was characterized by its overall quality as well as its size, it was a perfect day for a marathon, and the race's superb organization proved more than equal to the biggest field in the history of the event. Pleased with its success, the Falmouth Track Club again bid for and received the NEAC marathon championship. The date for the 11th annual Cape Cod Marathon was set for Sunday, November 13, 1988.

1988 - Record Prize Purse, Nasty Weather, Gutsy Victories for Cotton and Silsby

The success of the 1987 race caught sponsors' interest. By the spring of 1988, the total sponsorship dollars committed exceeded $20,000. With that kind of backing, the track club decided to increase the prize purse to $14,000 with $1,700 going to the top man and woman and with money being distributed to some 38 competitors including seniors and veterans. But some rain was to fall on the parade. Like the Phoenix, the Ocean State Marathon rose from the ashes, now reconstituted as the Rhode Island Marathon. Its date was to be November 6th, and the organizers were offering a $10,000.00 prize purse. Once again three top marathons crowded the New England calendar, with only a week separating each of them. The total marathoner pool was now divided among three races. The results were predictable. Despite increased promotion, Cape Cod's field dropped to 600. Boston Peace was down as well. Rhode Island attracted a field of about 1,000.

In spite of increased prize money, the field was not as deep as '87. Jimmy Fallon returned to try to repeat his victory. But he was challenged by Mike Cotton of New Haven, Paul Hammond of Wilmington, MA, and Mark Albin of Manchester, VT. Neither Cathy Schiro or Beth Nelson returned. However, Cotuit's Shirley Silsby decided to make another run at victory. She had been second to Beth Nelson and Anne Ford in previous races. But the field had some other fast women as well. Lise Bouchard from Quebec had the best credentials with a 2:45 in the 1988 Boston Marathon. Nicole McGilpin of Westfield had posted marathon bests in the 2:50's.

The weather on November 13 was as unfriendly as 1987 had been ideal. The temperature was in the low 50's, it was overcast and spitting rain, and the wind was blowing 30 to 40 mph out of the southeast. This meant that the runners had the worst of everything. In the open areas along the shore, they bucked the head wind. Don Allison who had run a couple of low 2:40 marathons on this course could manage only a 7:45 pace for the first five miles. Along the back part of the course, the runners fought the hills until 24 miles. Then it was back onto Surf Drive and two miles of headwind and blowing sand. Needless to say, the race had a high number of dropouts.

From the start the top men ran in a pack. Fallon and Cotton matched each other stride for stride, and Albin and Hammond held on for the early miles. By about 6 miles, it was clear that Cotton was dictating the pace. Hammond and Albin began to drop away and Fallon was increasingly bothered by a pulled muscle. He managed to stay with Cotton until the mid-point where he dropped out. After that Cotton ran alone. One of the lasting images of that race was Mike Cotton powering his way up Surf Drive, his body leaning slightly sideways into the 40 mph headwind, head cocked a bit so that the sand blown off the beaches would not fill his ear. He crossed the finish line in 2:20:30. If the conditions had been less severe, Thomas's record might have been broken that day. Indeed, Cotton went on to run 2:16 in the Pittsburgh Marathon the following May. Paul Hammond (2:26:37) was second and Mark Albin (2:28:46) was third.

The women's race was a classic example of how to run Cape Cod. Silsby had run the race three times. From her experience, she had learned respect for the hills, conservative running for the first half, and running one's own race. Lise Bouchard jumped off to a quick lead, and had a commanding lead of some four minutes over Silsby by 10 miles. By 13 miles that lead had shrunk to less than 2« minutes. From then on, Silsby's knowledge of the hills and the course worked to her advantage. At 21 miles she caught up to the faltering Bouchard and cruised in to a 2:51:39. Bouchard was second in 2:54:24 followed by Nicole McGilpin (2:59:52). It should be noted that both Cotton and Silsby ran negative splits on the course. But for many runners, the conditions were too severe, Of the 600 who registered, only about 525 started and only 394 finished.

As the marathon committee looked ahead to 1989, there was debate about changing the date. The traditional mid-November date sandwiched the race between its competitors and conflicted with the NEAC cross country championships. The committee voted the change the date to October 29, 1989. Ironically, Rhode Island decided to move its date to October 22, leaving Boston Peace as the only November marathon in New England. With its new date, Cape Cod bid for and again was awarded the NEAC championship.

1989 - Sponsorship Woes Plague Organizers, Race Perseveres

Stirrat Wins Tactical Race and Silsby Victorious a Week After Winning Rhode Island

The 12th annual Cape Cod Marathon was a potential nightmare with a happy ending. Falmouth Woods Development Corporation had supported the race for two years and had indicated it would be back for a third. With assurances of sponsorship, Courtney Bird went to the NEAC meeting held to select New England championships and assured the group that prize money would again be awarded. Part of the reason for awarding the championship to Cape Cod was that representation. In early spring, the race got two pieces of bad news. First, Falmouth Woods, which by that time was in deep financial trouble with the now defunct Bank of New England, backed out of its commitment. Second, Cape Cod Potato Chips, which had Co-sponsored the 1988 race, pulled out because it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, who did not take kindly to having Boston Beer as a prominent contributing sponsor. The race could go on, but the race organizers were faced with either not offering prize money or cutting back on race amenities. With no debate, the decision was made that the race amenities and special treatment of all runners was the priority. Courtney Bird went to the NEAC in July and informed them that there would be no prize money. He offered to withdraw as the championship. He added that if the number of entries or future sponsorship permitted, the marathon would offer NEAC team prize money. After some debate, the NEAC decided to keep Cape Cod as the championship.

During the summer and fall entries came in steadily at a rate that would produce a field of about 500 runners. Then in early October, the organizers of the Boston Peace Marathon announced that the race was cancelled, citing lack of financial backing and problems getting permits. Suddenly, there were 1,000 marathoners looking for a race. With Cape Cod now three weeks earlier, but the last fall marathon in New England, the marathon's telephone rang off the hook with runners looking to sign up. In the last two weeks, the race picked up some 300 entrants and when the gun went off, 690 runners had signed up. Because Rhode Island offered prize money and was held a week earlier, many top runners chose to run there including last year's women's winner, Shirley Silsby. Because, the Cape was a championship race, many top club runners entered despite the lack of prize money. The pre-race favorite was Reno Stirrat with a 2:19 PR, and his competition came from East Boston's Lou Ristaino, Groton's Donald Alvey, and Chelmsford's Tom Amiro, all of whom could run in the 2:20's on a good day. The women's field was very thin. No woman who had entered prior to race day had run under three hours.

Race day was sunny but very warm. The temperature at the start was 76 degrees. While it would drop to the mid-sixties three hours later, the cooling off would prove to be of little help for many runners. Of the 625 who would start, only 496 would finish.

Lou Ristaino was looking to win. Courtney Bird warned him to run conservatively in the beginning and take fluids. Bird said, "Don't worry about the other guys; develop a game plan and stick to it. Conserve your energy for the hills. The runners in front will come back to you." Advice is much easier to give than to take. Lou learned the hard way.

When the race began, Ristaino jumped out to an early lead. In addition, he did not take fluids at the first two or three water stops. By seven miles Ristaino had built a lead of nearly a half mile. The pack following Ristaino was not even visible from the lead truck at eight miles. Then at 10« miles a tiny speck was observed way back. By 11 miles the speck had gotten bigger. By 12 miles, the speck had grown to a runner and was only 150 yards back. By 12«, the challenger had pulled within 10 yards. It was Reno Stirrat. Ristaino was running stiffly and his form was disintegrating. By contrast, Stirrat strode smoothly and effortlessly. At the 13-mile point, Stirrat breezed by Ristaino, who disappeared from sight. Reno Stirrat would now cruise comfortably through the hills and into the finish in 2:30:06. Ristaino gutted it out, trying to hold onto second. But he struggled through the hills and was caught by Don Alvey on Surf Drive. Alvey finished second (2:31:52) followed by Ristaino (2:32:48). Later, at Bird's post-race party at his house, as Ristaino quaffed a Sam Adams beer, he pronounced that he'd learned some hard lessons about Cape Cod, and promised to return next year to win. But Stirrat had proven to be the best that day. After the race, he said that the heat and the hills were relentless and that rather than try for a PR, he had chosen to run to win.

Forty minutes before the start, Shirley Silsby entered the race. One week earlier, she had won Rhode Island and $1,200.00 with an impressive 2:49:30. She proclaimed to anyone who asked that she was going to do a 16 mile training run. Weymouth's Kim Baker jumped into an early lead. Silsby hung back, running easily. When she crested a long uphill gradient just before 16 miles, she spotted Baker only 100 yards ahead. Silsby felt good and decided to go the distance. At the mid-point of a particularly nasty little hill at 17 miles, Silsby grabbed the lead. She glided through the hills, widening her lead over Baker, and finished the race in a very respectable 2:54:14. What was impressive about her feat was that Cape Cod was her second marathon victory in eight days! Meanwhile, second place, Kim Baker, crossed the line in 3:01:33 -- a PR by 17 minutes! Both women had banner days.

In their post-race evaluation, the committee discussed the possibility of returning to the mid-November date now that the Boston Peace Marathon was gone. However, because the organizers wanted to bid for the marathon championship again and because there were conflicts with other NEAC events in mid November, to say nothing of the fact that the volunteers liked the warmer weather, the late October date was kept. Cape Cod bid for and got the 1990 NEAC championship and the date was to be Sunday, October 28, 1990.