ASICS Falmouth Road Race Reveals Elite Competitors for 2025 Event

Past racing champions and global stars will be in Cape Cod during the weekend of Aug. 16-17 for the ASICS Falmouth Road Race. Event organizers announced the professional fields for the 53rd running of the annual seven-mile race on Wednesday, Aug. 13, in a news release.

Two heavily awarded distance runners in history highlight the list of elite women who will compete for victory on Sunday, Aug. 17. Kenyans Edna Kiplagat, the 2021 Falmouth champion, and Vivian Cheruiyot, a four-time Olympic medalist, will both take to the starting blocks at the Captain Kidd in Woods Hole.

This year's race is the eighth time Kiplagat has competed at Falmouth. Her appearances at Falmouth include five podium finishes. Kiplagat, 45, is considered a strong competitor among her peers. 

The two-time world champion marathoner won the Boston Marathon at 41. Her victory in Boston made her the oldest person ever to win an Abbott World Marathon Major. Last year, Kiplagat secured a personal best of 1:07:52 in the half marathon, which is considered a masters world record.

Cheruiyot will mark her Falmouth debut. As the 2018 London Marathon winner, Cheruiyot is well-known for her Olympic successes. She won the 2016 gold medal in the 5,000m and silver medal in the 10,000m. She also has two world titles in the 5,000m and two in the 10,000m. 

In the men's race, Falmouth course record holder Wesley Kiptoo returns. This year alone, Kiptoo won the Gate River 15K in March. He has since scored top-five finishes at the New York City Half Marathon, Pittsburgh Half Marathon, Boston 10K, and the Boilermaker 15K. In 2023, Kiptoo tied Gilbert Okari's 2004 Falmouth course record of 31:08. 

Competing against Kiptoo will be fellow Kenyan Patrick Kiprop and Biya Simbassa, the fourth fastest American marathoner in history. 

Other top contenders in the men's division include Zouhair Talbi, a 2024 Olympian representing Morocco. Two-time U.S. champion Ahmed Muhumed, Eritrean steeplechase record-holder Yemane Haileselassie, and U.S. Marathon elite Zach Panning also will be in the hunt for victory.