Compassionate Care ALS Presents the 50th Running of the Falmouth Road Race Wheelchair Division 

FALMOUTH, Mass. — The wheelchair division celebrates its 50th year running this summer, a momentous milestone in the race’s history. Falmouth’s first wheelchair race dates back to 1975, two years after the race’s founding, with champion Bob Hall as the first to pioneer the adaptive sport. By 1977, the wheelchair division’s numbers had tripled, and each year the field expanded until it reached a record number of 20 participants by 1984, as it began to attract top competitors from around the world. The Falmouth Road Race has since established its legacy in the arena of adaptive athletes and is proud to celebrate 50 years of their strength and dedication.

The 50th Wheelchair Division race is presented by Compassionate Care ALS (CCALS), a Cape Cod-based non-profit organization with a mission to assist people physically, emotionally, and spiritually as they navigate the complexities of living with ALS. Ron Hoffman, the Founder and Executive Director, co-founded the organization in October of 1998, and has greatly expanded CCALS in his 27 years of making an impact on people’s lives. Hoffman now leads a dedicated team of 30 people that currently serve over 1,400 individuals and their families in all 50 states and various countries abroad. 

The Falmouth Road Race has remained near to his heart since the organization’s inception. “I believe 24 years ago was the first time we participated in the Falmouth Road Race,” says Hoffman. “I think we raised around $5,000, and then every year it was more and more, and now it’s turned into our largest fundraiser for the year.”

Last year, CCALS was one of the top three fundraising teams, raising a grand total of $388,467.71. This year, Hoffman hopes to exceed those numbers and keep pushing the bar higher to support their innovative programming and staff. There are over 70 runners registered so far, and he expects to gain over 130 participants for the cause. Click here for more information on how to register to run with Team CCALS.

Being the presenting sponsor for the wheelchair race felt significant for CCALS’s mission. Hoffman explains, “The wheelchair race is something very near to our heart since people with ALS are eventually dependent upon wheelchairs. I’ve always had a soft spot for the folks who are in the competitive wheelchair race because of the dedication and spirit in how they have learned to live their life in a different way, which is what I share with our ALS families. Our work is about helping people navigate living with ALS and enhance their quality of life.”

CCALS seeks to enhance quality of life through providing valuable equipment, resources, and programming to support people with ALS, their families, and their caregivers. Their unique organizational model puts all of the focus on cultivating relationships with people and their loved ones living with ALS. They champion ALS stories and elevate accessibility and awareness to the forefront of importance.

“The whole idea of accessibility is so incredibly important to us at CCALS, and I’m incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to expand awareness, not just about us as an organization, but about all those living with ALS and other disabilities,” says Hoffman. “It’s about bringing awareness to those people from around the country who put their heart and soul and their energy into the competitive nature of that wheelchair competition. It’s extraordinary.”

While CCALS applauds the competitive wheelchair division, they also support a team-full of runners of all abilities each year. To be a part of Team CCALS is to gather for a pre-race dinner on Saturday night and wear the team singlet with pride Sunday morning and feel embraced as part of a real community. “It’s an extraordinary community, and I’m just so grateful because it becomes so much more than just writing a check but allows everyone to participate.”

Their success each year is in part a mark of gratitude from the families they care for in turn supporting them. “That’s the beauty of the work that we do,” says Hoffman. “Because of our relational model people open up their doors to us. For some folks, it’s thank you for the piece of equipment and we will call you if you need anything else. For others, that door is wide open.”

For many, the Falmouth Road Race has become the wide open door to flood their appreciation for CCALS through, as it has become their largest fundraiser each year. Race Sunday is a shining day of gratitude and remembrance in the ALS community. “I would say there’s incredible joy amidst the tiredness for some,” muses Hoffman. “There’s incredible gratitude for having the opportunity to give back. It’s about honoring their loved one and it’s a way to be honored.”

“For someone to run and to push themselves, to try to catch their breath, in some ways in some way it takes them back to their loved ones living with ALS and the struggles they had to breathe,” explains Hoffman. “There’s this beautiful parallel there.”

To Hoffman and his team at CCALS, The Falmouth Road Race is “not just about taking part in an extraordinary event but it’s the ultimate form of being in service with your sweat, your energy, and your funds. The effort, heart, and compassion that people put into this allows them to remember, which I think is the most important part: remembering those who are living with ALS today and honoring all of those who have gone.”