By Bill Higgins
The faces of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race are many. Of course, there are the elite men, women and wheelchair competitors who set the pace, followed in tow by more than 11,000 runners stretched over seven miles from Woods Hole to the Heights.
And then there are the unsung heroes behind the scenes who also run the race. The organizing committee and race team are supported by thousands of volunteers across every facet of race weekend. They are the foundation of Falmouth and collectively keep the gears well-oiled and running smoothly.
Sadly, with the 54th renewal fast approaching on August 16, five integral members of the race family passed away in the last year. Eddie Burke, Denise Kelley, Susan Hurley, Eddie Doyle and Bob Hall will always be remembered for the significant contributions they made to the rich history of this iconic event.
Eddie Burke, who passed away at 81 in January 2026, was a fixture at Falmouth for more than 40 years. No one epitomized selfless dedication to the race more than the man Falmouth Road Race director Dave McGillivray called “My guardian angel.”
Burke served his country with honor in the U.S. Marines and earned two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in combat in Viet Nam. He later had a distinguished career in law enforcement in the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Not surprisingly, providing security at the road race was an easy transition for Eddie. He was a trusted leader helping to usher registered runners onto the buses and supervising the starting and finishing lines.
There were a myriad of challenges, but Eddie handled them with a smile to assure a smooth and safe experience for the runners. Eddie lived by the simple credo his father passed down: “Politeness is to do and say the kindest thing in the kindest way.”
His grandson, Mike Burke, posted on Facebook that “My grandfather lived and breathed the Falmouth Road Race (and) was so proud to be associated with the race.”
In recognition of his exceptional commitment and service, Eddie has been honored as Volunteer of the Year and his impact on the race and on all who had the privilege of working with him will be felt for years to come.
“Eddie was a dear friend. He had a heart of gold,” said McGillivray. “I felt like he was my guardian angel, always watching over me and being like a big brother. … I gained strength just by his presence.”
Denise Kelley was a longtime race volunteer who was ready and willing to raise her hand and help whenever and wherever she was needed. She passed away in February at the age of 73.
Denise was a Falmouth lifer, graduating from the old Lawrence High School and returning to town after college to work in the family shellfish business. She was active in the community, devoting time at the Christ the King food pantry and thrift shop. She also spent many years at Cape Abilities, supporting and empowering their clients with diverse handicaps, and worked with blind children at the Cape Cod Collaborative.
Caregiving came naturally to Denise. She contributed in countless ways to the road race, but her favorite was being one of the logistics and transportation managers for the wheelchair division. She became friends with many of the adaptive athletes, who would return annually to spend time at her home during race week and she graciously hosted a dinner the night before the race.
“She was a true worker and had fun with the athletes while doing it,” said Donna Tocci, a member of the race board of directors and a longtime advocate for adaptive athletes. “On race day, she was moving equipment and bags and doing anything needed.”
Denise was honored in 2012 as Volunteer of the Year. Upon her passing the race remembered her as “A quiet, reliable and dedicated presence for decades…she was instrumental in the success of the wheelchair race and will be deeply missed.”
Teamwork makes the dream work. That’s a fitting legacy for Denise Kelley.
Susan Hurley had a passion for running and fitness, matched only by her devotion to family, friends and her faith. A former cheerleader for the New England Patriots, she died in November 2025 after several years battling ovarian cancer. She was 62.
Hurley ran numerous marathons, including Boston, and also competed in Ironman triathlons. In 2008 she established CharityTeams to help organizations raise funds through athletic events. With a cheerleader spirit, her focus was always “fun-raising.”
Hurley was defined by kindness, an infectious personality and a you-can-do-it optimism. She trained and inspired hundreds of runners to reach their goals and finish lines from Falmouth to Boston and beyond while generating an impressive total of $42 million for nonprofits with CharityTeams.
Since 2015, Susan worked with Massachusetts-based charities as a part of the Falmouth Road Race Numbers for Nonprofits Program. In 2025, she supported six charity teams that together raised a combined total of nearly $125,000.
“Beyond her professional accomplishments, Susan was a dear friend, a devoted mother and a remarkable person whose kindness and spirit lifted everyone around her,” said Megan Faulkner, Falmouth’s executive director. “I’ve had the privilege of working with so many inspiring people, and she was truly one of a kind. Her passion for running and her unwavering dedication to helping others made a profound impact on our event. She will be deeply missed, but her legacy will always be part of the Falmouth Road Race community.”
Hurley was married to McGillivray and they had two sons, Ryan and Max. They divorced in 1996, but maintained a close friendship and worked together on many events, including Falmouth. The Susan Hurley Fund (charityteams.com/susan-hurley-fund) has been established with a mission to support initiatives that cultivate connection, growth and uplift communities through positivity and shared purpose.
“Our goal is to keep her memory alive,” said McGillivray. “Knowing Susan, she probably has already started training for the 2026 Heavenly Marathon and started to manage a few charity teams in heaven.
Eddie Doyle, like his friend Tommy Leonard, the founder of the Falmouth Road Race, will live on for generations through a legacy of generosity and community spirit he inspired. Doyle passed away in January at the age of 85. (Leonard died in 2019, also in January, also at 85.)
Doyle and Leonard came up with the idea for the Falmouth Walk in 1991 to support local charities, youth groups and organizations making a difference in Falmouth.
The 5K (3.1 miles) walk is always held on Saturday morning of road race weekend, and while not officially connected to the race, it is a significant part of all the activities and FRR is a premier sponsor.
The social stroll attracts upward of 1,000, including many runners in town for the race. The 35th Walk on August 15 will honor Doyle, who shared Leonard’s grass-roots philanthropic desire to help those in need.
Eddie and Tommy were Boston bartenders and raconteurs. Burke held court at the Bull & Finch pub at the Hampshire House, which became the setting for “Cheers,” the popular 1980s television series, “where everyone knows your name.” Leonard was a fixture at the Eliot Lounge, a popular hangout for runners.
While Tommy came up with the idea for the first Falmouth Road Race in 1973, Eddie was the proud founder of the Barley Hoppers Running Club, where the motto was “We Run for Fun & Roam for Foam.”
Together they organized many fundraising events, so it was natural they would continue in Falmouth, where Tommy was working at the Quarterdeck and Eddie and his wife, Marcia, had a home.
The first walk in 1991 was modest with just 50 entries. Last year there were 1,017 walkers and $55,000 was contributed to Falmouth charities.
Today the walk is organized by friends of Eddie and Tommy, all volunteers, who embody the founders’ spirit of improving lives through caring and giving. They are generously supported by local businesses who donate to an auction and post-race picnic on the grounds of the St. Barnabas’s Memorial Episcopal Church.
Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon gold medalist and two-time Falmouth Road Race champion – and also now a Falmouth resident – has been a frequent participant in the Falmouth Walk. He appreciates all that Doyle (and Leonard) contributed to the betterment of their communities.
“You look for good people and when you find them, you keep them,’’ Shorter once said. “You look for people who are not on their way anywhere else. That (was) Tommy and Eddie. You always knew they were just absolutely happy where they were.’’
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Bob Hall: A champion athlete and trailblazer
Bob Hall was neither an unsung hero nor a volunteer. He was simply an athlete who, through indomitable will, knocked down barriers and created opportunities for generations to come.
Hall made a profound and everlasting impact on the Falmouth Road Race – and athletics worldwide – as a champion in wheelchair racing. He died in April at 74.
Hall was Falmouth’s first (and only) wheelchair racer in 1975. He was honored at the 2025 race marking the 50th year of wheelchair racing over the roads from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights. The Bob Hall Legacy Award was created for athletes who need assistance with adaptive equipment.
Hall’s intentions more than 50 years ago were never to be a pioneer. As a 23-year-old from Belmont, he only wanted to compete and strive for success. He did that, for sure, becoming the best in his sport. All along the way, however, Hall did even more, blazing a trail that now stretches globally.
Hall finished the 1975 Boston Marathon in under three hours, a stipulation he had to meet to earn a finisher certificate and for his accomplishment to be recognized. With support from his longtime friend and Greater Boston Track Club teammate Bill Rodgers, Hall was encouraged to race again at Falmouth later that summer, so he set his sights on August. He was welcomed by the race directors to the starting line with no such conditions.
Hall said it was the first time he was in a road race as a registered competitor and received a bib number as an official entrant. That was all he ever wanted, to be accepted and treated as an athlete.
Hall contracted polio in 1952 when he was only nine months old. Confined to a wheelchair, he never let his disability get in the way of his goals. He would go on to win eight consecutive Falmouth crowns and in the process revolutionize the sport of wheelchair racing for the generations of athletes who followed.
In turn, Falmouth has been a leader for creating opportunities for adaptive athletes ever since.
“Bob’s connection to the Falmouth Road Race community was truly special,” said Faulkner, Falmouth’s executive director. “He helped define what makes Falmouth more than just a race. Through his determination and vision, he shaped the spirit, camaraderie and sense of purpose that continues to carry the event forward today.”
Hall’s contributions to wheelchair racing went far beyond his achievements on the roads. His first Falmouth victory was in a slightly modified hemiplegia wheelchair that weighed nearly 50 pounds. He befriended Sam Raymond, a noted mechanical engineer and inventor who founded Benthos Undersea Systems in North Falmouth. Together they worked on a more efficient, sleek design.
In 1978 a new company, Hall’s Wheels, rolled out the first racing wheelchair. The sport was changed forever and many racers who followed became champions in Hall’s Wheels-designed chairs.
“I want to be remembered,” he once said. “Times come and go. People come and go. But I hope whatever I’ve done lasts forever.”
Bob Hall achieved that, and more. Beyond the cheers he often heard as a champion, he will forever be remembered as an athlete in a league of his own.