By Olivia dePunte
For the thousands of runners who crossed the finish line at the 54th ASICS Falmouth Road Race, the Medical Team is often a reassuring presence in the background — a medical tent near the finish, a mobile team along the course, or an AED ready if needed.
But behind that safety net are hundreds of people who donate their time, expertise, and energy to make it possible. This year, that included a force of around 300 volunteers supporting the Medical Team.
“It’s the most we’ve ever had,” says Medical Director Dr. John Jardine. “We were flooded with volunteer applications from people hearing about this opportunity and wanting to volunteer from all over the country.”
Most notably, the recipients of the 2026 Medical Volunteers of the Year Award were Juanita Leighton-Mendes and Kathy Heufelder – two faithful volunteers in both the medical tent and handing out bibs at the Expo for well over a decade after long careers at Falmouth Hospital.
The corpus of volunteers ranged from ER nurses at local hospitals, such as the dedicated husband-and-wife team of Colleen and Adam Pierce, to people fresh to the race with no medical experience and an interest in learning more. Dr. Jardine and Medical Coordinator Chris Troyanos lead a well-oiled machine, and every volunteer serves an important purpose. A task as simple as stocking tubs with ice can later make all the difference in a runner’s life.
Troyanos has been overwhelmed with the support from this year’s volunteers: “To have over 250 volunteers, and some of them coming from great distances from other parts of the country and world to learn and take part in the event, means a lot to Dr. Jardine and me.”
The majority of volunteers are stationed in the medical tent next to the finish line, “but we’ve been able to boost mobile medical numbers throughout the course,” explains Jardine. The extra volunteer power, in addition with Avive’s donation of over 20 AEDs, strengthened the Medical Team’s response time throughout the race.
Avive’s AEDs are small but powerful machines placed throughout the race course to treat sudden cardiac arrest even before the mobile medical team arrives. The new partnership with Avive serves as another layer of safety measures to give runners the peace of mind that their health is in capable hands with the Medical Team.
“We are a living lab,” says Troyanos. “We are teaching how to give top-notch medical care through sharing it.” In addition to providing medical services, Troyanos and Jardine often use the unique condition of a 7-mile road race in peak August as an opportunity to conduct vital field research.
The Medical Team’s continued dedication to finding best practices for Exertional Heat Stroke (EHS) and other heat-related illnesses during physical strain aligns with the mission of Korey Stringer Institute (KSI). Their partnership with KSI over the past 13 years has led to cutting-edge research and discoveries in the field, and this year was no different.
On race Sunday, their newest study with KSI tested the effectiveness of a cooling van in treating heat-related illness. After converting a nine-person van with an intense air conditioner, insulating it with plastic sheets, and outfitting it with two benches, the team reached out to the full list of race registrants for volunteers.
“We had a great response of around 500 runners,” says Jardine. “Some have done our experiments every year and look forward to the next one.” The team landed on around 40 medically-cleared runners who came straight to the medical tent after crossing the finish line to participate.
Some runners remained in the tent as the control group, while others went into the van to be the experimental group so they could measure and compare the cooling rates between the two. The team is still finalizing the official findings from the study, but initial results indicate that the cooling van could be an effective new tool in treating heat-related illness.
Jardine and Troyanos are constantly looking to improve medical measures to ensure the safest race possible, and their partnership with KSI and Avive in addition to the strong team of around 300 volunteers, is essential in achieving that goal. “We understand the importance of what we do, but we also understand how it fits into the overall approach for the event itself and the community at large,” says Jardine. “So without the volunteers, we’re really nothing.”