FALMOUTH — Thousands of runners will take to Cape Cod this Saturday for the Falmouth Road Race, and several athletes from the MyFM listening area will be using the seven-mile course to raise money and awareness for local food pantries.
The annual race is set for Saturday, Aug. 16, bringing runners from across New England and beyond to Falmouth for one of the region’s best-known summer road races.
Among those participating are members of the Medway Village Food Pantry team, which has 15 runners taking part this year and has ranked among the event’s top fundraising teams.
MyFM has spoken with several members of that team in the weeks leading up to race day, including Jonah Mathew, Kristen Salera and Max Hundertmark, each of whom has a personal connection to the pantry and its mission.
Mathew, a rising sophomore at Medway High School and a member of the cross-country team, has volunteered at the pantry alongside his mother. He is using the race as another opportunity to support the organization while continuing his own development as a runner.
Salera’s connection to the pantry is especially personal. The Medway small-business owner and former Boston Marathon runner said her family once relied on the pantry during a difficult period while she was building her business.
“When I started my business, I actually used the pantry myself,” Salera said during her interview with MyFM. She is now running to give back to the organization that once helped her family.
Hundertmark, a Medway native and former pantry volunteer, also spent time helping his mother unload deliveries from the Greater Boston Food Bank. He said supporting the pantry through the Falmouth Road Race was an easy decision.
“I thought there was no better cause,” Hundertmark said.
Funds raised by the Medway team will help support the pantry as it works toward moving from its current weekly pop-up setup into a more accessible, permanent grocery-style location.
Franklin will also be represented on the course through the Franklin Food Pantry, which is fielding an eight-runner team led by Board Chair and team captain Amber Baur.
This marks the sixth year the Franklin Food Pantry has participated in the Falmouth Road Race and Baur’s fifth year running on its behalf. Each runner has been asked to raise $1,500, with the team working toward an overall goal of $20,000.
Baur told MyFM that the fundraiser comes at an important time, with visits to the Franklin Food Pantry increasing by more than 30 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
The Franklin team also includes Chris Cunniff, Michael Arthur, Kathy Cosgrove, Jack Coughlin, Leila Frankina, Ona Harrington and Jim McGillis.
For the local runners, Saturday’s race represents more than reaching the finish line. Each mile will help raise money for organizations providing food, personal care products and other essentials to families throughout the region.
The Falmouth Road Race takes place Saturday, Aug. 16, with runners from Medway, Franklin and communities across Massachusetts taking part in the seven-mile Cape Cod tradition.
