This Sunday will mark Andrea Mahoney’s 18th time running the Falmouth Road Race.
While she’s run for other charities before, this year she chose the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod for personal reasons. “I have a daughter who is almost 16 and she loves the arts. That is her passion,” Andrea said. “I see how important it is for kids to have that creative outlet. My daughter definitely inherited my mom’s artistic abilities.”
Andrea’s mother is Jane Lincoln, a prolific contemporary artist who works out of her home studio in East Falmouth. It’s where Jane and her husband Stan moved their family “my senior year of high school,” said Andrea. “My parents are year-rounders, and we come here every summer.”
A 1998 graduate of Barnstable High School where she did cross country and track, Andrea said that running has been “something that’s always been a part of my life. Just for me, it’s kind of a mental escape going for a run. It’s an everyday part of my routine and makes me feel really healthy to be able to get away from everything for a little while.”
Along with the Falmouth Road Race, she has run the Boston Marathon twice as well as both the Cape Cod Half Marathon and the Boston Half Marathon several times.
Andrea, who lives in Medfield, where she balances raising a family with her work as an architect – “I have a little bit of my mother’s artistic talent,” she said – has an affinity for the Cape. “I see the same people every summer that I grew up with,” she said. “And now all of our kids are friends. Seeing the generations all come together here and learn to sail and play tennis, I think the community aspect of it is really special.”
It is why she feels a responsibility to give back by running the Falmouth Road Race to support organizations like the Arts Foundation.
During the race, she has continually witnessed the best of this community. “It’s a huge race for such a small town. And of course, it’s so scenic and beautiful, and all the spectators are incredible with all the kids watching and people handing out oranges, spraying you with water, and the band playing music, nothing really compares to it,” she said.
While every year holds special memories, she recalled a few of her favorites. “One year, I ran it, I was seven-and-a-half months pregnant. That was pretty fun. And then there was the year the course was flooded and it kept delaying the start time. I feel like there’s always something kind of memorable about it.”
Click this link to support Andrea Mahoney in this year’s Falmouth Road Race. All donations will go to strengthen the arts, supporting artists and arts organizations across all of Cape Cod.