Canadian Olympian Ben Flanagan has won the Falmouth Road Race three times, but this year, he ran with a different goal in mind, and from an entirely different starting point.
Instead of lining up with the elites, Flanagan began this year’s race dead last.
As the official “Charity Chaser” for the 2025 edition of the 7-mile road race, he started behind all 8,000-plus participants. For every person he passed on the way to the finish line, $3 was pledged to the J-Rob Foundation, a nonprofit that provides adaptive sporting equipment to children with physical disabilities.
By the time he crossed the line in 41 minutes and 54 seconds, Flanagan had passed 8,088 people, raising a total of $24,264.
The Charity Chaser initiative was originally launched by Falmouth Road Race, Inc., the nonprofit that organizes the iconic Cape Cod event.
Once Flanagan’s campaign gained attention, additional supporters stepped in to amplify the impact. A silent donor and the Falmouth-based Cutter Financial Group tripled the contribution per runner, turning a $1-per-pass donation into $3 per person overtaken.
The cause held personal meaning for Flanagan. The selected beneficiary, the J-Rob Foundation, includes 2021 Falmouth Road Race wheelchair division champion Hermin Garic on its board.
Garic, a friend of Flanagan’s, is a longtime advocate for accessibility in sport and was part of the race’s celebration this year marking 50 years of wheelchair racing in Falmouth, the longest-running competitive wheelchair road race in the U.S.
Flanagan’s charity run served as a nod to that history, while bringing a new sense of purpose to one of the country’s most celebrated summer road races.
The Falmouth Road Race, held annually since 1973, draws top-tier athletes from around the world, including Olympians, Paralympians, and recreational runners. Prize money exceeds $100,000, and the course, stretching from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights along the Atlantic coast, has become a favorite among pros and amateurs alike.
This year’s race weekend included a full slate of events, including the SBLI Family Fun Run, the Tommy Cochary High School Mile, a health and fitness expo, and the Falmouth Track Festival, presented by ASICS. But it was Flanagan’s unconventional run that created one of the most talked-about storylines.
“What a fantastic run for a fantastic cause,” wrote one participant on Instagram. “Watching Ben fly by from the back was a highlight of my race, and knowing it meant something made it even better.”
Flanagan, who represented Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics and holds national records in the 5,000m and 10,000m, has long been a fan favorite in Falmouth. His return this year wasn’t about adding another title to his name, it was about using his platform to elevate others.
The 54th running of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race is scheduled for Aug. 16, 2026. Whether Flanagan will return is anyone’s guess, but this year’s impact will be hard to top.
