Joanie’s Interview

by Dave McGillivray, Race Director

Joan Benoit Samuelson, a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, is founder and chair of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K.

Introduction

I have known Joanie for about 25 years now. I have run with her many times, she came to my wedding, she wrote the forward to my book, she greeted me at home plate in Fenway Park at the conclusion of one of my cross country runs, she even asked me to be the race director of her very own road race, and on numerous occasions, she has given me her famous bear hug that I swear will break my back someday.

So, I guess you could say I know Joanie pretty well! But interestingly, I know her more for her wonderful and unselfish personality and for the kindness she has always bestowed on so many, and not as much for her swiftness of foot.

As such, it was a privilege to conduct this interview with her on the occasion of NER’s 25th anniversary and the fact that she graced the 2nd cover of the magazine.

The Beginning

No. I grew up with three brothers so I was always running to keep up or get away. I loved to play anything. I remember wanting to play LL baseball in the spring and early summer but couldn’t because I was a girl. They wouldn’t even let me play when nine players didn’t show up to field a team. The coaches would play with fewer players before they would think of putting a girl in the game. 

Ski racing in the Olympics was my dream. Just when I started to place in some of the Maine races I broke my leg. I ran after the cast was removed to get back in shape and found that I loved to run. I didn’t need special equipment, snow or a ride to the mountains. I could do it anywhere at any time. I was sold on the sport and started to challenge myself with longer and longer distances the more I ran.

No guts no glory in ski racing .

I didn’t start with distance events until after I broke my leg my sophomore year in high school. Ran the sprints, relays and did the long jump my freshman year. The mile didn’t become a Maine HS event until my sophomore year. I won the State mile my senior year in high school. I Played field hockey in the fall all four years in high school and the first two years at Bowdoin College. I ran outside of high school and college with Country Runners and then Liberty AC.

I won the AIAW (pre-NCAA) Runner of the Year Award my senior year at Bowdoin after spending my junior year at NC State on a scholarship. I called it my junior year abroad.

I won the AIAW DIII my senior year. I also won the 10000m title at Michigan State. I think I won another race or two but can remember. Ran my first sub-5-minute mile at URI the winter of my freshman year at Bowdoin running for Liberty AC at an AAU meet because Bowdoin didn’t have a women’s track team. Would need to check my training logs or check with John Babington or Bob Sevene to confirm times during high school, college, and post-graduation. 

The first marathon I ran was in Bermuda. I with Craig Virgin, Ellison Goodall and a few other people as a training run the day after the Bemuda 10K. We stopped at the halfway mark and waited to get a ride to the finish. When we found out that no vehicles would be allowed on the course until the last runner passed we decided to run to the finish line knowing that we would get there faster. I think I ran a 2:56 or 2:57

Then Came Boston

Curiosity, challenge, and tradition. I had never seen a Boston Marathon before I ran in 1979. I had run the Portland Boy’s Club 5-mile Road Race on Patriots Day for several years in a row before heading to Boston for the first time. 

I wanted to run a PR. I remember looking at a pace chart the night before the race in my room at the Copley Plaza and thinking that it would be tough and that I would never be able to run a sub 2:25.

It just happened. I knew I was in shape and I had a very high finish (I think 4th) at the World XC Champs a couple of weeks prior to the Marathon. I had no idea I was on world-record pace until I heard Tom Grilk screaming over the PA system at the finish line

I remember more changes in my life after my first win in 1979.
I had no idea how many eyes around the world followed the Boston Marathon. All of a sudden my life seemed to become public. It took me a while to become used to the idea of being a public figure. At first, I thought I would never run a marathon again in my life.

The Trials and the Olympics

I knew I would have to ask for a miracle. After getting through the surgery and the Trials, I’ve never asked for any more favors in the sport. I knew there wasn’t any other woman out there training harder than I was at the time and I must confess this is what was driving me because I was loving the training and the fact that I was feeling stronger and faster with each long run and track workout. I really wanted to run the marathon but I knew if the recovery went slowly I also had a chance to qualify in the 3000 m trials which were being held a month later

Continued anxiety but I was relieved to be having the surgery. The anti-inflammatories weren’t working and I was running out of time. I knew this was my only option if I had a chance of getting to the starting line. 

Dr. Stan James kept me in bed in the hospital in Eugene for 24 hours. I think I tried to test my knee the following afternoon with a couple of jogging steps. 

No plan. I just wanted to get from the start to the finish. 

No real twinges but I kept thinking that I might have a twinge or even worse. I had absolutely nothing left after 20 miles and if anyone had passed me at this point I think the entire field would have left me in their dust. 

All I knew is that I was going to run my own race and not pay attention to what my competitors were doing. 

I was thinking that I had an outside chance at a medal. I think Grete was the odds on favorite before the race but I also knew Ingrid was running very well and would give Grete a run. I knew nothing about Rosa except that I saw her out on a training run a few days before the marathon and I had no idea who she was at the time but knew she would be a solid contender if she was running the marathon just by the way she was running that day. 

Smooth and strong, almost effortless. Never again. 

No, because I had vowed to run my own race regardless of what the rest of the field was doing. 

I told my family and friends who assembled around me shortly after the race that I didn’t want them to let this moment in time change me as a person. As far as my life is concerned…it became very busy and full. I got married a month after the Olympics and nothing has slowed down. Now we have teenagers who set the pace. 

Not really. I’m just glad that Title IX passed and now women have a chance to pursue their dreams through additional opportunities. 

The biggest win in my career was the 1984 Olympic Marathon. The race of my life was the Trials in Olympia. Still can’t explain how that all came together for me outside of prayer and not asking for any additional favors in the sport. Boston wins in1979 and 1983 were very big, too. As was a photo finish with Patti-Sue Plummer at the Meadowlands in the 3000m.

B2B And Giving Back

Make sure Dave McGillivray is your race director. The DMSE team helps, too! The energy expended on the other side is far greater than the energy expended running the event several times over. (Editor’s note: I paid her to say this.)

The first thing I promised myself if I was able to make it through the Trials and on to the Olympics was that I would give back to the sport that had given me so much and that I would also give back to the Maine community which has always inspired me and kept me buoyant…something about the pride that Maine people share and their appreciation for hard and passionate work.  Didn’t hurt to have parents who taught us the importance of living a good and full life. 

No rest for the weary but I know you sleep less than I do these days. Life is a constant balancing act. 

Youth and the Environment. 

Not a lot of rest.

Finals Trials and Beyond

I have always had goals in the sport. The only goal left in the sport for me at this time is to run a 2:50 something or maybe even to sneak in just under 2:50 if I am very lucky at the Trials in Boston when I’m 50, almost 51. I think it is pretty cool that I will most likely end my competitive marathoning career where I started my competitive marathoning career almost 30 years earlier. Really what I am hoping is that I can get to the starting line without any injuries and with joints that still function. 

We will talk again after the Trials. The marathon will probably be the toughest part of the triathlon for me if and when I ever do the Ironman.

Other Stuff

Therapy and feeling grounded. I went through the Master Gardening program and enjoy growing anything that I can in amended marine clay. Totally organic. It’s all about locally grown and organic. Also, I have been involved with the Plant-A-Row project and harvest vegetables for our local food pantry. 

Tidal power, wind turbines, solar panels, hybrids, more bicycles and alternative transportation routes. Health insurance breaks for people who bike, run, paddle, row or walk to work.

He can really run but he drinks a lot of water and consumes a lot of energy gels. No problem with his c-v system, however, he needs to spend more time pounding the pavement on his feet. 

Nordic and alpine skiing, hiking, tennis, kayaking, cycling, to name a few. 

One step at a time 

You’ve got that right.

It’s past my bedtime. 

Year-by-Year Recap

Inaugural year for the race, founded by Joan Benoit Samuelson and called the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K after the title sponsor. The race had a field size of 3,000 and drew 2,408 finishers.

Field size increases to 4,000 and the race becomes the first road race in Maine history to top 3,000 finishers as 3,248 crossed the line. Khalid Khannouchi of Morocco sets a course-record 27 minutes, 48 seconds, the first recorded sub-28- minute 10K ever run in Maine.

Two-time defending champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya edged U.S. Olympian Libbie Hickman in a finish that required a ruling by a team of judges, including referee Steve Vaitones, a certified USA Track & Field official. Both runners, with identical official times of 32:19, thought they had won, but Vaitones and the other judges determined Ndereba crossed the finish first. Adding drama to the race was the fact that Ndereba fell at about the 1.5-mile mark, got stepped on and scraped her knee and shoulder, but still managed to get back up and grit out a victory.

Honorary guest for the 2001 Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race was Sir Roger Bannister, the legendary British runner who on May 6, 1954, ran the world’s first recorded sub-four-minute mile. The then-25-year-old native of Harrow on the Hill, England, completed the distance in 3:59.4 at Oxford. Race Director Dave McGillivray was named the world’s outstanding race director for 2000 for his direction of the third Peoples Beach to Beach 10K Road Race by Road Race Management, Inc. and Lynx System Developers, Inc., based in Woburn, Mass., began providing a FinishLynx, a versatile digital photofinish and timing system.

Field expands to 5,000 to accommodate more runners and commemorate the 5th year of the race. The race also introduces the Corporate Challenge where teams of at least four employees from New England corporations and businesses compete using net times and adjusted by age and gender under the WAVA (World Association of Veteran Athletes) system. Joan Benoit Samuelson runs with a group of New York City firefighters to commemorate the 5th year.

Gov. John Baldacci was the first sitting Maine governor to run in the race, still called the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. Baldacci ran as part of the Seeds of Peace team. Also, 16-Year-Old Eric Giddings of South Portland is the Maine winner and Gilbert Okari of Kenya (27:28) shattered the four-year-old course record by 20 seconds.

The race again boasted the year’s fastest time in a 10K road race in the world when Kenya’s Gilbert Okari broke the tape at 27:35. In all, four men record crossed in under 28, almost unheard of on the international road race circuit.

Name changes to TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon. Among runners from Maine, Stanford-bound Eric Giddings of South Portland set a new Maine record with a time of 30:34 while still a teenager at 18 and dressed in his South Portland High School Red Riots singlet.

Race fills in just 46 days – eclipsing the 2005 record by almost two weeks – despite an expansion of the field by 500 slots to a total of 5,500. Russia’s Alevtina Ivanova broke the women’s record, running away from the field with a time of 31:26 to claim her first Beach to Beacon title after finishing second and third that last two years and breaking Kenyan Catherine Ndereba’s five-year-old record of 31:33.

Special 10th edition of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon again fills in record time. This race featured Joan Benoit Samuelson running a leisurely 42:00 pace alongside friend Jacqueline Gareau, the 1980 Boston Marathon champ. Each runner in the field of 5,500 who completed the race received a commemorative medal. More than 110 runners ran for the 10th time, including Larry Wold, President of TD Bank in Maine. Kenya’s Duncan Kibet out kicked a fast field to win the men’s crown as the popular Meb Keflezighi, the U.S.’s top distance runner, finished fourth. Luminita Talpos of Romania dominated the women’s race, winning for the first time in five tries.

Ed Muge sprinted to the finish to earn the men’s crown and ageless Edith Masai cruised to victory in the women’s race in the 11th edition of the race. Muge of Kenya (27:52.4) edged Ethiopia’s Maregu Zewdie (27:53), the world’s top-ranked road racer, down the homestretch in thrilling fashion. But the day belonged to the 41-year-old Masai, who dominated her younger competitors in 31:55.6, which also shattered the course record in the Master’s category for women. The two Kenyans were among the record-setting 5,258 runners from 14 countries and 41 U.S. states who finished the race on a cool, humid and foggy morning. In the Maine races, Kristin Barry, 34, of Scarborough (34:37) shattered the longest standing course record, set by Julia Kirtland of South Harpswell with a 34:56 in 1998, the race’s inaugural year. And in winning the Maine race, Ben True, 22, of North Yarmouth (31:02), also was the first American finisher in the race, finishing 11th overall.

Ed Muge of Kenya (28:05) repeated as the men’s champ and Kenya’s Irene Limika (32:06) cruised in for the women’s title, but a pair of Mainers stole the show for the 12th running of the TD Bank Beach to Beacon. Ben True of North Yarmouth (29:10) and Sheri Piers of Falmouth (34:17) shattered course records to easily win the Maine titles and each finished 10th overall – a first for Maine runners in the international road race. Both course records are likely to stand for some time. A record-setting 5,624 runners, from 16 countries and 43 U.S. states, finished the race on a warm and sunny morning. The summer of 2009 marked the 25th anniversary of race founder Joan Benoit Samuelson’s historic gold medal performance in the first Olympic women’s marathon. At the Beach to Beacon, the ever-modest Samuelson was a fixture at the finish line cheering and greeting recreational runners.

Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui (30:59) shattered the women’s course record and Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia sprinted to the men’s title in the 13th edition of the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. In the Maine Resident races, Kristin Barry (34:34.9) of Scarborough reclaimed the women’s title, edging defending champ and course record holder Sheri Piers (34:35.2) of Falmouth by the slimmest of margins, while Patrick Tarpy (29:28) of Yarmouth cruised to his first men’s title. The winners were among the record-setting 5,672 runners from 17 countries and 41 U.S. states who competed on a cool, calm, idyllic morning on the Maine coast. Thousands of spectators lined the course to cheer the runners. Also, legendary marathoner and two-time Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, a five-time TD Bank Beach to Beacon champ and former course record holder, was returning from injury and placed sixth (33:34).

Kenyan Micah Kogo (27:48) used his Olympic track speed to wear down a talented men’s field and Aheza Kiros (32:09) of Ethiopia cruised to victory on the women’s side in the 14th edition of the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. In the Maine Resident races, Sheri Piers of Falmouth pushed through the heat and humidity to reclaim the women’s title, while Louie Luchini of Ellsworth, a decorated collegian turned State Representative, put a stamp on his legacy in the men’s race. The winners were among the record-setting 5,876 runners from 12 countries, 43 states and more than 200 Maine cities and towns who crossed the finish line on a sunny, warm and humid morning on the Maine coast.

A record-setting 6,117 runners from 17 countries finished the special 15th edition of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. In honor of the 15th running, race founder and Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson completed the race alongside fellow marathon legends Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter, who won Olympic gold in 1972. At the front of the pack, Kenyans Stanley Biwott (27:59) and Margaret Wangari-Muriuki (31:51.6) prevailed in hot, humid conditions to win the men’s and women’s titles. In the Maine Resident races, 41-year-old Sheri Piers of Falmouth dominated the field to repeat as champion while Ethan Shaw of Falmouth, a recent Dartmouth graduate, broke through against a strong field to win his first men’s title.

The Sweet 16 edition of the TD Beach to Beacon included another record-setting field of 6,244 runners and was highlighted by a pair of record-setting performances. In the Wheelchair Division, Krige Schabort, a 49-year-old Paralympic athlete from South Africa now living in the U.S., shattered the course record with a 21:53, marking the first sub-23:00 in race history. Also, in the Masters category, Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor (32:28), the American record holder in the marathon and half marathon, recorded the  fastest 10K ever by an American woman in her Master’s age group. She also finished 7th in the deep Open Women category – for the first time each woman in the Top 10 ran a sub-33:00.  Kenyans Micah Kogo (28:03) and Joyce Chepkirui (31:23) took the elite titles in near-perfect running conditions. In the Maine races, Erica Jesseman of Scarborough (34:17.6) came within .6 of breaking the course record in winning her first title after three consecutive top-three finishes, while Riley Masters of Veazie (30:19), a former All-American runner at the University of Maine and Oklahoma now running professionally, used his track speed to best a talented field.

Great Britain’s Gemma Steel and Bedan Karoki of Kenya won the 17th TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. Karoki (27:36), a Kenyan Olympian, outlasted fellow Kenyan Stephen Kosgei Kibet (27:42) and Maine native Ben True (27:50) for a hard-fought victory that saw the exhausted lead runners collapse to the ground after the finish. Karoki’s time marked the fastest 10K in the world at that point. Steel avenged last year’s runner-up placing by reaching the finish tape a mere three tenths of a second – .31 – in front of Shalane Flanagan after a classic road race duel down the homestretch. Both runners received identical times of 31:27. Ben True’s third-place finish was the highest ever for an American man in race history. In addition, his time was the fastest road 10K by an American since Mark Nenow ran 27:48 in 1985 and the third fastest ever, according to Runner’s World. Meb Keflezighi, who had an historic Boston Marathon victory earlier in the year – the first by an American since 1983 – finished 13th (29:58) and then re-assumed his role as ambassador to his sport by joining Race Founder Joan Benoit Samuelson in greeting runners crossing the finish line. In the Maine resident races, recent Midwest transplant Michelle (Frey) Lilienthal, a 32-year-old professional runner now living in Portland (33:39), shattered the course record by 38 seconds and finished 13th overall, while Will Geoghegan, 22, of Brunswick (29:53), a Dartmouth All-American, moved up a notch from last year to claim his first Maine title.

The 18th TD Beach to Beacon saw the debut of a new American-only prize category, won by former Oregon standouts Eric Jenkins and Alexi Pappas, who also finished fourth and fifth overall. In the Open category, Stephen Kosgei Kibet of Kenya and Wude Ayalew of Ethiopia, two familiar TD Beach to Beacon faces, finally broke through as champions. Kibet (28:28), one of the world’s all-time half marathoners, stretched away from a three-man pack inside Fort Williams in a tactical race to claim his first title in five tries, including runner up finishes in two of the past three years. Moses Kipsiro of Uganda outkicked Kenyan Daniel Salel for second. Ayalew (31:56), who ran the second fastest time ever on the TD Beach to Beacon course in 2010 only to place second, this time outdueled Diane Nukuri for her first win in four attempts. Sentayehu Ejigu took third while defending champion Gemma Steel of Great Britain finished a distant fourth. In the Maine resident races, Erica Jesseman, 26, of Scarborough (34:53), the 2013 champ, regained her title in dominant fashion while 19-year-old Ben Decker of Yarmouth (32:49) won a wide open men’s race. Also, a new course record was set in the wheelchair division by James Senbeta (21:46), who shaved seven seconds off the previous mark to win his first TD Beach to Beacon title. A record-setting 6,602 runners from 15 countries, 41 states and more than 265 Maine cities and towns finished the coastal course on a morning that started cool but quickly got hot and muggy.

Maine native Ben True became the first American ever to win the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in 2016 – making history in his native state of Maine. True ran the course in 28:16, ending an 18-year streak of East African winners. Mary Keitany of Kenya (30:45) christened the new Elite Women’s Start with a dominating, record-setting performance, braving increasingly humid conditions to shave 14 seconds off the old course record, set in 2010. The second year of the American-only prize category saw True doubling up with Emily Sisson (32:21), who placed fourth overall, on the women’s side. In the Maine resident races, Michelle Lilienthal (34:53), the 2014 champ, regained her title with a dominant performance while 22-year-old Jesse Orach, (31:31) of Gorham, a University of Maine distance runner, won the wide open men’s race after nabbing bib number #5891 just under the transfer deadline. The world-class athletes and Maine elites were among 6,332 runners from 15 countries, 43 states and more than 265 Maine cities and towns who finished the race, and the beneficiary in 2016 was My Place Teen Center (MPTC), a free, year-round, after-school youth development program for kids in Greater Portland.

The 20th running of the TD Beach to Beacon in 2017 brought plenty of excitement, with Kenyan Mary Keitany (30:41) lowering her own course record by four seconds to dominate a strong women’s field. Fellow Kenyan Stephen Kosgei Kibet (27:54) held off Maine native and defending champion Ben True (27:55) to claim the men’s title in a dramatic sprint finish. True was fast enough to nab first place in the Americans-only prize category, with decorated U.S. distance runner Shalane Flanagan (31:15) taking the women’s American-only category and placing fourth overall, setting a new American course record. Race Founder and Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, who joined the field for only the fourth time, recorded a 39:19 to set a new best American 10K time for a woman age 60 or over. Her performance came on the 33rd anniversary of her gold medal performance in Los Angeles at the first Olympic marathon for women. In the Maine Resident races, Jesse Orach (31:30.4) of Gorham, who was on his way to a repeat win, collapsed about 100 yards from the finish, got back on his feet and crossed the finish line with the aid of Rob Gomez (31:31.2) of Windham, who had been running behind him and gave up his opportunity to win a Maine title to instead help Orach cross in first. In the women’s race, Emily Durgin (34:43) of Standish unseated defending champ Michelle Lilienthal of Portland, who placed second (35:11). The world-class athletes and Maine elites were among a record 6,885 runners from 18 countries, 43 states and more than 270 Maine cities and towns who finished the race. The 2017 race beneficiary was Let’s Go!, a nationally recognized childhood obesity prevention program of Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center that promotes physical activity and healthy eating.

New Zealander Jake Robertson (27:37) was the wire-to-wire men’s winner of the 21st TD Beach to Beacon, posting the widest-ever margin of victory, 50 seconds, in the race’s history. While the women’s race was closer, Kenyan Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei (31:21) was able to hold her lead entering Fort Williams to claim the women’s crown. Maine native and local favorite Ben True (28:29) won his third consecutive Americans-only title, with two-time Olympian Molly Huddle (31:40) claiming the women’s Americans-only title and third overall. In the Maine Resident races, Michelle Lilienthal (36:16) of Portland won for the third time and Ryan Smith (30:50) of Farmington won his first title, both in convincing fashion. Also, in the Wheelchair Division, Katrina Gerhard, 21, of Ashburnham, Mass., recorded a 26:49 to set a course record, shaving more than a minute off a mark that had stood since 1999.The world-class athletes and Maine elites were among 6,526 runners from 19 countries, 43 states and more than 270 Maine cities and towns who finished the race. WinterKids, a nonprofit that provides children and families opportunities to get outside and get active through school programs, winter sports and community events, was the 2018 race beneficiary.

A pair of Kenyans won the 2019 TD Beach to Beacon, with Alex Korio (27:34) and Joyciline Jepkosegi (31:05) topping an elite field of more than 30 athletes that included several 2020 Olympic hopefuls. Korio’s 56-second margin of victory bested the previous 50-second record set just a year earlier. In the Americans-only category, Emily Infield (32:39) of Portland, Oregon, who recently recovered from hip surgery and had not run a 10K since 2017, took the women’s title, while Olympic favorite Scott Fauble (28:58) was the top American men’s finisher. The Maine Resident men’s and women’s division featured new champions this year. Among the men, Dan Curts (29:26) of Ellsworth finished first, with Maine’s top high school runner, Falmouth teen Sofie Matson (36:01) taking the women’s title. Also in 2019, the TD Beach to Beacon 10K achieved the prestigious, internationally recognized Evergreen Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport for the second time in recognition of its deep commitment to sustainable practices. The world-class athletes and Maine elites were among 6,417 runners from nine countries, 42 states and nearly 260 Maine cities and towns who finished the race. The 2019 race beneficiary was The Telling Room, a nonprofit that believes the power of creative expression can change communities and prepare youth for future success by building confidence, strengthening literacy skills, and providing real audiences for their students.

The race was canceled for the first time ever due to the COVID pandemic.

As the pandemic continued to pose public health challenges, race organizers elected to stage the first-ever Virtual TD Beach to Beacon 10K, with more than 2,000 runners participating. As a special incentive, two luck registrants for the virtual event won the first-ever “Green Tickets,” which entitled them to free lifetime entry into the race. JMG, a nonprofit that partners with public education and private businesses to offer results-driven solutions to ensure all Maine students graduate, attain post-secondary credentials, and pursue meaningful careers, was the race beneficiary, having originally been selected as the 2020 beneficiary.

The TD Beach to Beacon 10K returned to Cape Elizabeth in 2022, with Matthew Kimeli of Kenya (28:38) and Fentyea Belkayneh of Ethiopia (32:06) besting the elite field on a day where the pace was slowed by heat and humidity. Athanas Kioko of Clarksville, Georgia and Emily Durgin, a Standish native now living in Arizona, were the top American finishers. The races for top Maine finishers were as heated as the weather. For the women, Aly Urainy of Yarmouth (36:17) scored the victory. In the men’s race, Sam Mills of Biddeford (31:08) won by an impressive twenty-one second margin over Matt Rand of Portland. In the Wheelchair Division, Herman Garic of Utica New York took home top honors with a time of 23:10. Yen Hoang of Champaign, Illinois (26:51) was the top female finisher. The world-class athletes and Maine elites were among 5,346 runners from nine countries, 42 states, and almost 260 Maine cities and towns who finished the race. The 2022 beneficiary of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K was The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness, which promotes safe, respectful, and inclusive schools and communities through its school-based programs for students in grades 1–6 as well as resources for parents and educators.

The 25th running of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K brought cool, comfortable conditions and an exciting race on both the men’s and women’s sides. Addisu Yihune of Ethiopia (27:56) was able to break away from a pack of elite men at the five-mile mark and never looked back. Hellen Obiri of Kenya (31:37) dominated the first half of the race and was able to hold off a late charge by a pack of elite women, winning by a second. Obiri also won the Boston Marathon in 2023 and was number two in the world rankings for road running at the time of the race. The top Americans were Connor Mantz of Utah (27:58), who finished second overall and Keira D’Amato of Virginia (31:58), who finished third in the women’s race. The top Maine finishers were 17-year-old Ruth White of Orono (34:56) and Matt Rand of Portland (30:41). The Wheelchair Division saw repeat winners from 2022 in both the men’s and women’s race. Herman Garic of Utica, NY (23:25) and Yen Hoang of Champaign, IL (28:35) dominated each race to bring home the gold. Christina Kouros of Lewiston, ME (41:37) was the top Mainer, finishing third. The elite athletes were among more than 6,500 runners from 16 countries, 47 states and nearly 294 Maine cities and towns who finished the race. The 2023 race beneficiary was Valo, a nonprofit that helps teens cultivate emotional wellbeing and forge meaningful connections.

Stories

Every year more than 800 people join us as volunteers to ensure that the TD Beach to Beacon 10K is an elite race experience for all runners and participants. Some of these volunteers have been coming back to help for more than 20 years. Their stories about why they do this every year are filled with excitement, pride and passion and we think they are worth sharing in the hope that you will join us and be a part of this great event.

Kate Anagnostis, Massage Therapy Coordinator

Paul Brown

Maya Cohen, FORMER Volunteer Coordinator

Liz and Bud Elliott

Karl Moulton, Team Organizer/Pacer

Chris Troyanos, Medical Services Coordinator

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