Joan Benoit Samuelson Prepares for Olympic Marathon Trials Next Weekend, Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in August

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (February 18, 2000) ÷ Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, a Maine native and running legend who founded the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race to be held Aug. 5, isn't done competing yet.

Samuelson, 42, who won the first Olympic marathon for women in 1984 and twice won the Boston Marathon, will compete at the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials next Saturday, Feb. 26, in Columbia, S.C. The top three finishers will represent the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Samuelson's running career already is legendary, as attested by her appearance on many recent end- of-the-century top athlete lists. Sports Illustrated named her Maine's top athlete and the 20th woman athlete of the past 100 years. The Boston Globe ranked her as the top woman athlete and the 26th athlete overall in its Top 100 list. The Maine Sunday Telegram listed her Olympic victory as the top sports story of the century in Maine and the fifth best news story overall. Also, Runner's World named her "the greatest woman marathoner in history."

A conversation with Joan Benoit Samuelson

Recently, Samuelson, a Cape Elizabeth native who now lives in Freeport, talked about these accolades, her life, her current training schedule and what she considers her crowning achievement ÷ founding the annual Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race, which has become a world-class event in just two years. This year's race takes place on Aug. 5 along the picture-postcard shoreline route in Cape Elizabeth.

Q: How do you feel about being included in all these top athlete of the century lists?

A: I'm humbled by the company I keep. So many of these people have been role models of mine through my life and athletic career.

Q: Are you surprised by how your achievement at the 1984 Olympics has endured?

A: I don't think I fully understood it at the time. I did recognize the importance of participating in the first Olympic woman's marathon, and so I was thinking more about the historic significance of the first race than the medals, which for me were secondary. However, as the race progressed, I realized I had, in fact, a chance for a medal. And then I realized I had a chance to win. It was very exciting to win on ÃŽhome' soil, in Los Angeles. But the story I want to tell the most about my Olympic race is not that I won the race but that I ran down the L.A. Freeway all by myself!

Q: What are your thoughts when you look back at that period of your life?

A: I was chasing a dream that I was passionate about, and where there is passion, there is fire. I worked hard in pursuit of these dreams and goals. But when you love what you are doing the hard work and dedication comes easily. I often tell young people to live their dream because with hard work, dedication, passion and belief in oneself, dreams can come true.

Q: You're raising a family, you're involved in the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K race and you are active in a number of volunteer efforts, how do you find time to train for the Olympic trials?

A: Obviously, running is not the focus of my life that it once was. It used to be I scheduled my day around my running, but now I'm scheduling my running around my day. Family commitments come first. So it's a challenge. But I'm still curious to see what I can do at this age.

Q: One of your other major commitments is the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. With the third annual race fast approaching, what are you looking forward to most about the race this summer?

A: My hope is that the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K continues to be a race for the people ÷ a race that offers something for everyone, whether they be world class or just starting out with a goal of going the distance and crossing the finish line. I see the race and surrounding festivities as a celebration of lifestyle and fitness.

Q. You've competed in countless road races all over the world in your career. What makes this race special?

A. Peoples Heritage Bank has done a most impressive job as the title sponsor of the race, attracting several supporting sponsors and embracing and supporting the race in every way. And the town of Cape Elizabeth has been absolutely wonderful in accommodating the 4,000 runners and their families. Not to mention David Ott (Peoples Heritage Bank president) and the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers from the bank and the community who have come forward. And then there's the stellar work of Dave McGillivray, our highly regarded race director, and a great staff.

Q: Doesn't it usually take longer for a 10K race to attract top the kind of elite runners this race is getting? Why did this race become so popular so fast?

A: I think coming to Maine in the summer is a big draw. Many of the top runners from around the world come to run and then vacation in Maine. Also, Maine people and the Maine running community have
embraced the race and been extremely welcoming and supportive of runners from outside the state, and it shows.

Q: You mentioned Dave McGillivray, who also organizes the famed Boston Marathon. How has his involvement in the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K impacted the race?

A: Dave McGillivray is a mastermind when it comes to the race. People really want to rally behind him because he's a great leader. His association with the race most definitely helped establish the event with so many early favorable reviews.

Q: You helped create the race in 1997. How did the event evolve?

A: When I went into the office of Bill Ryan (Chairman and CEO of Peoples Heritage Financial Group) and saw a picture of him running in the New York Marathon, I had a feeling he would embrace the idea, and he did. I saw the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K as a way to give back to a sport and a state that have afforded me so many opportunities. And the motto, "Shining the Light for Maine Youth," is so appropriate when you run the course and finish at the Portland Headlight. That's means so much to me.

Q: What do you mean, "Shining the Light for Maine Youth"?

A: The bank has a "Peoples Promise" program that supports Maine youth, so the race itself raises funds for a different children's charity each year. This year, Turning Point Farm in New Gloucester, Maine, a long- term home for at-risk kids ages 6 to 11, will be the recipient of at least $30,000. And even though I have been very involved in this race from the start, I don't want to lose sight of the fact that if it wasn't for Peoples and the major sponsors the race wouldn't have happened.

Q: Will you compete in the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K this year?

A: That remains to be seen. I can't imagine trying to compete at a high level while consuming myself with so many details surrounding the race. Perhaps I would consider running at a relaxed pace with friends.

Q: At this stage of your life, what are your priorities?

A: My family is now my priority. I want to give my kids, who are 10 and 12, all the opportunities I had growing up and set an example for them by giving back to the community. I really feel that if it wasn't for the support I had in Maine, not only as an athlete, I wouldn't have achieved the results that I have. So I hope I've instilled in them that appreciation for the state. As Colin Powell says, we need to give back in ways that we feel we have the abilities to give back. And that's what the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K race is all about.

# # #



Joan Benoit Samuelson

Career Highlights

1972-75 All American Honors at Cape Elizabeth (Maine) H.S.
1975 Wins the regional Junior Olympic mile championship in 5:03.8
1976 Wins the Portland Boys Club 5-mile race
1976 Wins prestigious, 7.1-mile Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod
1978 Sets world record in Boston's Bonne Belle 10K race (33:16)
1979 Boston Marathon winner, World Best, (2:35:15)
1983 Boston Marathon winner, New World Best, (2:22:43)
1984 Wins the first U.S. women's Olympic Marathon trials
1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in Los Angeles ÷ First Women's Olympic Marathon, still an Olympic record (2:24:32)
1984 Philadelphia Half Marathon winner
1984 Jesse Owens Award recipient
1984 Inductee, Maine Sports Hall of Fame
1985 Chicago Marathon winner, time still stands as an American record (2:21:21)
1985 Receives Sullivan Award as country's Top Amateur Athlete
1987 Honorary Degree Recipient, Williams College
1988 Tufts Jumbo Award recipient
1990 Kiputh Award, Yale University
1990 Honorary Degree recipient, Colby-Sawyer College
1990 Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary Club International
1992 Wins the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon
1993 Sara Orne Jewett Award, Maine Women's Fund
1994 New England Women's Leadership Award recipient
1994 First woman inducted into the National Alumni Hall of Fame of the Boys and Girls Club of America
1995 Honorary Degree recipient, Mount Ida College
1996 Finishes 13th in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
1997 Creates the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine
1998 Wins the USA Track and Field Master's national championship for women
40-and-over in the 5K
1998 Inductee, National Distance Running Hall of Fame
1998 Presides over the first Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K, a race branded one of the world's best by runners
1998 Road Runner's Club of America, Women's Master Runner of the Year
1998 Qualifies for U.S. 2000 Olympic Marathon trials at New York Marathon
1999 Honorary Degree recipient, Thomas College
1999 Inductee, International Scholar Athlete Hall of Fame
1999 Inductee, International Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame
1999 Presides over the second Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K. With a field of 4,000, including many of the world's best distance runners, it eclipses the first


Community and Civic Involvement

Committees and Boards:
1985-Present Advisory Board, Gulf of Maine Aquarium
1986-1993 Samantha Smith Center
1985-Present Friends of Casco Bay
1990-1991 Bowdoin College Fund Director - Chair
1990-1997 Honorary Board, Big Sisters Association of Boston
1991-Present Foundation for the Advancement of Education
1994-1997 Freeport Recreation Committee
1995 Nominating Committee, YWCA of Portland, Maine
1995-Present Advisory Board, Maine's Women Fund
1995-1996 Co-Chair, Casco Bay Area YMCA Capital Campaign
1995-2000 Bowdoin College Board of Trustees
1995-Present Governor's Council for Physical Education and Sports
1997-Present Governor's Executive Council, Communities for Children
1997-Present Founder and Chair, Peoples Heritage Bank Beach to Beacon 10K
1999-Present National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Board of Directors

PUBLIC SERVICE, PAST AND PRESENT
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Maine Lung Association
Alzheimer's Foundation
M.S. Society
Special Olympics
Freeport Public Schools
Massachusetts Association for the Blind
New England Women's Leadership Award Nominating Committee
Maine Honorary Chair, March of Dimes Walk America
Maine Amateur Athletic Foundation, Board of Directors
Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute


Married ÷ Scott Samuelson
Children ÷ Abby, Anders