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For Immediate Release
February 11, 2003

Contact:

Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115

Web Site: http://www.beach2beacon.org

PRESS KIT: Bio of Joan Benoit Samuelson, Race Founder

Joan Benoit Samuelson, Maine's most recognizable athlete who continues to serve as an inspiration for women runners around the world, founded the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in 1998 to benefit children's charities in Maine.

With the help of Peoples Heritage Bank, Joan's efforts quickly elevated the annual race to world-class status. Today, the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K is a 'must' event on the calendars of elite runners around the globe as well as recreational runners throughout New England.

Joan ran the same ocean-side roads while growing up in Cape Elizabeth, just setting out on her path to history. While a senior at Bowdoin College, Benoit entered the 1979 Boston Marathon as a virtual unknown and won, setting a record for American women. Following surgery on her Achilles tendons, she again won the Boston Marathon in 1983. In Los Angeles in 1984, the eyes of the world were watching Joan when she won the first ever women's Olympic Marathon. She has remained a dominant figure and a role model in the running world and women's athletics ever since.

Below is more specific information about Joan's athletic achievements and civic involvement:

MAJOR ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS

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 road 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
2000 Finishes 9th in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
2000 Presides over the third Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K
2001 Presides over the fourth Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K
2001 Qualifies for U.S. 2004 Olympic Marathon trials at New York Marathon
2002 Runs in the fifth Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K

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
1991-1995 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-Present 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
2002 Honorary Member American Running Association Gala
2002 Girl Scouts of Kennebec Council Woman of Distinction Award
2003-Present Named Co-Chair of GovernorÕs Council on Physical Fitness, Sports, Health & Wellness


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

Joan Benoit Samuelson resides in Freeport, Maine with her husband, Scott Samuelson, and their children, Abby and Anders.

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