Top Runners in the World, New England and Maine Gather for Saturday's TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K

Maine Division features most talented group ever assembled for a Maine road race

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine – The 11th running of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race on Saturday will again feature the top road racers in Maine, New England and around the globe.

The elite athletes will share the stunning seaside course in Cape Elizabeth with thousands of recreational runners who are cheered on by thousands of enthusiastic spectators, confirming the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon’s reputation as a top world-class event with a special small-town charm.

This year’s field of 5,500 includes runners from 14 countries and 41 U.S. states.

More than $60,000 in prize money is at stake, including a $10,000 prize to the top man and woman. For the first time, a $500 prize has been added for the top Masters 50 (M50) men and women runners, as some of the nation’s best will be in the race. Also, a $2,500 bonus is available for an open course record and $500 for a course record in the Maine category, providing added incentive in a race that is consistently among the fastest and most competitive 10Ks in the world.

This year’s race beneficiary is the Susan L. Curtis Foundation, the sponsor of Camp Susan Curtis, a summer camp dedicated to improving the lives of economically disadvantaged Maine children ages 8-18. For more information, visit www.susancurtisfoudation.org. TD Banknorth, through the TD Charitable Foundation, will provide a cash donation of $30,000, plus the organization will benefit from fundraising activities and publicity.

"The TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon is such a special event on so many levels and for so many people,” said Larry Wold, president of TD Banknorth in Maine who will compete in his 11th Beach to Beacon this weekend. “There are the talented race organizers, the dedicated army of volunteers, the welcoming town of Cape Elizabeth and runners who work so hard to feel the exhilaration of crossing the finish line. And all of this is done with the goal of helping Maine children. What could be better than that?”

Returning Champ Set to Defend in Stacked Men’s Race; Women’s Race Wide Open (Again)

If two former champs and the world’s top ranked road racer aren’t enough competition, returning champ Duncan Kibet of Kenya has yet another runner to be concerned about in his quest to retain his crown in Saturday’s TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K.

Ed Muge of Kenya, the Kenyan National Champion at 10,000m, won the Quad-City Times Bix 7M this past weekend (32:16). Kibet, last year’s Bix 7M champ, finished fourth (32:41). Muge has been training at altitude in Kenya and appears fully recovered from an illness at the Kenyan Olympic Trials that derailed his plans to represent his country in Beijing.

Both men will need to contend with a determined Terefe Maregu of Ethiopia, the #1 ranked road racer in the world by Running Times who has won the Peachtree 10K and the Utica Boilermaker 15K already this month. At Bix this past weekend, he appeared to have the race in hand when he mistakenly pulled up with about 100 yards left, thinking he had crossed the finish. Muge then passed him for the win. Maregu recovered to still finish second (32:25), but the mistake cost him $6,000 in prize money. He will be a man on a mission on Saturday.

Also in the mix will be two former TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon champions – 2006 champ Thomas Nyariki of Kenya, a former Olympian, and Gilbert Okari of Kenya, who won the race three years in a row – 2003, 2004 and 2005. Both have run sub 28:00 in Cape Elizabeth and are experienced with the nuances of the course. (Okari’s status remains uncertain due to a death in his family.)

Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia, who finished 5th at 5000m at the 2004 Olympics, and Kiplomo Kimutai of Kenya also will push the lead pack and could contend.

“The men’s field is really stacked at the top with at least five men, plus a couple of dark horses, who have a legitimate shot at winning,” said Larry Barthlow, the elite athlete coordinator. “I can’t wait to see the race for the finish. Terefe has something to prove after last week, Ed Muge is really strong, Duncan has a lot of pride, and Tom has been there before. This is shaping up as a really tight race.”

On the women’s side, an ageless wonder and a pair of young talents ranked in the top 25 in the world are expected to lead the pack against a field of accomplished marathoners and former Olympians. Reigning champ Luminita Talpos is on the Romanian Olympic team and will not compete this year.

Edith Masai, 41, of Kenya came late to elite competitive running but continues to defy the odds. She is coming off a huge victory this past weekend at the Bix 7M, where she became the oldest runner ever to win there. A 2004 Olympian, she is a three-time world cross country champion since 2002 who burst on the Kenyan running scene by winning a national cross country championship at the age of 33.

Other favorites include Lineth Chepkurui, 20, of Kenya, who is ranked 6th in the world right now. She has won three major races already this year. Kenyan Millicent Gathoni, 22, is ranked 19th with three prominent wins this year, including the Bolder Boulder 10K.

They will be pushed by a contingent of strong marathoners, including Andrea Pirtea of Romania, who was the runner up at last year’s Chicago Marathon, and Yuri Kano of Japan, who finished 3rd at the NYC Half Marathon this past weekend. The field also includes former Olympians Elva Dryer, who represented the U.S. in 2004, and Kathy Butler of Great Britain, who finished 12th at 10,000m at the 2004 Olympics.

“This is an interesting field with three really strong young runners at the top, and a strong group of veteran runners, including former Olympians, prepared to take a run at the title,” Barthlow said. “This race is wide open and deep, which is keeping with tradition in recent years here.”

(Unofficial) Maine Road Race Champions to be Crowned

The TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon is considered the jewel for Maine’s top road racers and the winner each year wears the unofficial crown as the Maine Road Racing Champion.

This year it’s no overstatement to say the men’s race features the deepest and most talented field of Maine men ever assembled for a road race in the state.

Reviewing the field is like ticking off a list of who’s who on Maine’s road race scene. The only question is whether the elite college athletes who are entered will be allowed to compete by their coaches or instead treat the race as a workout.

The 2007 champ, Ayalew Taye, 20, of Cape Elizabeth, a Maine schoolboy legend who is now a sophomore at Georgetown University, is back to defend. Eric Giddings, 21, of South Portland, a two-time champ who holds the course record (30:34), is a member of the cross country team at Stanford, with the season getting underway soon. Ben True of North Yarmouth, one of the nation’s top cross country skiers who also has a sub-4 mile on his resume, also is a threat if he decides to compete. The 2006 champ, Donny Drake, 23, of Portland, a former University of Maine standout, is having a strong season and will be in contention.

Then there’s Ethan Hemphill, 36, of Freeport, who again is dominating the Maine roads in 2008 and won the 2004 Beach to Beacon. And Evan Graves, 26, of Presque Isle, who finished third last year, is having a strong 2007 season.

One of the real wildcards is Matt Lane, 30, of Yarmouth, a collegiate All-American and elite middle-distance runner who no longer competes on the world stage. Participating as a Maine resident for the first time, he is the only runner in the Maine field who has run under 30 minutes on the course. Hemphill beat him at the LL Bean 10K earlier in July, but Lane was focusing his training on the Beach to Beacon.

Also, Judson Cake of Bar Harbor is back as a Maine resident and is in top shape, and Jon Wilson of Falmouth, who will be a junior at Richmond University, just won the Pat’s Pizza Clam Festival 5 Miler (25:44).

"The men’s side of the Maine field continues to be one of the most exciting and interesting races with the influx of these young, talented runners,” said Race President David Weatherbie of Cape Elizabeth, himself a top Maine road racer. "This one is arguably the best field ever with so much intrigue and so many possibilities. It’s going to be a fun one to watch.”

In the women’s race, three-time defending champ Emily Levan has moved out of state and will not compete. That leaves Kristin Pierce-Barry, 34, of Scarborough, and Sheri McCarthy-Piers, 37, of Falmouth, as the front runners. Training partners, both competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials earlier this year, with McCarthy-Piers finishing an impressive 16th. However, Pierce-Barry has won two recent head-to-head meetings – the LL Bean 10K and Clam Festival 5 Miler. Either way, the course record of 34:56, set by Julia Kirkland in 1998, is in jeopardy.

11th Year for “Special” Race

The TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon is more than a road race. It’s an event. And a special one at that. Be it the gorgeous course, the local hospitality, the inevitable blue skies, the tireless volunteers, the generous sponsors, the seemingly flawless operation of the race or founder Joan Benoit Samuelson’s involvement. It all adds up to something truly special.

The event attracts more than 700 volunteers and brings out an extraordinary effort on the part of the town of Cape Elizabeth. TD Banknorth is the lead sponsor of the race founded by Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Olympic gold medalist and one of Maine’s most admired athletes. She serves as a spokesperson for the bank’s “Shining the Light for Maine Youth” program.

The race director is Dave McGillivray, president of DMSE, Inc., a nationally recognized event management company. McGillivray also serves as the race director of the BAA Boston Marathon.

In addition to TD Banknorth, other major corporate partners this year include Nike, Hannaford, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Poland Spring, WCSH TV-6, Northeast Delta Dental and MaineHealth. For additional info about the race, visit www.beach2beacon.org or call the race hotline at (888) 480-6940.

The wheelchair entrants begin at 7:55 a.m. at the start line on Route 77 near Crescent Beach State Park and the runners start at 8:05. The ocean-hugging course ends 6.2 miles later in Fort Williams Park at Portland Head, the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

Prize money of more than $60,000 is awarded to the runners, including $10,000 for the winner, $5,000 for the second place winner and cash prizes for the top 10 finishers. Other cash awards go to the top men and women master’s finishers, men and women M50 winners, men and women wheelchair entrants and men and women from Maine. Also, age category winners will receive L.L. Bean gift certificates. For more information about the race, go to www.beach2beacon.org.

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