A day that began with trucks loaded with starting-line equipment mired in the mud in fields off Fowler Road ended in victory for a pair of Kenyans, a triple-dip for a pair of Mainers and ice baths for the overheated in a busy medical tent.
Ed Muge successfully defended his title in the 12th TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K, and fellow Kenyan Irene Limika took advantage of a scary tumble by prerace favorite Berhane Adere to win the women’s crown on a warm and sunny Saturday morning.
Each runner earned $10,000 for the victory.
Ben True of North Yarmouth and Sheri Piers of Falmouth provided a bigger story, not only winning the Maine residents’ races, but also setting course records and breaking into the overall top 10.
True, 23, a recent graduate of Dartmouth College embarking on a professional running career, established a course record of 29 minutes, 10 seconds – lopping 85 seconds off the mark of 30:35 set by Eric Giddings of South Portland in 2005.
Piers, meanwhile, cut 21 seconds off training partner Kristin Barry’s 1-year-old mark, lowering it to 34:17. Piers already has home-improvement plans for her $2,000 prize money.
Chris Troyanos, medical coordinator of the race, said 102 runners received treatment, more than double the number at the fog-enveloped 2008 event. Overheating was the issue for most, with one man and one woman transported by ambulance to Maine Medical Center.
“The temperature and the humidity were kind of the perfect storm for us, medically,” said Mike Baumann, medical co-director. “The only thing that helped us was that it’s morning, and not the hottest part of the day.”
The most poignant part of the day occurred after the last of the 5,613 runners and walkers crossed the mats, with race founder Joan Benoit Samuelson greeting as many as she could. Hustling up a hill to the awards ceremony moments later, Samuelson was overcome with emotion when she was unexpectedly honored by the Road Runners Club of America on the 25th anniversary of her historic Olympic marathon victory. Mitchell Garner, a director of the RRCA who traveled to Maine for the race from Ann Arbor, Mich., also cited Samuelson for her efforts to give back “to your community through this race and your many charitable efforts.”
– From the Aug. 2, 2009 edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram
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