Running News Daily

Tadese Worku, Faith Chepkoech top finishers at rainy Beach to Beacon

For the first time in the 26-year history of the race, started by 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist and Cape Elizabeth native Joan Benoit Samuelson, runners left the starting line as rain fell. On Friday night, with thunderstorms expected Saturday morning, organizers pushed the start back an hour. Still, it poured as wheelchair racers took off at 8:50 a.m., and the rain was still steady when the elite women’s field started 10 minutes later.

“If anything, it was just going to be a true race, and we weren’t going to worry about times,” said Susanna Sullivan of Reston, Virginia, who finished fourth in the women’s race. “It takes a little bit of the pressure off, too, when you know it’s just going to be a race and not a time trial.”

Making her Beach to Beacon debut, Kenya’s Faith Chepkoech, 21, won the women’s race in 32 minutes, 5 seconds – 12 seconds ahead of 44-year-old Edna Kiplagat (32:17), another Kenyan who placed fifth in last year’s race. Cintia Chepngeno, also of Kenya, was third (32:20), two seconds ahead of Sullivan, the top American finisher.

The men’s winner, Tadese Worku of Ethiopia, also made his Beach to Beacon debut. Worku, 22, won in 28:12, pulling away from runner-up Peter Mwaniki Aila (28:25) down the stretch. Mathew Kimeli, who won the Beach to Beacon in 2022, placed third (28:31). Biya Simbassa of   Flagstaff, Arizona, was the top American male finisher, taking fourth in 28:34 for his third consecutive top-five finish.

The weather didn’t keep fans from cheering for runners along the course. Runners were serenaded by Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” at around the 2 1/2-mile mark. A mile later, runners were greeted by a bagpiper. Mile after mile, there were loud cheers for the 6,072 participant.

(08/05/2024) Views: 322 ⚡AMP
by Tadese Worku, Faith Chepkoech

Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri win Beach to Beacon 10k

Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the men’s and women’s titles at the 2023 TD Beach to Beacon 10K on Saturday morning.

Yihune crossed the finish line in an unofficial time of 27 minutes, 56 seconds. Conner Mantz of Utah was second (27:58) and Muktar Edris of Ethiopia was third (28:06).

Obiri won the women’s race in an unofficial time of 31:36, followed by Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay (31:38) and Keira D’Amato of Virginia (31:58).

Matt Rand of Portland was the top finisher among the Maine men in an unofficial time of 30 minutes, 44 seconds, followed by Grady Satterfield of Bowdoinham (30:52) and Ryan Jara of Gorham (30:55).

Ruth White, who will be a senior this fall at Orono High, was the top finisher among Maine women in an unofficial time of 34:56. Alexis Wilbert of Cumberland placed second (35:46) and Veronica Graziano of Falmouth was third (36:15).

Hermin Garic of Utica, New York, won the men’s wheelchair division in an unofficial time of 23 minutes, 20 seconds. Yen Hoang of Vancouver, Washington, won the women’s wheelchair division in 28:24.

In the men’s race, Mantz, 26, was visibly upset when he finished the race. He said Yihune, 20, twice pushed him in the final quater-mile, both times causing him to break stride and bang into the fencing that separated the runners from the crowd. Yihune, through the translation of countryman Edris, said he did not push Mantz. Yihune, competing in his first road race, said he was merely closing the lane to block Mantz’s path. Mantz, who had a fresh abrasion on his upper left arm, said that possibly the first incident with about 400 meters could have been accidental or unintended.

The second time, with about 200 meters to go, “The second time I tried to pass him there was plenty of room. Enough for two people to pass on his left. The second time I hit the fence pretty hard. I hate this because there’s a part of me that feels like I got gypped but I also don’t want to go out and protest and like make it into somebody else’s bad experience.”

Yihune won $10,000 for the victory. Mantz also earned $10,000 – $5,000 for finishing second and another $5,000 as the top American.

“I feel like I had first in me today and when you lose by just that much and you lose your momentum, it’s easy to get upset,” Mantz said.

Beach to Beacon, founded by 1984 Olympic women’s marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. More than 8,000 people registered for the event, Maine’s largest road race and one of the premier road races in America, with over 6,400 finishing.

(08/05/2023) Views: 1,016 ⚡AMP

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri highlights field for Beach to Beacon 10K

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri highlights field for Beach to Beacon 10K on Saturday

Obiri, the 2023 Boston Marathon winner and the only woman to win world championships outdoors, indoors and in cross country, will compete at Beach to Beacon for the first time.

Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the women’s division of the Boston Marathon in April. On Saturday, she’ll compete for the first time in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, the 2023 Boston Marathon champion, highlights a group of elite runners who will compete Saturday in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth, race officials announced Monday.

Obiri – a two-time Olympic silver medalist and the only woman to win world championships outdoors, indoors and in cross country – will compete at Beach to Beacon for the first time. She’ll be joined by fellow Kenyan and two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat.

The women’s division also will feature Keira D’Amato of Virginia, who set an American marathon record (2 hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds) last year, and Sanford native Rachel Schneider Smith, who competed for the United States in the 5,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and placed fifth at last year’s Beach to Beacon.

A trio of Ethiopians – Addisu Yihune, Amedework Walelegn and Muktar Edris, a two-time world champion – are expected to contend for the men’s title. Top Americans in the field include Utah’s Conner Mantz, a two-time NCAA cross country champion, and Biya Simbassa, who placed third at the 2022 Beach to Beacon.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Beach to Beacon, founded by Cape Elizabeth native and 1984 Olympic women’s marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson.

(08/01/2023) Views: 871 ⚡AMP

TD Beach to Beacon 10K founder and Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson offers tips ahead of race

The TD Beach to Beacon 10K is happening on Saturday, August 5,and it's celebrating a major milestone: 25 years. It was founded in 1998 by Olympic gold medalist and Mainer Joan Benoit Samuelson. 

The race draws top athletes from around the world to Cape Elizabeth.

TD Bank sponsors the race and, this year, the beneficiary is Valo, a nonprofit organization that offers free programs to help Maine teens with their emotional wellbeing.

Benoit Samuelson said a diverse mix of people run the race, which makes it even more exciting for all.

"The kids run came along shortly after the 10K, and now the high school mile, which is very competitive, so there is something really for everybody," she explained. "

And my favorite part of the race is the fact that we've pulled many runners off the sidelines; those people who have come to cheer the runners on and then asked themselves, 'Do you think I might be able to cover the distance?' and they come out and they cover the distance. And I love being at the finish line for the invited runners, the professional runners, and I like being at the finish line when the stragglers come in, those people who never thought they could do the distance."Race day includes the wheelchair division, elite women, and the general public. The competitive high school mile and the children's 1K race will take place on Friday, August 5, at Fort Williams.

Benoit Samuelson said she founded the race as a way to give back to her community and promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle. This year, more than 6,500 runners and 800 volunteers are expected to participate.Larry Wold is the president for TD Bank in Maine. He is a legacy runner, meaning he has run the race for the past 24 years.

"To be able to run in the same race at the same time with world class athletes, with world record holders, with Olympic gold medalists, and know that you are in the same event they are, [it] has a fun attraction to it," he explained. "We know there are families that have now established sort of family routines around this event."

Wold offered some tips for everyone participating.

"Don't go out too fast. Make sure you are well hydrated, let the crowd bring you along, run a nice steady comfortable pace, and you are going to be great," he said.

Of course, Benoit Samuelson also gave some advice for runners. 

"Just make sure your buildup is gradual. Don't try to build room over night. It's important to stay fit at some level throughout the year, and then a lot of people go out and run the course, some people have never gone 10K in training and they hope that they can go the distance after maybe running 3 to 5 mile runs on a regular basis," she said. "Don't try anything new race week, meaning don't change your diet in any significant way and don't try the newest and latest item on the market that might improve your performance. Make sure you have double knots in your shoe laces."

Race day is usually hot and humid, so Benoit Samuelson said to wear at hat and clothes that are light in color.

(07/27/2023) Views: 685 ⚡AMP
by Hannah Yechivi

TD Beach to Beacon 10K celebrating its 25th year

We're getting closer to the annual TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. It's happening on the first Saturday of August, just over  weeks away.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the race, and more than 8,000 people are registered to run.

Each year, the scenic race held in Cape Elizabeth needs about 800 volunteers to make it happen.

People from all over New England and throughout the world come to Maine for the race. It begins on Route 77 near the entrance of Crescent Beach State Park, winds along tree-lined streets and past breathtaking ocean vistas, and ends in Fort Williams Park at historic Portland Head Light, the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

Thousands of spectators cheer runners along the route and at the finish. In 2021, more than 2,000 runners participated in the race’s only virtual TD Beach to Beacon 10K. 

The popular annual race debuted in 1998 with 2,408 runners crossing the finish line.

More than $90,000 in prize money is awarded to the top finishers and place winners in various categories for men and women, and a separate $30,000 donation is provided to a designated beneficiary each year by TD Bank. This year's beneficiary is Valo Maine, a nonprofit that helps Maine teens with their mental well-being.

The iconic event is managed by DMSE Sports of Woburn, Massachusetts. Along with the TD Beach to Beacon 10K, DMSE assists the Boston Athletic Association with managing the Boston Marathon and other high-profile sports events.

(07/15/2023) Views: 907 ⚡AMP
by Hannah Yechivi

Matthew Kimeli (28:38) And Fentyea Belayneh (32:06) Win Beach To Beacon 10k

Beach to Beacon returns after 2-year absence: ‘It’s great to be back!’

A carnival of calves, quads and cowbells came back to this seaside town Saturday, after an absence of 1,099 days.

More than 5,000 runners paraded over the roads of Cape Elizabeth on a warm and cloudless morning in the 24th edition of the venerable TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. Because of the pandemic, the race was canceled in 2020 and held virtually in 2021.

“It’s great to be back!” said Joan Benoit Samuelson, the race founder who grew up in Cape Elizabeth and went on to win the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon in the Los Angeles Games of 1984.

Along the route, which winds onto Old Ocean House Road before returning to Route 77 and continuing onto Shore Road until entering Fort Williams for the finish along a well-watered strip of green grass in sight of the lighthouse, spectators were abundant if not as thick as in past years.

The folks near the Mile 5 marker who grill bacon were back, enticing runners with mouth-watering scents of breakfast. (Beach to Bacon, reads their sign.) Bands and music added merriment and encouragement.

“It was so fun,” said Amy Davis, a Wisconsin native who placed fourth among all women. “The crowds get into it and the community, and it propels you forward. You feel like you’re never alone. That was really cool.”

Davis, 25, is the daughter of Nan Doak-Davis, a former national marathon champion who competed alongside Samuelson back in the day.

Befitting the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation that opened doors long closed to female athletes, the women’s field on Saturday featured a dramatic race led for long stretches by Standish native Emily Durgin, a graduate of Cheverus High in Portland and the University of Connecticut.

The 28-year-old Durgin, now living and training in Flagstaff, Arizona, was runner-up by nine seconds to Fentaye Belayneh of Ethiopia. In her American road-racing debut, the 21-year-old Belayneh covered the 6.2 miles from Crescent Beach to the Portland Head Light in 32 minutes, 7 seconds.

No American woman has won Beach to Beacon. The only American man to do so is North Yarmouth native Ben True, six years ago. On Thursday night, True decided for health reasons to remain home in New Hampshire.

True’s absence paved the way for Mathew Kimeli, 24, of Kenya to run away from the men’s field. Hampered only by a brief entanglement with yellow caution tape after he turned onto Shore Road in Mile 4, Kimeli crossed the line with arms upraised in a winning time of 28:39.

Belayneh and Kimeli each received $10,000 for their victories. Durgin took home $5,000 for second place and another $5,000 as the top American finisher.

Because her connecting flight was canceled Thursday night, Durgin rented a car with her boyfriend and drove to Maine from Philadelphia on Friday, stopping at her favorite Connecticut diner (in Vernon) along the way.

“It was less stress because I knew I was coming to a familiar place,” said Durgin, whose parents picked up their luggage from the Portland jetport. “If I was going anyplace else, I probably would have gotten back on the plane and gone back to Phoenix.”

Once on the course, Durgin said she was surprised by the relatively pedestrian early pace – the first mile passed in 5:12 – until she realized her competitors were playing it safe amid hot and humid conditions.

“Then I found myself leading the whole race,” she said. “This is the first time that I’ve seen myself in the lead. It was not a super-familiar feeling.”

Kimeli’s time was the slowest for a men’s champion in race history. Belayneh’s was the slowest winning women’s time since 2011.

“The race was humid, and a lot of slopes,” said Kimeli, who was forced to stop to remove the tape from his leg when he couldn’t shake free from it. “Thank goodness we were not in a group. Maybe I would fall down if we were in a group.”

Twenty seconds passed before the surprise runner-up, Athanas Kioko, passed beneath the final banner. A recent graduate of Campbell University in Georgia, the 27-year-old Kioko registered for the race on Monday, picked up his four-digit bib number Saturday morning after a travel nightmare rivaled only by that of Durgin, and picked off two runners in the final mile to beat every invited elite athlete save Kimeli.

Two flight cancellations Friday morning in Atlanta forced Kioko to accept a diversion to Chicago, endure a four-hour layover, and eventually wind up in Manchester, New Hampshire. After a brief night in a motel, some Kenyan friends from Boston picked him up at 4:30 a.m. on their way to Maine. He got his bib at Cape Elizabeth High School less than an hour before the race, hopped on a bus to the start and enjoyed a 10-minute warm-up before the gun fired.

“Due to traveling, my lower back was a bit painful,” Kioko said. “But right now, I’m not tired.”

The Maine resident category saw a pair of first-time winners. Biddeford native Sam Mills, 21, whooped with joy before crossing the finish line in 31:09. Aly Ursiny of Yarmouth, 34, a mother of two who moved here from Boston last winter, was the fastest Maine woman in 36:17.

(08/08/2022) Views: 1,172 ⚡AMP
by Glenn Jordan

Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race has been Cancelled for 2020 with Refunds for all Participants

 Due to ongoing concerns regarding the impact of COVID-19, and recent guidelines announced by the Maine Governor’s office, the board of directors of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race voted on Tuesday to cancel the 2020 race scheduled for August 1.

“COVID-19 and its impact on our state, the nation, and the world is unprecedented and after significant review and in partnership with our medical partners we have made this very difficult decision. We know this will be disappointing for those of us who look forward to the race each year but the health and safety of our runners, volunteers, spectators, staff, and community remains paramount,” said David Backer, President of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K. 

The $55 race entry fees will be automatically refunded to all registered runners over the coming weeks. Additionally, given demand for registration, race organizers have announced that all 2020 registrants will have an opportunity for early entry into the 2021 race. Race organizers will release details about the early entry process when finalized. 

The 2020 race beneficiary, JMG, will remain the beneficiary for the 23rd running which will be held, as is tradition, on the first Saturday in August of 2021.

“This has been a heartbreaking decision for all of us but is the right and only decision to be made at this time of uncertainty and unknowns”, said Joan Benoit Samuelson, Race Founder and Olympic gold medalist. “The TD Beach to Beacon 10K will return next year, consistent with the enduring nature of our sport, team and community.”

Samuelson continued, “As we run apart, we gain new strengths and appreciation for those who keep pace with us in our daily lives, especially those who have been on the frontlines of this pandemic with selfless endurance and courage.”

Race organizers will share updates in the coming weeks on plans for how the TD Beach to Beacon 10K community can stay connected during this time. 

(05/01/2020) Views: 1,680 ⚡AMP

Kenyans Joyciline Jepkosgei and Alex Korio, won the 2019 TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth

Jepkosgei clocked 31:05 at Beach to Beach, the fastest since Mary Keitany's 30:41 course record in 2017. Korio, a late entrant, ran an unofficial 27:35, seconds away from Gilbert Okari's 16-year-old course record of 27:28

Jepkosgei's personal bests at the distance include 29:43 on the road and 31:28 on the track. She currently holds non-IAAF considered world records in both the half-marathon and 10,000-meter, set in the same race in 2017.

Korio's time beat his previous road course PB of 27:48.

Ellsworth's Dan Curts, a recent Iowa State University graduate, was the top Maine men's finisher. His time was one of the best the division's seen. Curts was the 2019 Big 12 outdoor champ at 5,000 meters.

Falmouth High School student Sofie Matson, 16, was the top Maine women's finisher, while 2016 Olympian Emily Infeld was the top American.

(08/03/2019) Views: 2,200 ⚡AMP
by Liam Nee

Organizers of TD Beach to Beacon 10K have new programs and features for this year’s events

More than 6,500 runners are expected to participate in the 22nd annual TD Beacon to Beacon 10K road race on Saturday, Aug. 3.

A top international field is set to go after the course records.  

The Telling Room, a Portland nonprofit that encourages young people to express themselves through writing, is the charitable beneficiary of this year’s race. The organization will receive a $3,000 donation from the TD Bank Charitable Fund, along with proceeds from returnable cans, bib sales, and a silent auction.

This year, race organizers also plan to host new programs and features to preserve the race’s Evergreen sustainability certification, an award for environmentally and socially sustainable events from the international Council for Responsible Sport.

The race earned a Silver award for sustainability in 2012 and a Gold award in 2014. In 2016, it received the Evergreen Award, the highest certification, which it held for the past two years.

This year, organizers aim to re-quality for the Evergreen Award by applying for 58 of the possible 61 credits needed for the responsible sport award.“In order for any event to be sustainable, it has to be economically viable and also provide sustainability for the community,” said Bruce Rayner.

After the race, organizers will document their sustainability efforts. The Council for Responsible Sport is expected to take nearly a month to review the work, according to Rayner.

In the past, these volunteers have collected nearly 6,000 returnable bottles and donated the proceeds to the race beneficiary, according to Rayner.

At the race finish line, there will be a water truck to encourage participants to refill bottles, instead of purchasing disposable bottles, and a completely solar energy-powered stage for announcements.

(07/30/2019) Views: 2,094 ⚡AMP
by Jenny Ibsen

Michelle Lilienthal, a three-time Maine women's champion of the Beach to Beacon 10K, will be seven months pregnant when she toes the line in Cape Elizabeth on Aug. 3

Side by side, Michelle Lilienthal and Gretchen Speed lope around the 400-meter track at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

On this muggy weekday morning, sweat rolls off the faces of the two Portland women. They complete the lap in 90 seconds, which translates to a 6-minute mile pace, then rest before running another.

Lilienthal will do eight such laps, interspersed between 200-meter recovery jogs and two trips to a portable toilet on the far side of the stadium.

“I can’t keep up with her when she’s not pregnant,” Speed says with a laugh. “When I was pregnant with my kids, I (ran) a lot, but I never did (track) workouts. It’s impressive to see her keep it up and be really fit through her pregnancy.”

Lilienthal is a three-time Maine women’s champion of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race. She set the Maine course record of 33 minutes, 39 seconds in her first victory, in 2014, and won again in 2016 and 2018.

She will not win in 2019. On race day next month, she will be seventh months pregnant.

That hasn’t stopped her from running or training, but she does promise to dial back her usual intensity on race day – Saturday, Aug. 3.

“I’m trying to not push too hard,” Lilienthal, 37, said as she walked around the track after completing her weekly workout. “I’m so used to pushing myself until I could vomit that I’m trying to rein it in and not make myself feel that way.”

Lilienthal has been a serious runner since her teens, a seven-time Iowa high school state champion who went on to earn all-Big Ten distinction at the University of Wisconsin. She shifted to marathons while in graduate school in Philadelphia, got a sponsorship deal with Saucony that lasted nearly 10 years, and has competed in three U.S. Olympic marathon trials, with a fourth scheduled for late February in Atlanta.

While on the road racing circuit, she met another three-time Beach to Beacon champion, Sheri Piers of Falmouth. It was at the 2013 Beach to Beacon that Piers introduced Lilienthal to Marc Halverson, a former Falmouth High and University of Maine runner. They started dating and, with a nudge from a brutally cold Minnesota winter, Lilienthal moved to Maine in 2014.

They got married in the spring of 2018, and over the winter learned that Lilienthal was pregnant. Since then, she has run three races, the Robert Burns 10K in Westbrook in late January, the Falmouth 4-Miler in April and the Patriot 5K in Gray in May. Each time, she was the top female finisher.

She considered another 5K in June, but Halverson helped dissuade her of that notion. Halverson, 30, said he experienced some initial trepidation about Lilienthal continuing her running regimen.

(07/15/2019) Views: 2,301 ⚡AMP

Jack Robertson continues to amaze, he wins B2B by nearly a minute in extreme humidity

NZL’s Jake Robertson destroyed the competition at the 21st Beach to Beacon 10k Saturday August 4.  His 27:37 is the 3rd fastest ever in Cape Elizabeth. Stephen Sambu was 2nd in 28:26, 2016 champ and Maine native Ben True was a close third clocking 28 :29. Sandra Chebet won the women’s race in 31:20, Ababel Yeshaneh (Eth) 2nd 31:25, Molly Huddle 3rd 31:40. Very humid. Jake Robertson as been training in Kenya for the last few years and continues to run some amazing times.  More than 6,500 runners participated in Maine's biggest road race, which was the brainchild of Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson. Samuelson, a Maine native, won the Boston Marathon in 1979 and went on to win it again in 1983. She took gold in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, the first time the marathon event was open to women. She created the 6.2-mile race that starts at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at Fort Williams, home to the Portland Head Light. It follows her old training route growing up in Cape Elizabeth.     (Sat 4  (08/04/2018) Views: 2,127 ⚡AMP

Tracy Guerrette hopes to be first Maine women's runner at Beach to Beacon 10K

Ask Tracy Guerrette to define herself as a runner, and she’s reluctant to be specific. “I don’t know,” said the former three-sport standout in High School and basketball player at the University of Maine. “I’m an old-timer, late-to-the-sport runner. Usually a lot of people start when they’re younger at the shorter distances and then work themselves up. You don’t want to start with a marathon too soon because you’ll lose your quickness, you lose those fast-twitch muscles. “I’ve kind of done things backwards. I played team sports all my life and jumped into the marathon and the longer stuff just because I love running a lot. Now I’m working backwards and trying to do those shorter races throughout my buildup during the year to try to get faster.” While the 37-year-old Guerrette’s most notable running accomplishments since resuming a full-steam approach to the discipline in 2014 may involve the 26.2-mile marathon distance — she was the first Maine woman and 25th among 13,391 women overall at this year’s Boston Marathon — much shorter races also are of particular interest. At the top of that list is Saturday’s TD Beach to Beacon 10K, the world-class event established by 1984 Olympic marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson in her hometown of Cape Elizabeth. (08/03/2018) Views: 1,739 ⚡AMP

Ben True was the first American to win the Beach to Beacon and wants to do it again

Ben True, who became the first American runner to win the TD Beach to Beacon in 2016 and finished second in 2017, will return to the race this year. True, a North Yarmouth native and Greely High graduate, leads the men’s elite field for the Aug. 4 race, which was announced by race officials Monday. True is joined in the men’s field by two-time Olympian Lopez Lomong, 2012 Beach to Beacon winner Stanley Biwott, and Jake Robertson, who set the New Zealand record in the marathon earlier this year. This year’s top contenders will join a field of more than 6,500 runners who will wind along the fast, relatively flat course that begins near Crescent Beach State Park on Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth and ends in Fort Williams Park near Portland Head Light. (07/17/2018) Views: 1,823 ⚡AMP

Two-time U.S. Olympian Molly Huddle will compete in Beach to Beacon

Molly Huddle a two-time U.S. Olympian, the reigning American record holder in the women’s 10,000-meter run, are among 46 professionals who will compete at the 21st TD Beach to Beacon 10K Aug. 4. Having Molly in our race this year is truly special, Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson said in a press release. Samuelson founded the TD Beach to Beacon in her native Cape Elizabeth. “But they’ve got their work cut out for them as the field is once again deep and talented and guaranteed to provide a highly competitive day of road racing on Aug. 4,” Samuelson said. Other elite runners set to take on the 6.2-mile route are U.S. Olympic gold medal triathlete Gwen Jorgenson, two-time U.S. Olympian Lopez Lomong, Ethiopian Buze Diriba, Kenya-based New Zealander Jake Robertson and 2012 Beach to Beacon champion Stanley Biwott of Kenya, as well as a host of other Olympians, All-Americans and rising stars from East Africa. (07/17/2018) Views: 1,930 ⚡AMP

Dillon Maggard signs professional running contract with Brooks and his next race will be at TD Beach to Beacon 10K

Former Utah State distance runner Dillon Maggard has signed a professional running contract with Brooks and will compete for the Brooks Beasts Track Club. “I had a few options to choose from, which was good, and I narrowed them down,” Maggard said. “I tried to write out the pros and cons for each option that I had and found that Brooks offered me the best financial stability and security for an extended period of time. I was kind of bouncing back and forth between trying to stay in Logan and trying to go to Seattle, but those were, honestly, my two options. “There was just a little uncertainty about whether I would be able to stay in Logan for a long, extended period of time. So, this was the most comfortable decision where if I had to move, I was going back to Seattle where I grew up and it would be an easier transition.” Maggard signed a 3 1/2 year deal with Brooks. The native of Kirkland, Washington, recently competed at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, where he placed 13th in the finals of the men’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 13 minutes, 55.06 seconds. Maggard concluded his stellar Aggie career as a nine-time All-American. He matched the school record previously set by James Parker, who represented the United States in the hammer at the 2004 Olympic Summer Games and 2005 World Championships. Between now and then, Maggard is planning to run in three road races, beginning with the TD Beach to Beacon 10K on Aug. 4, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The event attracts almost 6,500 runners, making it the largest road race in the Pine Tree State. Two weeks after the TD Beach to Beacon 10K, Maggard will be competing in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race, a seven-miler set for Aug. 19. And finally, Maggard said he will cap his summer at the Murphy Mile in Tennessee. “Ever since I came to Utah, one of my biggest goals was trying to run professionally,” Maggard said. “The past four years of sacrifices, miles, hard work and training every day is definitely rewarding.” (07/09/2018) Views: 1,725 ⚡AMP