Jeyna Senbeta approaches the finish line in first place in the wheelchair division at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K at Fort Williams Park on Saturday. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

He didn’t break his own course record, but Jeyna Senbeta was plenty good enough to win the men’s wheelchair division at the 2024 Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday.

Senbeta, 37, crossed the finish line with a time of 24 minutes, 40 seconds. Hannah Babalola, 35, followed in 29:43 to take the women’s title. Both are from Chicago.

Stormy conditions pushed the race back an hour, giving athletes a bit of a reprieve from the heat before humidity set in.

“It was definitely wet, I was concerned whether it was going to be a steady rain or if it was going to be on and off, so I went with one tactic and wasn’t sure it was going to work, but it kind of paid off,” Senbeta said.

Senbeta’s time was a few minutes slower than his 2015 record of 21:46. A longtime Beach to Beacon attendee, Senbeta said he keeps coming back because the organizers “see the value of wheelchair racing.”

“Beach to Beacon is a very fun race, it’s a very welcoming race,” he said.

Babalola edged two other Illinois natives, Hoda Elshorbagy (29:49) and last year’s women’s winner, Yen Hoang (30:35).

Hannah Babalola reacts as Joan Benoit Saumelson places the laurel wreath on her head during the awards ceremony after the Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday. Balalola won the women’s wheelchair division with a time of 29 minutes, 43 seconds. At right is runner-up Hoda Elshorbagy. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

For Babalola, Beach to Beacon was a precursor to the Paralympic Games, where she will be representing Nigeria. She was feeling good after her race on Saturday despite the wet conditions.

“I’m pretty excited; I knew I was really really strong this year because I was training for the Paralympics,” Babalola said.

She wasn’t the only Paralympian at Saturday’s race. Senbeta, who competed for Team USA at the Tokyo Paralympics, is training for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE posed a few issues for some athletes, with medical staff reporting that some runners were overheated as they crossed the finish line.

In addition to heat issues, medical tent staff said two people were being taken by ambulance to a hospital after the race for unspecified reasons.

There were more overheating issues than last year because of the sudden change in temperature, said Maine Medical Center cardiologist Patrick Hohl.

Wheelchair competitors leave the starting line in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday. Sofia Aldinio/Staff Photographer

He noted that runners started out wet and may not have been able to control their body temperature when the rain subsided and temperatures warmed.

“We didn’t expect this many exertional heat strokes as we are treating, mostly because it was raining to start, and things changed really quickly,” Hohl said.

Those experiencing heatstroke symptoms were treated and sent home when their body temperature regulated.

DESPITE THE RAIN, the road itself wasn’t too bad for runners. That doesn’t mean the trip from Crescent Beach to Fort Williams was smooth throughout.

The painted markings on the road – arrows, lane markers, center and edge lines – turned into hazards because they get slippery when wet.

“You had to be really aware of it,” said Falmouth’s Veronica Graziano, the Maine women’s winner. “When you’d be crossing from one side to the other to try to run the tangent, you had to be very careful of where you put your foot down. It was very slippery.”

Matt Rand of Portland, the third-place Maine men’s finisher, noticed the slippery conditions early in the race and made a point to avoid them. Maine women’s runner-up Alexis Wilbert did the same, but with so many runners competing, there were a few occasions near the start where they were unavoidable.

Runners seemed to navigate the hazards successfully. Neither Graziano nor Wilbert saw any runners slip and fall on the markings or lines, although they spent much of the race ahead of the pack.

“Where I was was spread out enough that there was no elbowing or anything, but I think something like that definitely could have happened farther back,” Wilbert said. “It definitely was slick. If you found yourself boxed in, it was definitely uncomfortable.”

Cole Martens of Boston lies on the grass of Fort Williams Park after running the Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday. Martens said it was his second time running the race and that he felt like it was a harder race this year. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

TWO FORMER MAINE RESIDENTS were side by side as they raced for a shot at becoming the first American women to win the annual race.

Emily Durgin and Rachel Smith, who now live in Arizona, pushed each other along the 6.2 miles en route to fifth- and sixth-place finishes overall. Durgin, who grew up in Standish, finished in 32:31, and Smith, a Sanford native, came in four seconds later. They were second and third among American women, behind Susana Sullivan (32:22).

“This was the last (event) of my summer racing. Both Rachel and I, we’ve had a long season,” Durgin said. “I think we were both a little tired going into it, but excited to be here and race and kind of leave it all out there.”

Durgin said she tried to make a push around the fourth mile, but everyone else in the lead pack was able to stay with her.

“Everyone came with me, so I was like ‘All right, everyone’s feeling good.’ So then I settled in,” she said. “Sullivan … was really strong over that last mile and a half, and Rachel and I were battling it out for second and third. Top three American and fifth overall with a really great international field this year, I’m happy with it.”

Durgin said it was fitting that the two Maine natives dueled down the stretch.

“I think that’s an awesome story,” she said. “I think this was a fun playing field for both of us. … Now we both get to enjoy ourselves.”

MORE THAN $140,000 was raised for Preble Street Teen Services, a service that provides shelter, food and support for homeless youth and young adults. The number includes $30,000 from TD Bank, while donations from the racing community made up the rest of the funds.

Staff writer Drew Bonifant and Central Maine staff writer Mike Mandell contributed to this report.