Stephen Kosgei-Kibet of Kenya, right, crosses the finish line ahead of defending champion and Maine native Ben True, left, to win the men’s division of the 20th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K road race Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Cape Elizabeth.
AP
Mary Keitany of Kenya, crosses the finish line to win the women’s division of the 20th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K road race Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Cape Elizabeth.
AP
CAPE ELIZABETH — First, there was a repeat champion in a new record time. Next, a former champion returned to the front of the pack. What followed was the ultimate act of sportsmanship in the most competitive of moments.
And that was just among the first few dozen finishers out of nearly 7,000 in the 20th running of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K on a misty, muggy Saturday morning.
Mary Keitany of Kenya won the elite women’s race for the second year in a row, and broke the course record for the second time in as many years in the process.
“I broke it? Oh, wow, I didn’t know this. Me, I was just coming to win,” the 25-year-old Keitany said. “I’m surprised that I crossed the line in a course record again.”
Keitany’s winning time of 30:41 was four seconds faster than her time last year, and it was 19 seconds quicker than second-place Purity Rionoripo — a 24-year-old from Kenya. Ethiopian Meseret Defar was third at 31:14, just edging top American Shalene Flanagan.
Keitany, the world-record holder in the marathon, decided to skip the World Championships in London — the site of her record marathon performance in April. After missing out on last year’s Olympics, which gave her the chance to win the Beach to Beacon, Keitany made the return trip to Cape Elizabeth worth it.
“Yesterday my daughter called me … and was telling me, ‘Mom, success tomorrow. Try to win,'” Keitany said. “So I was telling her how … I would try my best.”
Kenyans swept the titles in the women’s and men’s elite races. Stephen Kosgei Kibet, the 2015 champion, once again crossed the finish line first, beating out 2016 champ and Maine-born Ben True.
“For today, it was very good for me because I won. I missed last year because I didn’t get a visa,” Kibet said. “This year I come back and I win.”
Kibet spanned the 6.2-mile course in 27:55, one second ahead of True, who grew up in North Yarmouth but now resides in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Both times were faster than when each won their titles.
“It’s always bittersweet because you always want to win, especially when it was that close,” True said. “Those are great runners, and maybe if I play tactics a little bit better I might have been able to be another two or three strides ahead, and maybe been able to battle him a little bit better. It was a good race, and always a great field here, and always a great event, so it’s fun to be back.”
The 10K was True’s first in a year.
“It was a good effort,” True said. “It’s always nice to be able to get a good effort in and show the fitness isn’t as bas as I was worried about coming into it. It’s fun to mix up with those guys.”
Kenyans took the next three spots, with Leonard Kiplimo Barsoton — an early leader in the race — a close third in a time of 28:00. Stephen Sambu was fourth (28:16) and Clement Kiprono Langat fifth (28:42).
“The competition was really high,” Kibet said.
In her last time competing in the Maine women’s division, Emily Durgin of Standish finished on top. The Cheverus graduate broke the tape in 34:43, which was 28 seconds ahead of second-place Michelle Lilenthal of Portland (the 2014 and 2016 champ).
Durgin said this being her last time running as a Maine amateur was “definitely” extra motivation.
“That was kind of the main reason I decided to run,” Durgin said. “A few weeks ago, I was like, ‘Eh, you know, I’m not in optimal condition. Do I really want to go out there and run?’ And then the more I thought about … I was thinking about all the people in the past that have done the same thing, I wanted to do it as well.”
Durgin singled out 2013 Maine men’s champ Riley Masters as someone winning who won in his final chance before turning pro.
Tracy Guerrette, of Saint Agatha, was a distant third. Three-time champ Shari Piers of Falmouth was fourth.
The Maine men’s division winner was a repeat of last year, but it happened in a fashion that is doubtful to be duplicated. Jesse Orach, of Gorham, won for the second year in a row, but he had a big help from runner-up Robert Gomez.
“Coming up on the finish line, I knew that I was well behind the Maine leader, Jesse, and when I came around the turn into the finish I saw he had gone down,” Gomez, of Windham, said. “The first thing that came through my mind was, ‘I need to pick him up because he ran a better race, he ran a harder race; I don’t deserve to win, he deserves to win.’ So I got him and picked him up.”
Orach and Gomez finished in an identical time of 31:31 — the same winning time Orach ran last year — with Gomez keeping Orach on his feet.
“I felt fine until probably the last quarter mile, and I started feeling like I was going to fall over, and eventually I fell down a couple times I guess,” Orach said. “It took about 20 seconds for me to fall, but I knew I was going to fall. It was a really weird sensation. I’ve had it happen to me once before, when I was running in college at the Penn Relays, but other than that I’ve never had it happen before.
“I kept trying to get back up, but my legs kind of were just failing on me, and Rob helped me out.”
Gomez has never won the Maine men’s title before, and his previous best finish in the division was third. What might have been his best chance at a win was secondary at that moment, in his eyes.
“There wasn’t enough time to think about it. Honestly, I just grabbed him and hauled him across, and it was a matter of like 10, 15 seconds where it all happened,” Gomez said. “I really didn’t have time to think twice about it. It was the right thing to do, and I just did it.”
Gomez estimated that Orach was 30 seconds ahead of him or more before the fall.
“He gave it his all,” Gomez said. “He obviously gave more than he had to finish 10K, but he deserved to win.”
“I won it last year, and I really wanted to do it again,” Orach said. “I certainly didn’t expect that outcome of a race.
“It’s unbelievable. The first thing I did once I had a chance was go find him. I didn’t know what to say. You don’t know what to say when someone does something like that. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Cape Elizabeth’s Liam Simpson was third, 50 seconds behind the top duo. Moninda Marube, of Auburn, was fourth, two seconds back of Simpson.
In the men’s wheelchair division, Krige Schabort, of Rome, Georgia, crossed the line first in a time of 22:14, repeating his 2013 feat. In second place was 10-time champ (including last year) Tony Nogueira, 53 seconds behind. James Senbata, the course record-holder, was third.
Hannah Babalola, of Newark, New Jersey, won the women’s wheelchair race, beating second-place Yen Hoang by 1:31. Four-time defending champ Christina Kouros, of Cape Elizabeth, was third.
Race founder and former Olympic and Boston Marathon champ Joan Benoit Samuelson, who only runs the race in her hometown every five years, finished in 39:19 at 60 years old to take the top spot in the 60-year-old women’s division.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
The elite women’s runners stake off from the starting line during the 20th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K road race Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Cape Elizabeth.
AP
Former Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson, right, is congratulated by Deena Kastor, winner of bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, after finishing the 20th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K road race Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Cape Elizabeth.
AP
Former Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson greets finishers after running the 20th annual TD Beach To Beacon 10K road race Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, in Cape Elizabeth.
AP
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