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The Beach to Beacon 10K is a 10-kilometer (6.2 mi) road running event that takes place along the coastline of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It begins at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park.
Starting out as mainly a local event, athletes from all over the U.S. and various parts of the world now participate in the annual event, including some world-class distance runners, including Olympic Marathon Silver medalists Catherine Ndereba and Meb Keflezighi, as well as Chicago Marathon winner Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot. It was founded by U.S. women's marathon runner, Joan Benoit Samuelson, who in 1984, won the first ever women's Olympic marathon. 1998 was the first year that the event was held and over 3000 runners participated in the race. The event was sponsored by then, People's Heritage Bank, which changed parent companies. Now the event is formally known as the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10k. The 2009 race event registration filled in just 1 hour 45 minutes.
The race is managed by DMSE, Inc. whose president, Dave McGillivray, directs the Boston Marathon and more than 30 other races each year.
A then-record 5,668 runners participated in the event in 2010, which saw Lineth Chepkurui improve the women's course record by almost half a minute. This number was again improved in 2011, as 5,876 runners were at the starting line. Three-time winner Gilbert Okari is the men's record holder with his time of 27:27.5 from 2003.
Past winners
Key: Course record