Kenyan and New Zealander take first prizes at 21st Annual Beach to Beacon 10K Top Maine finishers nearly crack top-10 on humid day in Cape Elizabeth Share Shares Copy Link Copy Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT WMTW NEWS 8’S JOE GLAUBER BRINGS US THE ACTION FROM RACE DAY. REPORTER: FOR THE 21ST YEAR IN A ROW SOME OF THE BEST RUNNERS IN THE WORLD, AND PARTICIPANTS FROM ALL ACROSS MAINE, TOED THE LINE FOR THE T.D. BEACH TO BEACON 10K IN CAPE ELIZABET THE RAIN STAYED AWAY, BUT THE HUMIDITY WEIGHED HEAVY ON THE RUNNERS, AS THEY MADE THEIR WAY FROM CRESCENT BEACH TO THE PORTLAND HEAD LIGH CHEERS WERE NEVER LOUDER THAN FOR THE TOP MAINE FINISHERS IN THE FIELD OF MORE THAN SIX AND A HALF THOUSAND. >> IT’S LIKE EMOTIONAL, BECAUSE THIS IS OUR SUPER BOWL OF MAINE RUNNING COMMUNITY, SO TO HAVE EVERYONE CHEERING IN THE FINISH CHUTE, IT’S VERY SPECIAL. REPORTER: MICHELLE LILIENTHAL OF PORTLAND WAS FIRST FOR THE MAINE WOMEN. AND ON THE MEN’S SIDE, IT WAS 23-YEAR-OLD RYAN SMITH, WHO JUST MOVED TO FARMINGTON LAST YEAR. >> SO MANY MAINERS ALONG THE COURSE CHEERING YOU ON, BY NAME, IT’S AMAZING. IT’S AN ICONIC RACE AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. REPORTER: BUT NEITHER EVEN CRACKED THE TOP 10 IN THEIR FIELDS, SHOWING JUST HOW MANY ELITE RUNNERS ARE DRAWN TO THE RACE. >> THEY COMMENT ON THE BEAUTY OF MAINE AND THEN THE HOST FAMILIES AND THE ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE HERE, THEY OPEN THEIR HOMES THEY OPEN THEIR FAMILIES UP. REPORTER: MORE THAN $100,000 IN PRIZE MONEY WENT TO THE TOP FINISHERS, BUT THE REAL WINNERS WAS WINTERKIDS, THE BENFICIARY OF THIS YEAR’S RACE. >> WE’RE WORKING IN THE MOST RURAL PARTS OF MAINE TO GET KIDS OUTSIDE, KIDS WHO NEED US THE MOST. REPORTER: THEY WORK TO GET KIDS ACTIVE AND GIVE THEM ACCESS TO WINTER SPORTS, BECAUSE DAYS LIKE TODAY, ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. >> A LOT OF TIMES WE’RE BUSIER IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE WE’RE PLANNING IN THE WINTER, BUT TRULY OUR PROGRAMMING RUNS FROM SEPTEMBER TO MAY. REPORT GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Submit Privacy Notice<doc-sep>CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine — A New Zealander has won the Beach to Beacon 10k road race in Maine. Twenty-eight-year-old Jake Robertson finished Saturday with an unofficial time of 27 minutes, 36 seconds. Twenty-year-old Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei (TOO’-ee) of Kenya was the first woman across the finish line with an unofficial time of 31:21. In the race for Maine’s top finishers, 23-year-old Ryan Smith of Farmington took the men’s race in 30 minutes, 50 seconds, coming in 27th place overall. On the women’s side, Michelle Lilienthal, 36, of Portland took the title in 36:15, placing 124th overall. Bangor runner and Saint Agatha native Tracy Guerrette took third in the race for Maine’s fastest woman, in 36:54, placing 152nd overall. More than 6,500 runners participated in Maine’s biggest road race, which was the brainchild of Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson. Samuelson 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. Follow BDN Maine Sports on Facebook for the latest in Maine high school and college sports.<doc-sep>Final results include Maine's Ryan Smith of Farmington and top female finisher from Maine Michelle Lilienthal from Portland. CAPE ELIZABETH (NEWS CENTER Maine) — Under a gray blanket of clouds, Jake Robertson from New Zealand didn't let the heavy, humid New England air weigh him down as he crossed the finish line in Maine's most notable race snagging the first place. PHOTOS: 21st annual TD Beach to Beacon 1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 1 / 12 While it was a grueling 6.2 miles for some runners participating in the 2018 TD Bank Beach to Beacon, Roberston cleared the pavement under his feet so quickly, each mile passed in less than five minutes. His unofficial race time clocked in at 27:37, the third fastest finish in the race's 21-year history. Robertson had a clear and simple strategy: start strong, run fast, stay in front. He led the pack of elite runners from the race's inception but by mile three Robertson was a lone runner on the Cape Elizabeth roads. The tall 28-year-old kiwi moved to Kenya when he was just 17 along with his twin brother to train and has raced and placed in many notable races but he seems to be on a winning streak this year; he took first place at the Houston Half Marathon with a time of 1:00:01. RESULTS: MEN WINNERS Aside from the first place kiwi winner Jake Robertson, Maine's own Ben True came in among the top three finishers with an unofficial time of 28:30 but because he is no longer a resident Ryan Smith of Farmington snagged the title for the first Maine man to cross the finish line. WOMEN WINNERS Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei of Kenya crossed the finish line first in the women's race with Olympic athlete, Ababel Yeshaneh just on her heels. Tuei's unofficial time came in at 31:21. Maine top female finisher was Michelle Lilienthal from Portland, making this Lilienthal's third Beach to Beacon Maine female win. A post shared by NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) on Aug 4, 2018 at 5:34am PDT PUSH RIM WINNERS Tony Nogueira from New Jersey was the first push rim competitor to cross the finish line making it his 11th Beach to Beacon win. Katrina Gerhard broke the women’s record by about a minute and a half, crossing the finish line at 26:46 unofficially to win the women’s push rim race. A post shared by NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) on Aug 4, 2018 at 5:19am PDT A post shared by NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) on Aug 4, 2018 at 5:16am PDT THE RACE The 21st running in 2018 featured a host of elite runners including 2008 US Olympic flag bearer Lopez Lomong and Providence-based Molly Huddle, former American record holder in the 5,000 meters, as well as Maine natives Ben True and Emily Durgin. Last year's Maine resident champion Jesse Orach of Gorham returned to defend his title for a third straight year. His finish last year was seen all around the world. After suffering heat stroke and falling down, he was helped up by fellow Mainer Rob Gomez, also returning in 2018, and carried over the finish line to take first. ► Beach to Beacon on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | THE STORIES | We're all in it together ► Renowned runners call dibs on Beach to Beacon bibs (July 18 HISTORY The Beach to Beacon 10K debuted in 1998 with just over 2,400 runners crossing the finish line. In 2016, more than 6,300 runners from 15 countries, 43 states and a few hundred Maine cities and towns finished — less than a 1,000 short of tripling the inaugural total. The course, once a training route for young Cape Elizabeth resident Joan "Joanie" Benoit, who later went on to win the first women's Olympic marathon in 1984, now serves as the venue for one of the world's most premier annual road races.<doc-sep>
In his first race since setting the New Zealand national record at the Commonwealth Games, Jake Robertson won the Beach to Beacon 10K wire-to-wire in a time of 27:37 on Saturday morning. Robertson’s performance in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was just nine seconds shy of the 27:28-course record. Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei of Kenya claimed the women’s title with a winning time of 31:21. From the gun, Robertson established his presence up front and led the competition through the first two miles in a blazing split of 8:40, according to race reports on Twitter. He maintained the momentum with a 5K time of 13:30 and continued to lead all the way through the finish, where he beat runner-up Stephen Sambu by almost a full minute. In his return to the race, Maine native and 2016 race champion Ben True finished third overall. Jake Robertson of New Zealand is the elite male winner of the TD Beach to Beacon with an unofficial time of 27:36 pic.twitter.com/3NUIquHy1g — Gregory Rec (@gregoryrec) August 4, 2018 Robertson trains in Kenya and has already run a series of breakthrough performances this year. In January, he won the Houston Half Marathon in a personal best and then-world leading time of 60:01. In March, the 28-year-old made his marathon debut in Japan with a time of 2:08:26, another New Zealand national record. In 2007, Robertson and his twin brother Zane famously moved from their home in New Zealand to Kenya in an effort to immerse themselves in the Kenyan running lifestyle and become Olympic level athletes. After a decade of training in Kenya, both brothers have accomplished elite levels in the sport. Sarah Barker of Deadspin shared the brothers’ story in a feature earlier this year. The women’s race proved to be closer up front as Tuei beat runner-up Ababel Yeshaneh by five seconds. The 20-year-old champion from Kenya won the Valencia 10K in January with a time of 30:57. Elite women crossing now, Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei of Kenya wins the 2018 #TDB2B10K with unofficial time of 31:20, USA’s Molly Huddle finishes 3rd #BeachtoBeacon pic.twitter.com/AhYOZoIS9Z — Jessica Gagne (@JessicaGagneTV) August 4, 2018 In her Beach to Beacon debut, Molly Huddle closed for third in a time of 31:40. Prior to Saturday’s race in Cape Elizabeth, Huddle finished second in the same race in which Shelby Houlihan broke the American record in the 5K on the track. Taylor Dutch Taylor Dutch is a sports and fitness writer living in Chicago; a former NCAA track athlete, Taylor specializes in health, wellness, and endurance sports coverage.