Follow in the fast footsteps of running greats Khalid Khannouchi and Catherine Ndereba and register today for the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10k on August 7, 2010. Khannouchi and Ndereba announced their committment to the race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine founded by local running legend Joan Benoit Samuelson, where they will face a field of 6,000 and defending Beach to Beacon champions Ed Muge and Irene Limika
In its 13 year history, the Beach to Beacon 10k has attracted thousands of runners and a slew of international elites to race the 6.2-miles starting at Crescent Beach and ending at Portland Head Light. The 2010 Beach to Beacon 10k begins at 8:00 am on August 7 and will take runners on a fast, point-to-point course along the Maine Coast.
Khalid Khannouchi, the current American marathon record holder (2:05:38 London Marathon 2002), returns to the Beach to Beacon 10k for the first time since 2004. Originally from Morocco, Khannouchi won the race in 1999 as a Moroccon, but returned in 2000 as an official American citizen to top the results for his new country.
Khannouchi underwent foot surgery last year and hasn't raced in full-form since the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials where he finished fourth. He recently ran the UAE Healthy Kidney 10k in New York and the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. The Beach to Beacon 10k will serve as his final test of fitness before deciding on running a fall marathon.
Catherine Ndereba, although from Kenya, has made her mark on the local New England running scene. A four-time Boston Marathon champion and five-time Beach to Beacon 10k winner, Ndereba returns to Cape Elizabeth for the first time also since 2004. She won gold at two IAAF World Championships marathons (2003 Paris and 2007 Osaka) and is a double Olympic marathon silver medalist. She is Kenya's marathon national record holder with her 2:18:47 result from the 2001 Chicago Marathon.
For the elite men, Khannouchi will be challenged by defending champion (28:04 in 2010) Ed Muge of Kenya, 2010 Peachtree Road Race and UAE Healthy Kidney 10k winner Gebre Gebremariam and past London Marathon and New York City Marathon winner Martin Lel of Kenya.
On the women's side, Ndereba will go head to head with defending champion (32:06 in 2010) Irene Limika, Peachtree Road Race and Bay to Breakers 12k winner Lineth Chepkurui and recent Boilermaker 15k and 2010 Los Angeles Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat. Rebecca Donaghue and Ilsa Paulson of America should also challenge the elite international field.
The 13th annual Beach to Beacon 10k is directed by Dave McGillivray, the president of DMSE, Inc. and race director of the Boston Marathon who just received a lifetime achievement award. Elite men and women will be racing for a $10,000 grand prize and a $2,500 course record bonus. Gilbert Okari of Kenya set the men's course record in 2003 in 27:28, and Alventina Ivanova of Kenya set the women's course record in 2006 in 31:26. Click here to register for the Beach to Beacon 10k.
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