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The top finishers from last Saturday's Quad City Times Bix 7 are headed to Maine for next Saturday's ninth edition of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10-K in picturesque Cape Elizabeth, a seaside community just outside of Portland. A scenic course, a $60,000 prize money purse, and old-fashioned New England hospitality awaits them.
The lanky Kenyan, Gilbert Okari, is not only the course record holder but has won the last three editions of the race. His streak began in 2003 when he scorched the course in 27:28, and he has run nearly as fast in his last two victories (27:35 and 27:39, respectively). Okari is coming off of a third place finish at the Bix, and the two men who beat him, Lawrence Kiprotich and Evans Cheruiyot, will also be lining up in Cape Elizabeth, each looking for the $10,000 in cash which will be presented to the winner.
"Gilbert has been dominant on the roads again this year, but he ran into a couple of guys who decided they weren't going to be intimidated," commented Larry Barthlow, the elite athlete coordinator for the event. "We're going to see a very determined Gilbert Okari on Saturday because our race is special to him and he doesn't want to lose here. But Lawrence and Evans are going to have something to say about that."
Okari will have experience on his side: neither Kiprotich nor Cheruiyot have ever run the Beach to Beacon, the the race has a very tricky final 800m when the race makes a sharp turn, and goes uphill into Fort Williams. The course twists to the finish line, and it is extremely difficult to time the final sprint.
Susan Chepkemei, also of Kenya, comes to Beach to Beacon as the Bix champion, and is no stranger to the winner's circle in Maine. In 2004 she won in 31:36. Her top challenger could be the Russian marathoner Alevtina Ivanova, but a resurgent Lidia Simon, the 2000 Olympic marathon silver medalist, should also be tough to beat. She was third at Bix. Simon's Romanian teammate, Luminita Talpos, will also be Cape Elizabeth; she was fourth at Bix.
TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10-K is the largest sporting event in Maine, in terms of participants. Last year's event had 4305 finishers.
NOTE: RRW will have exclusive coverage from the Beach to Beacon 10-K by your editor --Ed.
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