Finishing touch

Staff photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

A crowd waits Saturday for runners at Portland Head Light near the finish line of the Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth.

CAPE ELIZABETH — Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K road race, with the attendant expectation of celebration for such a milestone event. But gee whiz, how could you possibly top Number Nine?

On what might have been the most glorious Saturday of summer - early-morning fog burned off by cloudless sunshine and nary a hint of humidity - the ninth Beach to Beacon offered up these morsels, along with distributing nearly $60,000 in prize money:

n A course record of 31 minutes, 25.7 seconds by Alevtina Ivanova of Russia to neatly complete her three-year placement countdown of three . . . two . . . one. Her paycheck: $10,000 plus a $2,500 bonus for lowering the mark set by Catherine Ndereba.

n The culmination of a determined comeback from a horrific injury - the loss of sight in one eye sustained during an aborted carjacking - by 34-year-old Kenyan Tom Nyariki, who admitted he did not expect to beat three-time champion Gilbert Okari, then wound up running alone through Fort Williams Park and won in 27:45.5.

n Yet another surprise winner in the Maine men's division, with Deering High graduate and University of Maine senior Donny Drake and his four-digit bib number (2659) rising above the cream of the local crop.

n Emily LeVan of Wiscasset surging to an early lead and never looking back on her way to a second straight victory among Maine women, the only favorite to fulfill expectations.

n Patrick Doak of Concord, Mass., in his Beach to Beacon debut, setting a wheelchair record of 23:58 to beat six-time champion Tony Nogueira of New Jersey even though Nogueira's time of 24:11 also bettered the course record he set four years ago.

"It's a beautiful area and a beautiful course," said Ed Moran, an assistant coach of track and cross country at William & Mary who finished seventh overall, the only American in the otherwise all-Kenyan top 10. "The fans are great and the hospitality is fantastic. I don't think you get this kind of experience at any other race in the world."

Moran's only disappointment Saturday was that the United States Anti-Doping Agency, making its first Beach to Beacon appearance, did not ask him for a urine sample.

"I was a little disappointed," he said. "But seriously, it's nice to see USADA here, especially with all the (doping) scandals lately."

A record field of 4,813 athletes completed the 6.2-mile course, and that doesn't include Paul Tormey of Orrington, an Army Reserve supply sergeant who embarked before dawn in Baghdad for a 10K trot around Al-Faw Palace and clocked a 49:30, which would have tied him for 1,303rd place.

Back in Maine, all traces of fog had disappeared by the time - 8 a.m. - five men in wheelchairs (no women this year, leaving the $1,000 first prize unclaimed) rolled down Route 77, followed 10 minutes later by the state's largest contingent of runners ever funneled into one race.

Kenyans Lawrence Kiprotich and Susan Chepkemei, who won last week's Bix 7-miler in the oppressive heat and humidity of Davenport, Iowa, did not fare as well Saturday. Chepkemei fell off Ivanova's pace early and finished fourth, behind runner-up Edna Kipligat and Luminita Talpos.

An observer aboard the motorcycle leading Ivanova into the fort said she smiled the entire final mile, revealing two gold teeth, and appeared to float through dappled sunshine beneath the leafy canopy above Shore Road.

Having run here twice before, Nyariki remembered well the final stretch between Pond Cove and the gates of Fort Williams. It is not flat. So when Kiprotich and another 20-something runner pushed the early pace, Nyariki was content to bide his time.

"I said I will not take over the lead," he said. "I was waiting because I know the course. At the end of the race it's lumpy. I said that's where I wanted to run."

Of course he didn't expect to be running alone through the lumps. But when he pulled alongside three-time champion and course record-holder Gilbert Okari at Mile 4, it became apparent that Okari (who had strained his left hamstring) could not pick up the pace.

Among Maine runners, LeVan's victory was expected. Drake's was not. Not sure whether his summer training schedule would put him in a position to challenge, Drake decided against asking for a low bib number, which confers a separate warmup area and front-of-the-pack space at the start.

"I surprised myself," Drake said after finishing in 31:15.8, more than 50 seconds faster than his previous best 10K time. "I didn't think I was going to run this fast."

Second place went to another college student, Dartmouth junior Ben True of North Yarmouth, who said he was "just having fun" with a tempo run.

With former Portland High standout Ayalew Taye in third and UNH runner (and Scarborough High grad) Andrew Van Hoogenstyn in fifth, the only runner among the top five eligible to accept the $1,000 first prize was 24-year-old Mike Bunker of Gorham, who finished fourth.

"So how does the money trickle down?" Bunker asked race president David Weatherbie.

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