Beach to Beacon 10K, featuring wide open fields for the elite men and women and the possibility of several course records, including those for Maine men and women. "I think we're going to see a lot of records not only broken, but shattered if the weather cooperates," race founder Joan Benoit Samuelson said at a press conference Friday morning. "We definitely have the cards in the deck here to do that." The elite women's field shrank to less than 10 when defending champ Edith Masai withdrew because of visa issues and several eastern Europeans were late scratches.
Behind Samuelson, rows of the world's best runners rested comfortably in white chairs under a tent at the Inn by the Sea. Sprinkled among them were North Yarmouth's Ben True, 23, and Falmouth's Sheri Piers, 38 -- both capable of establishing new marks for Maine residents. The top contenders are expected to be Adere, Kiros, Krautsova, Limika and Nadia Ejjiani of Morocco. Alevtina Ivanova of Russia set the women's course record of 31 minutes, 26 seconds in 2006.
"They always think that about her. Whenever they think she's through, she comes back and surprises," said Larry Barthlow, the race's elite running coordinator. "She told me the other day she's never worked this hard." Ilsa Paulson, 20, was the first American women at the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta on July 4 and will try for a similar performance today. "Your body and your mind start to break down," Paulson said. "I'm very at peace with my decision. I prayed a lot about it and asked God for guidance. In my heart God told me I've given you the gift of running, go make the most of it."
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