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Portland Head
Light House -
the finish line for the B2B.

Beach to Beacon 10K
Portland, ME (8/5/06)

The 9th Annual Beach to Beacon in Portland, Maine, was probably the most beautiful and best organized 10K I've run the past several years. Developed by the great runner, Joan Benoit Samuelson (gold medalist of the first women's marathon at the 1984 Olympics in L.A.), the B2B has become a polished and beautiful coastal run on a closed (to traffic) road course. Starting at Crescent Beach and ending at Portland Head Light House (rumored to be the most photographed lighthouse in the country), nearly 5700 runners took to the road for this year's event.

So, how did Slammin' Sarah and I hear about this race in Malta, NY? Well, Sarah's mom is from the Portland area, and her Aunt Mona (known in the Pine Tree State as Cruisin' Mona the 10K Queen) is Senior Vice President of the run's sponsor - TD Banknorth. (Yes, we still had to pay our entry fee... but is was worth it!)

We had planned this trip to Maine for about 6 months. We took two cars, because the day after Sarah and ran the B2B race, Abbe and I headed north to Baxter State Park to backpack for 4 days.

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5:30 AM Outside Cruisin' Mona the 10K Queen's home on Little Sabago Lake, ME.	5:45 AM "I am a wake. I am awake. I am awake..."	5:55 AM Discussing Strategy: "At mile-1 I'm stopping for a coffee. At mile-2 I'm stopping for a hot dog..."

Thanks to a last minute change in plans, Kate dropped us off right at the start line, thereby avoiding the need to use the B2B shuttle service. Because we arrived at the start line so early, Kate was able to secure one of the few parking spots at the finish line - again, avoiding the need to take the shuttle system which had a 1+-hour waiting line! We were in no rush for this race. We planned to run together. To prove this point, we actually started in front of the "walker section"!


And... we were off! Slowly. Cruisin' Mona the 10K Queen, Slammin' Sarah and I were moving at an unconfirmed 15-minute per mile pace. I say unconfirmed because my new Garmin Forerunner 205 broke just before the race. The weather was beautiful with a temperature of about 60-degrees. This was a fun race to share with Mona and my daughter.

At the midpoint, Slammin Sarah and I picked up our pace. We crossed the finish line holding hands with huge smiles! This was a father's dream come true! And Sarah? This was the furthest she'd ever run - aside from all the running she does on the soccer field! I think we had an 8:50 pace for the 5th mile and a 9:00 pace for the 6th mile. (Cool.)

Great after race munchies and giveaways and spectacular views. This race was a real winner!

	Back	Next: 2006 Reach the Beach 200M Relay Race (NH) Getting to Know You

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