CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A small Maine town has become a Mecca for world-class runners thanks to the efforts of Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson.
She won the gold medal in the first Olympic women's marathon at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Samuelson founded the Beach to Beacon in 1998.
She says she knew from the moment she crossed the finish line at the Olympics that she wanted to find a way to honor the sport and state that she loved. She settled on the idea to create a race in which recreational runners could compete side-by-side with world-class athletes.
Registration for the 2011 running of the Beach to Beacon filled up within eight minutes of opening. The field consists of 6,000 runners from 41 states and 11 countries.
The race will be held on Saturday, Aug. 6, starting at 8 a.m. The course begins at Crescent Beach and ends at Ft. Williams Park.
For more information about the Beach to Beacon, click here for a link to the race website.
NEWS CENTER