CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- More than 6,500 Beach to Beacon runners enjoyed sunny weather on a coastal course that began at Crescent Beach State Park and ended at the Portland Head Light.
Runners began their journey shortly after eight o'clock. Stephen Koskei Kibet from Kenya was the first person to cross the finish line, clocking in at 28:28. Koskei Kibet finished as runner up at the TD Beach to Beacon last year (27:43) and in 2012 (28:01). His half marathon PR of 58:54 ranks him in among the top 10 all-time for the distance. He was earned fifth in the World Half Marathon Championships in 2012.
Karen Rand McWatters, a Boston Marathon bombing victim from Maine, finished beside her husband. McWatters, lost the lower portion of her left leg and a good friend in the bombings.
"Being in this race is to show people that, even at my age, and what I've been through, it doesn't mean you have to sit on the couch and stay home, you can still get back out there you can bike and swim and run and play and you can do anything you want to do if you just put your mind to it," McWatters said.
Dottie Gray,90, competed in the race for the 15th time. She and McWatters started the race one hour before other runners.This will likely be Gray's last race.
Ben Decker of Yarmouth (32:38) and Erica Jesseman of Scarborough (34:52) finished as the top runners from Maine. Jesseman was 10th overall in the women's race and sixth among Americans.
James Senbata won the wheelchair division in a course record of 21:46. Christina Kouros of Cape Elizabeth won the women's wheelchair race for the fourth time with a time of 39:39.
The Beach to Beacon was founded by Olympic hero Joan Benoit Samuelson. Samuelson, winner of the first Olympic women's marathon in 1984, founded the race as a way to give back to her home state of Maine. Runners were competing for more than $90,000 in prize money.
Did you or someone you know complete the 2015 Beach to Beacon? Click here for the results.
Watch everyone cross the finish line below:
