Ndereba gunning for 5th title Kenyan among 5,000 runners in 5th Beach to Beacon 10K

It’s a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, from neighborhood hot top basketball courts to baseball diamonds to game rooms.

“I own you” is used by trash talkers and friendly rivals alike as they brag about their superiority over an opponent or game, and it’s usually just pure bravado and exaggeration.

In the case of Kenyan distance specialist Catherine Ndereba and her mastery over opposing runners and the 6.2-mile Beach to Beacon course, it’s anything but.

Ndereba, one of the world’s best road racers, is back to defend the title which no one else has won in the race’s four-year history. Last year, she set a course record (31 minutes, 34 seconds) for the 10,000-meter race to keep her dominance complete.

Saturday’s race begins at 8 a.m. with the start line on Route 77 near Crescent Beach State Park and will feature an expanded 5,000-runner field.

“It’s a very popular race and with this being the fifth anniversary, we thought 5,000 was a nice round number for the field,” said Maine native Joan Benoit-Samuelson, race founder and Olympic gold medalist.

Among the expanded field are elite runners and race favorites such as United States resident Colleen DeRueck, a two-time South African Olympian who was ranked as high as eighth in the world this year; South African Elana Meyer, who finished third last year; and Kenyan Margaret Okayo, who broke Ndereba’s two-year Boston Marathon win streak earlier this year. Top male runners include a strong contingent from Kenya. Among them are defending champion Evans Rutto; 2001 runner-up James Koskei, who is ranked 10th in the world by Running Times; John Korir, ranked third; and Thomas Nyariki, ranked sixth.

The growth in terms of popularity and an ever-swelling field of runners is astounding for this 5-year-old race.

“It is in fact. We’ve attracted some of the best in the world and it’s a compliment when they want to keep returning year after year,” said Benoit-Samuelson. “I think it’s all due to the work of the thousand volunteers we have and the sponsors, and our race director, Dave McGillivray.”

It’s the hard work that they’ve put in that makes it easy for Benoit-Samuelson not to be surprised by the event’s explosive growth.

“I think when I first approached president and chairman Bill Ryan about starting this race, I told him road racing was one of few events where recreational runners can compete side by side with the world’s best,” Benoit-Samuelson said. “He embraced it and we literally ran with it.”

The race features a $50,000 purse with $7,500 prizes for the overall male and female winners and first-place prizes of $1,000 or more in masters, wheelchair, and Maine runners divisions.

The wheelchair race will start five minutes ahead of the main race.