Dave McGillivray loves to direct Beach to Beacon 10K Sunday in Cape Elizabeth a particular favorite

Dave McGillivray has done a lot over his long running and race directing career, ranging from long birthday runs to directing races such as the Boston Marathon.

McGillivray, who lives in North Andover, Mass., has been directing races for 23 years in the United States, South America, the Carribean, and Europe. He also has his own event management company, DMSE (Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises).

McGillivray’s next project is the Peoples Beach-to-Beacon 10-kilometer run, which is set for Sunday in Cape Elizabeth. The support of the town is what McGillivray enjoys the most.

“It’s almost a second home to me now,” he said. “What I enjoy most is the community’s involvement and their support, and of course Joan Benoit [Samuleson]’s driving force.”

McGillivray has noticed some great achievements in his six years directing Beach to Beacon. Just last year, Gilbert Okari of Kenya won the race by running the world’s fastest 10-kilometer road time (27 minutes, 21 seconds).

“We have attracted so many high-caliber athletes, and the guide is who we are and what we do,” McGillivray said.

One award McGillivray likes is the first Mainer, which Eric Giddings won last year.

“Not that many races have home state awards, and it highlights it as a significant event,” he said.

A significant thing McGillivray has done every year since he was 12 was run a mile for every year he’s been alive. Later this month, he’ll run 50 miles for his 50th birthday.

“It’s tough to stop once you’ve started,” he said.

McGillivray accomplished another great feat this year: a 3,327-mile relay-style format with 10 TREK USA runners through 12 states in 24 days, raising $300,000 for children’s charities.

The run started at SBC Park in San Francisco and ended at Boston’s Fenway Park. He accomplished a similar run in 1978.

McGillivray’s other feats include three Ironman triathlons (1980, 1983, 1989), a run up the Empire State Building in 1981, and a Wrentham State School 24-hour run in 1980 that ended at Foxboro Stadium at halftime of a Patriots game.

Bunker on a roll

Heading into this weekend’s Beach to Beacon, no one is on a bigger roll than Bucksport’s Mike Bunker.

Bunker, a University of Southern Maine standout who plans to run the race, is coming off an easy triumph last weekend at the Fort Knox Bay Festival 5K in his hometown. He turned in an impressive time of 14 minutes, 54 seconds, the first time anyone has ever run under 15 minutes in the seven-year history of the race.

Bunker also won the Walter Hunt Memorial 3K on July 4th in Bangor, and he may be one of the top competitors for the first Maine finisher Sunday. He’ll have plenty of competition from Andy Spaulding of Freeport, Michael Payson of Falmouth, and Evan Graves and Judson Cake of Bar Harbor.

Road closings

Those who are traveling to Cape Elizabeth this weekend should be aware of the following road closings.

Route 77 will be closed from Sprague Hall to Kettle Cove Road from 6 to 7 a.m., Kettle Cove Road to Ocean House Road (7:30-10), and at Hillway (7:30-10).

Other closings include Crescent Beach State Park from 7:30-8:30 a.m., Old Ocean House Road (7:30-10), Shore Road from Key Bank to Fort Williams (7:30-11), Shore Road at the post office (7:30-11), and all of Fowler Road except for shuttle buses (7:15-10).

Merriam heading into Hall

The late Fred Merriam of Bucksport, a well-known runner and race director in the Bangor area, will be among six runners to be inducted into the Maine Running Hall of Fame this fall.

Merriam directed the Tour du Lac 10-miler for 18 years and the Fort Knox Bay Festival 5K, both of which are held in Bucksport every summer. He created the “Road Race Report” on WZON radio in Bangor in 1999, which continues today with the voice of Skip Howard. Merriam’s wife Joan will accept the award on his behalf.

Other inductees include Todd Coffin of Freeport, Gene Roy of Oakland, Lloyd Slocum of Hollis, William “Deke” Talbot of Machias and Carol Weeks of Kennebunk.

Finishing Kick: Besides Beach to Beacon, there are a couple other road racing options.

On Saturday, you can head to Portland for the Peaks Island 5-miler, which starts at 10:30 a.m., or to Milbridge for the Milbridge Days 5K at 8.