CAPE ELIZABETH — It wasn’t the Maine men’s course record he and three others were chasing. Still, Alec Troxell had his day.
Shortly after narrowly beating Will Geoghegan to the finish line in the 28th Beach to Beacon 10K, an exhausted Troxell collapsed to the ground. After recovering, he shared a hug with his boss at Marathon Sports, Erin Flatley, who was overcome with emotion.
Troxell’s time of 29 minutes, 15 seconds was five seconds shy of Ben True’s course record in the Maine men’s division. Geoghegan finished in 29:19, while Colin Cernik (30:06), Jack Fisher (30:55) and Matt Rand (31:03) rounded out the top five. All five live in Portland.
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“I’m over the moon, man,” said Troxell, who claimed his first Maine men’s Beach to Beacon title. “The record is cool and all, but people remember the titles. … I’m so happy to have that in my hands.”
Troxell said he had a sense around the 4-mile mark that the record wasn’t going to fall. Still, he and Geoghegan were neck-and-neck much of the way and were side-by-side at the halfway point.
They were just as tight at the 5-mile mark, with Troxell 0.23 seconds ahead. Then, as the two neared the stretch run, Troxell made his move, though he could still sense Geoghegan breathing down his neck.
“(I didn’t know I had him) until I crossed the finish line,” Troxell said. “I got out onto the grass and looked behind me, and I saw he was right there. He’s a 3:55 miler, and I didn’t want to leave it to a kick, and I did. I had the better finish today, but next time we race, he’s probably going to have the better finish.”
Geoghegan, the 2014 Maine men’s winner, came up just short of a second title. He credited Troxell, who has been part of a training group along with Geoghegan, Cernik and fellow Portland resident Aaron Willingham, with running “an incredible race.”
Geoghegan’s time would have been good enough to win all but two other Maine men’s titles (excluding True in 2009 and Luke Marsanskis, who ran 29:12 in 2024). He easily beat his personal best of 29:43.
“I feel great; it’s a beautiful day here, and I couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better crowd,” said Geoghegan. “Alec and I were creating moves through Shore Road, and he put a little gap on me going into Fort Williams. … We trained kind of as a team, and our goals were each other’s goals, so it’s great.”
Cernik was with Troxell and Geoghegan for much of the race, staying within two seconds through the first half. Soon after the midway point, though, Cernik said he began to fall off the pace as the heat caught up to him.
Still, he was pleased with his effort. His time being only good enough for third place was a testament to the quality of runners in this year’s race, which featured a dynamic field even without two-time defending championMarsanskis (foot injury).
“A 30:06 usually wins it most years, and this year, it wasn’t even close,” Cernik said. “Will ran even faster than when I got second (last year). We’re not that far from the record, and next year, we’re going to come in with more experience, more drive and more motivation.”
Fisher knew Troxell, Geoghegan and Cernik were “leagues ahead” of him but felt he could finish close to the 30-minute mark. Those thoughts were gone after the second mile, but he said that also took some of the pressure off him.
“After that, I was just able to have fun with the race,” Fisher said. “It was fun to watch those top three Mainers go for it. Those guys are all my friends, and I’m inspired by them to run hard. It’s fun to try and chase them.”