enlarge Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

They trained together faithfully, logging 100-mile weeks, and aimed at a top time in the Beach to Beacon 10K. The hard work paid dividends when Kristin Barry, right, and Sheri McCarthy-Piers finished 1-2 in the Maine women's division, Barry setting a record for Maine women.

TOP FIVE MAINE WOMEN

1. Kristin Barry, Scarborough, 34:38

2. Sheri McCarthy-Piers, Falmouth, 34:48

3. Carry Buterbaugh, South Portland, 36:46

4. Amanda Ivey, South Paris, 37:22

5. Jenna Krajewski, China, 37:28

CAPE ELIZABETH — It took her nearly 12 years, but Kristin Barry finally turned in the performance in the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K road race she has been striving for since graduating from Dartmouth College.

Barry, a 34-year-old mother of two from Scarborough, set a course record Saturday to capture the Maine women's title for the first time.

With her finishing time of 34 minutes, 38 seconds, Barry sliced 18 seconds off the standard set for Maine women by Julia Kirtland in the inaugural event in 1998.

"This is the time I've wanted to run since college," Barry said. "This is what has kept me going."

Barry, who set a record while winning the L.L. Bean 10K and won the Clam Festival 5-Miler last month, had some help.

Sheri McCarthy-Piers, her training partner and best friend, helped keep her on pace.

"We did what we wanted to do," said McCarthy-Piers, who lives in Falmouth. "We wanted to run a certain time, and that's it.

"One-two doesn't matter. We're just happy with what we did for a time because that's what we worked for -- the time."

McCarthy-Piers, who was exactly 10 seconds behind Barry, crossed the finish line nearly two minutes ahead of third-place finisher Carry Buterbaugh, a South Portland resident who finished in 36:46.

Buterbaugh, a native of Holland, never saw the two front-runners out on the 6.2-mile course.

"I didn't expect to see them. They're so fast," she said. "They're on top of their game.

"I just wanted to run a good personal time, and that's what I did today. I'm happy."

Amanda Ivey of South Paris finished fourth and Jenna Krajewski of China was fifth.

Barry and McCarthy-Piers have been pointing to the Beach to Beacon for nearly four months.

"We both ran in the Olympic (marathon) trials in April," Barry said. "As soon as we finished that, we really focused on this."

"They've been running all year so strong," Buterbaugh said. "They run together, and they do such a great job. They are so determined. They go off so early in the morning and run a lot of miles."

Barry and McCarthy-Piers, who run together nearly every day, both peaked at just the right time for the race.

"We tapered, which was absolute misery," Barry said. "We run 100 miles a week and cut down to 25 (miles) this week to taper."

"We both felt horrible all week," McCarthy-Piers said. "We were like 'we aren't ready, man.' But I guess we were."

"I haven't slept all week," Barry said. "I honestly was a wreck."

The two front-runners stayed within hailing distance of each other for the entire race.

"We were taking our splits," Barry said. "We had an idea of what we wanted to hit, and we did it. I can't really believe it."

"She was kind of in sight most of the way," McCarthy-Piers said. "I tried to catch her so we could finish this thing together."

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com