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Edith Masai of Kenya is a late bloomer on the road racing circuit. At age 41, she appears to be just hitting her stride, and she added to her resume with a Beach to Beacon win.

CAPE ELIZABETH — Edith Masai is a masters runner who mastered this foggy seaside town in a matter of 10 kilometers.

Masai, a 41-year-old from Kenya who is old enough to qualify for the masters category of runners 40 and older, dominated the women's elite race at the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K.

Masai finished in 31 minutes, 56 seconds. Liudmila Biktasheva of Russia was second in 32:04, and Yuri Kano of Japan was third in 32:17.

Masai held a convincing lead through 5 miles of the 6.2-mile race and held off a push by Biktasheva at the entrance of Fort Williams Park, the home stretch of the race, to win her first Beach to Beacon title.

"The course is not easy because it's not flat and it's not all hilly or downhill," said Masai, the mother of a 17-year-old son. "It's very difficult and you must plan your tactics."

At 41, she's a late bloomer in elite running. But Masai credited her training and her faith for her competitive success over the past eight years.

"It's not easy, but I do it for God," Masai said. "I needed something to help my people, my friends, and I'm glad to be here in America."

How has Masai been able to stay so competitive?

"You know, that's a good question," said Adriana Pirtea, a Romanian living in Colorado who finished 10th in 33:35. "Over the years you get that experience, but in running, you train hard and you don't need to be young to be successful."

Masai earned prize money not only for winning the women's elite race but also for setting a masters course record, bettering the previous mark of 33:37 set in 1999 by Marina Belyaeva of Russia and equaled in 2000 by Judy St. Hilaire of Somerset, Mass.

Just a week earlier Masai won the Quad City Times Bix 7-mile race in Davenport, Iowa, in 37:20. This week, she was part of an early pack of five that had a strong start at the Beach to Beacon.

"The opening mile, with Masai and Jane Gakunyi, they dictated the pace," Kano said through a translator.

"We'd been talking before the race and at 5 kilometers, it's a place where you make some strategy happen. That's where (Masai) started to take the race."

Going into the fourth mile, Masai was part of a tight pack of runners. But by the turn from Route 77 onto Shore Road just past Cape Elizabeth High, Masai, Kano and Kari Natoli had begun to distance themselves from the pack.

By the end of the fourth mile, Biktasheva had joined Masai and Kano in the lead pack, but then Masai made her move. She stretched her lead to as many as 100 yards going into the last leg of the course, the rolling hills along Shore Road.

"At the hills, I started to go faster and I started to push it," Masai said.

The undulating final stretch allowed Biktasheva and Kano to cut down Masai's lead, and Biktasheva caught up with Masai at the final turn.

But Masai broke away again inside Fort Williams, opening up a comfortable lead with her final strides to the finish line.

"I was thinking about holding Masai and following her," Biktasheva said through a translator, "but Masai was faster."

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com