On Saturday, August 5, nearly 7,000 runners crossed the finish line at Fort Williams in the annual Beach to Beacon 10k Road Race. Gorham was well represented, in both participation and performance. Among the 5,861 Maine registrants were 165 town residents, including Jesse Orach, with a repeat win among all Mainers, and Robert Mountain, repeating as the oldest competitor. In between were a number of solid performances, some names familiar and some first timers, donning the proud title of B2B finisher. An oppressively humid day on the coast would impact all, and likely served as the catalyst for a national news story surrounding a rare act of sportsmanship.

Spectators in Cape Elizabeth witnessed a thrilling finish in the men’s open race, as Stephen Kosgei-Kibet (27:55) broke the tape before Ben True who finished second by maybe a second on the clock (27:56). No one could possibly have anticipated the drama to follow as Orach collapsed shy of the finish line and was lifted and pushed across the line by Robert Gomez of Windham. Both runners were clocked in 31:31, with Orach getting gold and Gomez silver. Gomez received kudos from Orach, as well as national media and a social media storm for his selfless act.