Forty years after she made history as the winner of the inaugural Olympic women’s marathon in Los Angeles, Joan Benoit Samuelson of Freeport was named Maine Historical Society’s 2024 Maine History Maker. Nearly 400 people – a mix of history buffs, civic leaders, environmentalists and runners – attended the three-hour reception and award program at L.L.
Bean’s Corporate Headquarters on May 21. “I ran cross country growing up, and she was my idol,” said Laura East of Brunswick. “There weren’t many strong females in sports from our area, but she would come by and go to meets.
” A four-part documentary produced by O’Maine Studios, interspersed with live remarks, told the story of how Samuelson’s love of running and love of Maine intersect with the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race, which Samuelson founded in 1998. “It would not be the event it is without her involvement,” said Larry Wold, a former president of TD Bank. “I believe there’s a fairly small cohort of iconic female athletes who broke records and barriers and went on to do other things outside of athletic accomplishments.
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Joanie is one of them.” The picturesque but hilly Beach to Beacon route from Crescent Beach State Park to Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park is one that Samuelson ran frequently growing up in Cape Elizabeth. As a child, “Joanie” and her three brothers played tennis, baseball and pond hockey and skied at Pleasant Mountain and Sugarloaf.
When the family’s c.
