Proceeds from fees every year are donated to a Maine-based nonprofit, with this year being the Cromwell Center. It takes place in Cape Elizabeth, starting on Route 77 near the entrance to Crescent Beach State Park and finishing at Fort Williams Park. In recent years, the event draws more than 6,000 participants.Ĭanceled in 2020 and conducted virtually in 2021 because of COVID, the race is returning this year as an in-person event. Marathoner and Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson of Freeport founded the annual Beach to Beacon race in 1998. “Just because I couldn’t do everything I did before with two hands, it didn’t mean I couldn’t accomplish just as much,” he said. Shapiro said riding the bike has reminded him of what he is still capable of. Having come to grips with the fact that he would not get the use of his arm back, Shapiro has for the past eight years been using the recumbent tricycle on shorter rides. Shapiro pedals the bike mostly with his right foot, he said, although his left leg 'does pitch in.” Using a handle on the right side, Shapiro can steer, brake and shift between the bike’s seven gears. “I knew that running was not an option,' Shapiro said. He can walk with the assistance of a cane but will be participating in the race on a recumbent tricycle. Shapiro, 52, said the stroke struck the left side of his body, robbing him of the use of his arm and hand. “It’s definitely intimidating and a stretch for me,” Shapiro said. Beach to Beacon's 10 kilometers will be the farthest he has gone at once under his own power in about 12 years. Shapiro still experiences lingering effects of a devastating stroke he suffered in 2010 related to a brain aneurysm. His participation will also represent a personal milestone. It wasn't just because he is a board member of the Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness, the Portland-based nonprofit receiving the charitable proceeds from the race this year. 6, Ken Shapiro knew he would participate. When the annual TD Beach to Beacon 10K was announced for Aug.

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