The first three Maine men to finish the TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race Saturday started with different mind-sets.

Will Geoghegan, 21, of Brunswick was going to treat it like a workout. Jonny Wilson, 25, of Falmouth felt he was at a disadvantage, coming off an injury just a month ago. Riley Masters, 23, of Veazie was pretty sure he had a shot at winning the Maine men’s division.

“I was confident,” Masters said after the race.

Masters might have proven how much mentality matters. After running as part of a threesome for more than four miles, with Geoghegan setting the pace, Masters took off from the group and didn’t see his fellow Mainers again until after he crossed the finish line.

The former Bangor High, University of Maine and University of Oklahoma standout finished in 30 minutes, 19 seconds.

“I wasn’t surprised he got away from me,” said Geoghegan, a rising senior at Dartmouth who finished second in 30:33.

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While competing in high school, Geoghegan said he could only remember one time he outran Masters — in the 2007 New England high school cross country championships. Masters had a stomach bug, and Geoghegan said he passed Masters while he was throwing up off the side of the trail.

“It’s kind of a cheap victory,” Geoghegan said.

Wilson came in at 30:48, four seconds faster than last year when he was the second Mainer behind former high school teammate Ethan Shaw, who didn’t run this year.

Wilson said he was pleased “to be able to get my fitness back to that level,” considering he has been dealing with plantar faciitis, an inflammation of tissue in the bottom of the foot that causes heel pain.

He has his sights on being the first Mainer to finish next year.

Meanwhile, Masters, who set a personal 10K record by a few seconds, said he was basking in “home state pride” after the race — and hoping he hadn’t made bad with his sponsor, Brooks Sports.

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During a recent trip to race in Europe, Masters lost his wallet, his passport and, maybe most importantly, his singlet, which he guessed is probably somewhere in Sweden.

When he came across a Brooks brand top with the Maine Track Club logo on Friday, he thought wearing it would be a good way to represent his sponsor and his state.

Still, it’s not his official gear.

“Hopefully, I’m not in too much trouble,” he said.


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