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PORTLAND — The first and last time Sammy Mills wore his white University of Maine running singlet was in 2022 when the Biddeford native was the first Maine man to cross the TD Beach to Beacon 10K finish line.

On Sunday, the 24-year-old donned the singlet again and won another big race.

Mills won the 34th Maine Community Bank Maine Marathon in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 52 seconds. It was his first time competing in the race.

“I thought about putting it on a couple times since then,” said Mills, who graduated from Maine in 2023 and now lives in Portland. “I was like, ‘I can’t,’ and today, I was like, ‘I’ve earned the right to wear this singlet again, whether or not I win.’ So I’m glad I’m still undefeated in it.”

Emma Howe, the 2023 women’s marathon champion, is also still undefeated at the Maine Marathon.

The 29-year from Cambridge, Massachusetts ran the course from Portland’s Back Cove to Yarmouth and back in 2:45.24. Despite developing a blister on her right heel around mile 10 in Cumberland Foreside, Howe’s time on Sunday was 3:33 faster than her first attempt and win.

“I was worried I was gonna have to walk, but I just kept (at) it,” Howe said. “I pulled back my pace a little bit, and that was a good choice. It ended up saving me, I think. But yeah, this will hurt a lot more later, I’m sure, once the adrenaline wears off.”

She also ran the final 16 miles completely alone.

“There were people running the other way, but I was just like, ‘Oh, it’s just me,’ Howe said. “But that’s hard because you don’t have anybody to chase… you just have to lock in and hope that that holds you home.”

Both Mills and Howe were awarded $1,000 cash prizes for their first-place finishes.

Sanjay Raman of Cambridge, Massachusetts was the men’s runner-up with a time of 2:31.41. Scarborough’s Harrison Osborne (2:32.07), Brunswick’s Matt Cheney (2:32.34) and Portland’s Dylan Stoltzfus (2:37.25) rounded out the top five.

Aisling Cuffe of South Portland was the women’s runner-up with a time of 2:56.02. Emma Robidoux of Portland (2:57.20), Katie Edwards of York (3:04.55) and Jenna Swain from Somersworth, New Hampshire (3:08.03) placed third, fourth and fifth.

A record 5,149 people registered for the Maine Marathon, which also includes a half marathon and marathon relay. There were 3,540 individual finishers and 201 relay teams to cross the finish line.

Shortly after race started at 7:45 a.m., temperatures were at 56 degrees. By the time marathoners began crossing the Baxter Boulevard finish line, the temperature was approaching 70 degrees.

This year was the first Maine Marathon with bottle service, meaning elite runners could set up personal water bottles at stations along the course. Howe filled red ketchup bottles with liquids she uses during training and said this solved the dehydration problem she had last time.

Mills used his bottles for motivation, writing the names of five previous winners and running influences — Byrne Decker, Rob Gomez, Spencer McElwain, Jacob Terry and Dan Vassallo. The sixth and final bottle was left blank. Vassallo, the 2007 and 2012 champion, was one of the first people to greet an emotional Mills.

“The fact that I can trace a legacy through this race about running in Maine and running in Portland is really, really important to me,” Mills said.

Two other Mainers made names for themselves in the half marathon.

Colin Cernik, 31, based in Portland, set the new men’s course record by three seconds, finishing at 1:04.39. Cliodhna O’Malley, 29, a former UMaine runner now based in Windham, reset the record on the women’s side at 1:15.05, beating the previous mark by 27 seconds.

Cernik would have set a course record last year with his runner-up time of 1:05.40, but Boston’s Ryan Eiler took the win and the record. Cernik remembered as he made the final stretch down around Back Cove.

“I was thinking about that a lot near the end of the race, when I could see the time, and I knew I was getting close,” Cernik said. “I was really hurting, and I knew if I kept the pace up, I could hit it.”

Will Geoghegan (1:06.00) and Aaron Willingham (1:07.40), both of Portland, finished in second and third place.

O’Malley didn’t go into the race thinking about any records and didn’t think about it, not wanting to jinx the possibility, until she saw the finish line. New York City’s Hirut Guangul set the previous record in 2019.

“I felt in good shape, and I just wanted to see how I could do,” O’Malley said. “It’s always nice, I’ve never broken a tape like that before, so that was really cool. The crowds were great, I had some friends along the way, so yeah, it was a really fun race. PR as well.”

Veronica Graziano of Falmouth earned second place at 1:17.30, and Heather Gallant of Wayne earned third place at 1:17.50.