View 12 photos

When the mass start of the 27th TD Beach to Beacon 10K road race begins on Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth at 8:12 a.m. Saturday, 20 professional male runners will be leading the charge.

With a deep field and a relative cool temperature forecast in the mid-60s, a fast race is possible. The course record of 27 minutes, 27.5 seconds, set by Gilbert Okari of Kenya in 2003, might be in jeopardy.

Here’s our pick for the five men with the best chance to win the $10,000 first-place money and maybe even pick up another $2,500 for a course record.

Tadesse Worku, Ethiopia: Last year’s Beach to Beacon winner, in 28:12 on a brutally muggy day, Worku clocked a 27:24 in January while finishing 11th in the stacked Valencia Ibercaja race. The 23-year-old Worku has personal bests of 26:46 in the 10,000 meters on the track and 58:47 in the half marathon, both in 2022.

Adisu Yihune, Ethiopia: Yihune was the surprise winner of the 2023 Beach to Beacon, edging American Conner Mantz by two seconds with a time of 27:56 in a controversial finish. Mantz claimed Yihune cut him off once then pushed him into the barriers and caused him to break stride when Mantz tried a second time to pass him. Yihune denied pushing Mantz. The 22-year-old Yihune is ranked seventh in the world over 5K on the roads, with a time of 13:04 in March in France.

Conner Mantz, United States: Mantz finished eighth in the 2024 Olympic Games marathon. Mantz, 28, from Utah, won two NCAA cross country titles at Brigham Young University and was the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon champion in 2024. While Mantz is in marathon training for Chicago in October, he believes he can win B2B, and his close call in 2023 will be extra motivation. “I hope to beat (Yihune) this go-around,” Mantz said.

Patrick Kiprop, Kenya: Kiprop, 25, has already had success on American roads this year, winning the Peachtree 10K (27:35) in July and the Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane, Washington, by 35 seconds in May. He was a five-time All-American at Arkansas.

Nibret Melak, Ethiopia: The 25-year-old Melak ran a 27:50 10K on the road in June, and in February turned in a 59:45 half marathon. At the 2024 African Athletics Championships, he won gold in the 10,000 and silver in the 5,000.