New event will take place at Fort Williams Park on Aug. 5

CAPE ELIZABETH — The TD Beach to Beacon 10K has added a new event to make the excitement of race weekend accessible to everyone, no matter their abilities.

The inaugural Beacon Walk, Run, Roll, developed in partnership with 2022 race beneficiary The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness, will begin on Friday, Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. at Fort Williams Park. The 4/10-mile course will start at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K finish line, follow the course in reverse along a paved path and end at the finish line of the kids’ race, which takes place later that same evening.

“We are excited to partner with TD Beach to Beacon’s organizers to make the excitement of this iconic race accessible to all,” said Susan Greenwood, executive director of The Cromwell Center. “Like the race’s title sponsor TD Bank, we are all about focusing on what people can do, and this new event celebrates that idea.”

Ken Shapiro, board member for The Cromwell Center, embodies this concept. Shapiro was diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm in 2010; the day after surgery to remove the aneurysm, he experienced a stroke that has left him with limited use of his left side. “I had to re-evaluate my priorities – inspiring me to support my newfound disability community — and that led me to The Cromwell Center,” said Shapiro.

Shapiro believes strongly in the importance of destigmatizing disability early on, which is at the heart of The Cromwell Center’s work. “There’s no shame in disability,” he said. Shapiro plans to participate in the TD Beach to Beacon 10K and is hoping to use his modified recumbent tricycle, which Maine Adaptive introduced him to, alongside the wheelchair racers.

“The TD Beach to Beacon 10K has always been about community,” said Debra Maxfield, director of advancement at Maine Adaptive and coordinator of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K wheelchair division. “Making our event more inclusive and for people of all abilities helps deepen our connection to the community that has supported us all these years. We are thankful to The Cromwell Center, our beneficiary, for helping us conceive the Beacon Walk, Run, Roll, which we hope to make an annual part of race weekend.”

To register for the new event please click here.