PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A competitor who collapsed short of the finish line at the Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine managed to complete the race with some help. 
 
 Former University of Maine runner Jesse Orach says he thought the race was over and then he felt someone pick him up Saturday. Robert Gomez, of Windham, helped Orach to his feet, and together they crossed the finish line. Then, Orach collapsed again. 
 
 The touching moment was captured by news photographers. 
 
 Gomez told the Portland Press Herald that Orach "gave it more than I did" and deserved to be the top Maine finisher among nearly 6,500 competitors. 
 
 They both had the same time: 31 minutes, 31 seconds. 
 
 Orach tells the newspaper he'd suffered a heat stroke with his core body temperature peaking at 107.3 degrees. ||||| CAPE ELIZABETH — Oh boy. 
 
 That’s what crossed Jesse Orach’s mind when he tried to stand up at the finish line of the Beach to Beacon 10K in sight Saturday morning. The 23-year-old Gorham native was leading the field of Maine runners when he collapsed from heat stroke. 
 
 “It kind of seemed like it was over for me,” said Orach, who finished first among Maine men in last year’s race. “Then, I felt someone pick me up.” 
 
 Compiled images by Staff Photographer Ben McCanna 
 
 Robert Gomez, Orach’s top competitor from Maine, helped him to his feet. Gomez, 34, of Windham held Orach up as they ran together to the finish line, and Gomez gave him a nudge over the line. Both men completed the 6.2-mile course in 31 minutes, 31 seconds. 
 
 “He ran a better race. He gave it more than I did,” Gomez said. “I didn’t deserve to win.” 
 
 Orach, who ran track for the University of Maine before graduating last year, is the first Maine man to repeat as champion since Ben True in 2009. And despite helping the competition, Gomez beat his previous best Beach to Beacon finish of third place in 2010. 
 
 Gomez said he stuck with Orach for the first mile before falling about 30 seconds behind, unable to keep up. He didn’t see Orach again until rounding a turn for the final stretch, where Orach lay in the grass amid a growing crowd of medical personnel. 
 
 “For a split second I kept going until I looked and saw it was Jesse,” Gomez said. “I couldn’t leave him there. In the running community, I feel camaraderie comes before competitiveness.” 
 
 Orach started feeling unstable with about a quarter-mile to go, which he said “felt like an eternity.” His legs gave out less than 100 yards from the finish. Gomez pushed him across the line, and Orach collapsed for the second time. 
 
 “It was scary. I’ve never seen him look like that,” said Orach’s mother, Brenda, who didn’t get to see her son win the Maine division in 2016. She wasn’t about to miss the race and came prepared with a sign reading, “That’s my boy!” with Orach’s bib number (30) on it. 
 
 “But this guy here, what he did was so selfless,” Brenda Orach said as she pointed to Gomez. “You don’t see that very often.” 
 
 After about an hour in the medical tent, Orach emerged, appearing weary-eyed and dazed, wrapped in a silver blanket. He said his core temperature peaked at 107.3 degrees. 
 
 “I’ve felt better,” he said, smiling. “There was a lot of pressure, which could have played a factor in how the race ended. I definitely liked the atmosphere better last year when I didn’t have a target on my back.” 
 
 Orach didn’t immediately know that he had won his second title, and said he got emotional while thanking Gomez for the support. The pair had only met each other the day before at the prerace press conference. 
 
 “I didn’t know what to say,” Orach said. “He got me to the finish line.” 
 
 Liam Simpson of Cape Elizabeth (32:22) finished third among Maine men. 
 
 Rich Hickey, a finish-line referee, said a runner may be disqualified for receiving physical assistance or providing it to another runner. 
 
 “So do you disqualify them both?” Hickey asked rhetorically. “We’re not going to disqualify anybody.” 
 
 For Maine women, Emily Durgin placed first in 34:43. The Cheverus High and recent UConn graduate from Standish will be joining a New Balance team that trains in Boston. 
 
 “This was actually my final year running as a Maine resident, so it’s a big honor,” Durgin said. “I wasn’t trying to run a fast race. It was a strategic race.” 
 
 Durgin was paced by last year’s champion, Michelle Lilienthal of Portland, who finished second in 35:11. 
 
 Lilienthal, 35, was competing without an injury for the first time in three years. A broken foot kept her out of the race in 2015, and she won in 2016 despite an Achilles injury. 
 
 “Going in last year, I was definitely on the upswing even though I was undertrained,” Lilienthal said. 
 
 “This year I felt super confident because I felt fit, but I just didn’t have that last mile. Emily made a move, and I was like, ‘You gotta go now,’ and it just wasn’t there.” 
 
 Lilienthal led for the first five miles before Durgin surged ahead. 
 
 “I just ran right behind her,” Durgin said. “I took off up that last hill and tried to hold on. That was kind of the plan and it worked out great.” 
 
 Tracy Guerrette of St. Agatha was third (36:43). 
 
 “I’m disappointed, but this race is like the Super Bowl of our running community here,” Lilienthal said. “Beach to Beacon will always be special to me.” 
 
 Taylor Vortherms can be contacted at 791-6417 or: 
 
 [email protected] 
 
 Twitter: TaylorVortherms 
 
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 filed under: ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption More than 40,000 runners took part amid temperatures of 24.1C 
 
 This year's London Marathon was officially the hottest on record. 
 
 More than 40,000 runners took part amid temperatures of 24.1C (75.3F) which were recorded in St James's Park, the Met Office said. 
 
 Runners were warned it could be even hotter on the course because of the heat absorbed by the roads and from other competitors. 
 
 The 26.2-mile race was started at 10:00 BST by the Queen who pressed a button from the grounds of Windsor Castle. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Giant fans were installed near the finish line to help runners cool off 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A total of 40,000 runners took part in the marathon 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Temperatures hit a record-breaking high this year 
 
 A high of 22.7C (72.8C) was recorded at St James's Park in 1996 and 22.6C (72.6F) in 2007 - when one runner died after collapsing during the race and 73 had to go to hospital. 
 
 London Marathon event director Hugh Brasher said organisers distributed four-and-a-half litres of water per person - more than any other mass participation event in the world. 
 
 However, he admitted water did run out at miles eight, nine and 10. 
 
 Mr Brasher added that the event, which has seen more than 38,000 finishers, was "planned thoroughly" and organisers would see what lessons could be learnt for next year. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption A total of 800,000 people had been expected to turn out to run and watch 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Runners in fancy dress were earlier urged to "think carefully" if their outfit was appropriate for the weather 
 
 Before the start of the race, organisers warned the high temperatures could be especially difficult for fancy dress runners. 
 
 Almost 100 competitors attempted to enter the Guinness World Records dressed in outfits such as a suit of armour, a Paddington Bear costume and ski boots. 
 
 Rob Pope set a new world record time for a competitor dressed as a film star, crossing the line dressed as Forrest Gump in just over 2 hours 36 minutes. 
 
 Mr Pope, who is running 15,000 miles across America following the route run by Tom Hanks' character, said he had "never seen crowds like that". 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Rob Pope set a new world record time for a competitor dressed as a film star 
 
 A record 386,050 people applied for this year's race - almost a third more than 2017 and the highest number for any marathon in the world. 
 
 Runners Matthew Rees and David Wyeth, who hit the headlines last year after Mr Rees helped his fellow competitor over the finish line, completed the race again in near identical times. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Matthew Rees helped David Wyeth over the finish line in 2017 
 
 The pair started the race together after becoming friends when Mr Wyeth nearly did not finish the race in 2017 after his legs collapsed beneath him. 
 
 Speaking to the BBC, Mr Wyeth said "the first person to give me a hug when I finished was my main man". 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Extra water was provided for the runners due to the hot weather 
 
 One runner, Sue Strachan who has vascular dementia, said she received "amazing" support from people along the course. 
 
 "I have had a couple of wobbles but people from Alzheimer's Research gave me a kiss and said hello and I thought that I have to do this, even if I have to walk at the end. I need to finish." 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Britain's David Weir won his eighth London Marathon in the men's wheelchair race 
 
 This year's runners also included firefighters who tackled the Grenfell Tower blaze and police officer Charlie Guenigault, who was stabbed in the London Bridge terror attack. 
 
 Mr Guenigault, 26, ran to raise money for King's College Hospital, where he had three hours of emergency surgery after being knifed five times on 3 June last year. 
 
 "I don't think I'm fully recovered. As much as how difficult the race was, at the end of the day I'm just glad to say I can do it," he said. 
 
 The first fire crew to arrive at the Grenfell Tower inferno ran the race as a team, raising more than £41,000 for children affected by the disaster. 
 
 Firefighter Mike Dowden said: "The people we were running for were on the last mile and that was really emotional." 
 
 Members of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust also took part, as the marathon marks 25 years since the teenager - who was a keen runner - was murdered. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Sir Mo Farah came third in the men's elite race, but broke the British record with a time of 2:06:22 
 
 Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge came first in the men's elite race to win his third London Marathon title, with Britain's Sir Mo Farah finishing third and setting a new British record. 
 
 Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya won the women's elite race - recording a personal best time of 2:18:31. 
 
 Kathrine Switzer, who made history in 1967 by competing in the then men-only Boston Marathon, also completed the course. 
 
 The 71-year-old, who 50 years ago had to fight off race officials to compete, said: "There are thousands of women out there whose lives have been so enhanced and empowered from running." 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Vivian Cheruiyot won her first London Marathon 
 
 Britain's David Weir won his eighth London Marathon with a time of 01:31:15 as he took first place in the men's wheelchair race. 
 
 Australia's Madison de Rozario won her first-ever London Marathon to take victory in the women's wheelchair race. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters 
 
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 Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Queen officially started the 2018 London Marathon from Windsor Castle 
 
 Hundreds of police officers were on duty to help the spectators and runners. 
 
 London Ambulance Service advised runners to stay hydrated in the heat. 
 
 More water, ice and shower stations were added along the route to help runners cool down and a row of fans was installed near the finish line. 
 
 The coldest London Marathon was in 2016 when temperatures at St James's Park did not go above 10.2C (50.4C). 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Showers were installed along the route to help runners keep cool
– A competitor who collapsed short of the finish line at the Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine managed to complete the race with some help. "It kind of seemed like it was over for me," says former University of Maine runner Jesse Orach, who won last year’s race. "Then, I felt someone pick me up." Robert Gomez, of Windham, helped Orach to his feet, and together they crossed the finish line. Then, Orach collapsed again. "He ran a better race," tells the Portland Press Herald. "He gave it more than I did. I didn’t deserve to win." "I couldn’t leave him there," Gomez continues. "In the running community, I feel camaraderie comes before competitiveness."The touching moment was captured by news photographers, reports the AP. Gomez and Orach both had the same time: 31 minutes, 31 seconds. Orach tells the newspaper he'd suffered a heat stroke, with his core body temperature peaking at 107.3 degrees. There were nearly 6,500 competitors.