CAPE ELIZABETH — Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson is scheduled to join a field of talented world-class distance runners and the best in Maine and across New England in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday for the 15th TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race.

Samuelson, winner of the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984, will toe the line to commemorate the 15th running of the popular road race that she founded in 1998 as a way to give back to her state and community. The running icon is expected to run a leisurely pace along the same picturesque roads that she trained on in her native Cape Elizabeth.

Samuelson will share the coastal course with top elite athletes from East Africa, Europe and the U.S., plus thousands of recreational runners who receive cheers from encouraging spectators who line the route

This year’s expected raceday field of 6,000 will include runners from 16 countries and 44 U.S. states. More than $60,000 in prize money is at stake, including a $10,000 prize each to the top man and woman, $5,000 for the second place and cash prizes for the top 10 finishers. Also, a $2,500 bonus also is available for any runner who sets a new open course record ($500 in the Maine category).

Lots of competition

The world-class fields assembled for both the men’s and women’s races in 2012 will feature some of the best runners on the American road race circuit joined by a contingent of East African, Russian and U.S. track athletes who were strong contenders for spots on their Olympic teams.

In the women’s race, 2011 champ Aheza Kiros of Ethiopia has scratched, but the race remains star-studded with no less than five runners with sub 31:30 10Ks, including Lineth Chepkurai and Wude Ayalew, who ran the two fastest times ever on the course in a 2010 duel.

One of the men’s favorites is Atsedu Tsegay, 20, of Ethiopia, whose 58:47 in Prague this spring remains the fastest half marathon in the world so far in 2012 and is only 24 seconds off the world record. The leading American entered is Sean Quigley, 27, a top U.S. distance runner and former NCAA champion at LaSalle.

“With all the excitement surrounding the London Games, this field is going to showcase a number of Olympic-caliber athletes right here in Maine,” said Samuelson.

The TD Beach to Beacon 10K attracts the state’s top road racers who vie in the Maine Resident races each year for the unofficial title as Maine Road Race Champion.

In the women’s race, defending champ Sheri Piers, 41, of Falmouth, is the prohibitive favorite after competing at a high level in major road races across the country this season. She won the masters title while finishing 13th overall (34:38) at the famed Peachtree 10K in July and 15th overall in an elite field at the Freihofer’s Run for Women in June.

Erica Jesseman, 23, of Scarborough is continuing to recover from injury, but will be in the mix. She finished second to Piers in 2011 and is having a strong 2012 with a win at the L.L. Bean 10K and a runner up finish behind Piers at the Yarmouth Clam Festival Five-Mile.

Kristin Barry, 38, of Scarborough, also a two-time winner and a former course record holder, will be looking for redemption this year after humid conditions caused her to struggle and stop along the course en route to a disappointing fifth-place finish.

In the Maine men’s race, 2011 champion Louie Luchini is attending the London Olympics with friends and will not defend his title.

That leaves the door open for a number of talented Maine runners, led by Jonny Wilson, 24, of Falmouth, who is in top form after notching wins at the L.L. Bean 10K, Yarmouth Clam Festival Five- Mile and Ocean Park 5K.

He will be pushed by Ethan Shaw, 21, of Falmouth,who ran 29:17.89 on the track at 10,000m in April. Other contenders will include Robert Gomez, 28, of Westbrook, who finished just behind Wilson in the Ocean Park 5K, and Josh Zolla, 26, of Freeport, runner up to Wilson in Freeport and Yarmouth