Registration for the TD Beach to Beacon, a Cape Elizabeth road race founded by Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, is set to begin for the general public at 7 a.m. on Friday, March 11, race organizers announced Thursday. Cape Elizabeth residents will be allowed to register for 600 slots at 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 10.

Last year, all 4,000 slots allotted to the general public were filled online in a record four minutes, 15 seconds. Organizers say 2016 will be no different, meaning runners must be prepared to fill out the registration form as quickly as possible.

A lottery for the 1,950 remaining slots will take place from March 11 through March 20, with lottery entrants announced on March 22. Runners register at the race website, www.beach2beacon.org. The race entry fee for 2016 will remain at $50.

Participants can enter as an individual or as part of a team of up to six members. Registration for the lottery will be held from March 11 until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. The lottery drawing will be on March 22. The race will charge a $5 fee to enter the lottery. Winners’ names will be posted on the race website.

The race will allow transfers from April 1 through June 30. The race will charge a $5 transfer fee. Cape Elizabeth residents registered in the 600 entries allocated to Cape Elizabeth residents can only transfer to another Cape Elizabeth resident.

After the transfer period ends on June 30, runners may not exchange bibs or run under another person’s bib or they will risk banishment from the race for future years.

Detailed registration information is available at http://www.beach2beacon.org/2016registration.

After registration for Cape residents, the general public and the lottery is complete, the remaining bibs will be set aside for world-class athletes, sponsors and charities. Also, the 120-plus “legacy” runners who have participated in every TD Beach to Beacon will be invited to register beginning March 1.

In addition, the race’s 2016 beneficiary, to be announced in February, as well as past beneficiaries will make bib numbers available to runners in exchange for fundraising and/or support.

Online registration for the Kids Fun Run – set for Friday, Aug. 5, at Fort Williams – will begin March 15 and continue through June 30. Parents can also register their children at the Expo on Thursday, Aug. 4, from 4-8 p.m. and on Friday at the Kids Fun Run event, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The race begins near the Crescent Beach entrance on Route 77, winds along tree-lined streets and past breathtaking ocean vistas, and ends in Fort Williams Park at the historic Portland Head Light, the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

In 2015, a record-setting 6,602 runners from 15 countries, 41 states and more than 265 Maine cities and towns finished the winding, rolling, often breathtaking 6.2-mile coastal course. Thousands of spectators cheered runners along the route and at the finish, and more than 800 volunteers helped ensure a smooth operation. The race debuted in 1998 with 2,408 runners crossing the finish line.