Given Joan Benoit Samuelson’s stature in the world running community, perhaps it was inevitable that the race she founded in 1998, the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10-kilometer (6.2 miles), would become Maine’s premier summer road racing event.

This year’s race, which gets under way Saturday at 8 a.m. in Cape Elizabeth, has once again attracted a field of world class athletes – including the world’s four top-ranked women’s road racers. About 4,000 runners will compete over the hilly circuit from Crescent Beach to the Portland Head Light.

The elite athletes will contend for $50,000 in prize money, including $7,500 for first in the men’s and women’s divisions. But according to elite athlete director Larry Barthlow, it isn’t just the cash that keeps them coming back.

”It’s Maine, the ocean, summertime. It’s a pretty easy sell,” he said.

Barthlow added that Samuelson’s reputation makes the race attractive to elites. Samuelson, a Cape Elizabeth native, won the 1984 Olympic marathon.

Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba, the reigning Boston Marathon champion and the winner of all three Beach to Beacons, headlines the women’s field. According to Barthlow, she is currently first in the world road racing rankings.

Challenging Ndereba are the world’s second-, third-, and fourth-ranked road racers: Lornah Kiplagat and Jane Ngotho of Kenya, and Elana Meyer of South Africa. Meyer was the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in the 10K.

Joseph Kimani of Kenya returns to defend his men’s title. He will be pushed by Kenyans James Koskei, John Kagwe, and Abraham Chebii, and German Silva of Mexico. Kagwe and Silva are both two-time New York City Marathon champions.

Samuelson also has made sure her race caters to more than just the world-class athletes. The race has a Maine-only prize category, in which residents compete for a $1,000 first-place award.

That incentive insures that the state’s top road racers turn out to compete for what has become an unofficial state championship.

For Searsport native Andy Spaulding, who moved back to Maine from Connecticut in September, the race has been a focal point for his training.

”In running, after high school and even college…you sort of lose that something to look forward to every year. This makes it really exciting for the Maine people,” he said.

The 30-year-old Spaulding graduated from Searsport in 1989 and ran cross country and track for the University of Maine. He is expected to challenge Byrne Decker of Yarmouth for top honors among the Maine men.

Spaulding has finished second behind Decker in two races this summer.

This is Spaulding’s first Beach to Beacon, and the first time since the race was founded that he has been a resident of Maine.

Spaulding admitted that his return to Maine was initially difficult for his training. He and his wife purchased a house in Freeport before leaving their jobs in New York and Connecticut.

So, even after the move, Spaulding kept his job in White Plains, N.Y.

”I left [Freeport] at 4:30 a.m. Monday and came back late Thursday night. I worked some hellish days,” Spaulding said.

In January Spaulding got a job in Augusta as a work-site health coordinator, slicing his commute to a mere 76-mile round trip.

As a result, Spaulding has been able to increase his training to 60 to 70 miles per week. Although that is considerably less than the 80 to 90 miles per week he ran in college, he is still hopeful the training will pay off Saturday.

”It’s been really difficult to get back. I still don’t feel I’ve raced well this year….But I think I have a good shot at it. I’ve been going over strategies,” he said.

Bob Winn, 42, of Ogunquit won the first two Beach to Beacons and has also entered. Defending champion Todd Coffin of Freeport will not compete after suffering a compound fracture in his ankle while trail running in Cutler.

Winn has been competing in out-of-state races and has not faced any of the top Maine men this year. He was diagnosed with asthma last fall and said he is hoping for a rainy day Saturday because he breathes easier in that weather.

Julia Kirtland of South Harpswell, a former national champion in the marathon, is back to defend her three Beach to Beacon titles. Two-time runner-up Christine Snow-Reaser of Dayton and Rose Prest-Morrison of Limerick will also contend.