While the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race is a world-class event featuring some of the best runners in the world, it’s also considered the crown jewel of road racing for many Maine runners.

Evan Graves of Presque Isle is one of many favorites to capture the unofficial title as Maine road race champion at the 10th annual event in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday morning.

Graves will be in the mix in an outstanding Maine field which includes two-time champ Eric Giddings, who currently runs at Stanford University; former Portland High and Cushing Academy (Mass.) standout Ayalew Taye, who now lives in Cape Elizabeth; and Ethan Hemphill of Freeport, who like Graves is having an outstanding road racing season.

Former Brown University teammates Pat Tarpy, a Yarmouth native, and Jeff Gaudette, a native of Biddeford, will both be in the field but won’t be eligible for Maine titles as both reside in Rhode Island.

Tarpy, who earlier this summer became the first Maine native to run a sub 4-minute mile on Maine soil, recently won the Clam Festival Classic 5-miler in Yarmouth with a time of 23 minutes, 56 seconds.

Gaudette was added to the field this week after Ethiopia’s Tekeste Kebete had to withdraw due to an injury.

Other runners to watch include Kirby Davis of Falmouth, a former University of Maine standout who won the individual crown at the America East championships last fall, Stan Pyle of Portland, Andrew Van Hoogenstyn of Cape Elizabeth, and Michael Downing of Gorham.

In the women’s race, two-time defending champ Emily LeVan of Wiscasset is the heavy favorite.

LeVan will be seeking to become the first Mainer to win three straight at the Beach to Beacon since Julia Kirtland of South Harpswell won the first three races.

LeVan will be pursued by Kristin Pierce-Barry of Scarborough, who is coming off an impressive victory at the Clam Festival Classic 5-miler last month. Susannah Beck of Sedgwick and Sheri McCarthy-Piers of Falmouth are all legitimate contenders.

In the elite field, Meb Keflezighi, arguably the top distance runner in the United States, will be making his Beach to Beacon debut in a top-notch field that includes Kenyans Tom Nyariki, the defending champ, and Duncan Kibet.

Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon, has a chance to become the first U.S. runner to win at the Beach to Beacon.

He’ll have his work cut out for him against Nyariki and Kibet. Kibet is currently ranked fifth in the world by “Running Times,” and he posted the second fastest half-marathon run on American soil last year, winning the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in San Diego in 1 hour, 22 seconds.

Nyarki’s victory in last year’s Beach to Beacon capped his return to the international racing circuit after a carjacking incident in 2003 left him without sight in his right eye. He finished third in 2005 and added a victory at the New York City Half Marathon and a second at the Falmouth Road Race to his Beach to Beacon victory.

On the women’s side, a new champ will be crowned as ’06 winner Alventina Ivanova of Russia is not entered.

Susan Chepkemi of Kenya is back in Cape Elizabeth and has something to prove after finishing a disappointing fourth a year ago.

The 2004 Beach to Beacon champ won the Bix 7-miler in Iowa last year.

Chepkemi will be challenged in a deep field by Wude Ayalew Yamir of Ethiopia, who has plenty of momentum coming into the B2B after a victory at the Peachtree 10K (31:44) in Atlanta last month. Fellow Ethiopian Diribe Alemu will be running her first race on American soil. She has a 10K personal-best of 31:04 on the track and could sneak up on Chepkemi and Yamir.