CAPE ELIZABETH — More than 6,500 runners are expected to participate in the 22nd annual TD Beacon to Beacon 10K road race on Saturday, Aug. 3.

As usual, the race begins at 8 a.m. on Route 77, near Crescent Beach, and finishes 6.2 miles later near Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park.

The Telling Room, a Portland nonprofit that encourages young people to express themselves through writing, is the charitable beneficiary of this year’s race. The organization will receive a $30,000 donation from the TD Bank Charitable Fund, along with proceeds from returnable cans, bib sales, and a silent auction.

Prior to race day TD Bank will host two events: the annual Expo at Cape Elizabeth High School and a Sports Medicine Symposium at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Runners are encouraged to pick up their bibs and visit the Expo on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 1 and 2, from 4-8 p.m. The Expo will include 35 local and national vendors, food samples, and information from the nonprofit partners.

The Expo will also feature a clothing drive for Preble Street in Portland, and a shoe recycling program sponsored by Nike as part of its sustainability efforts.

This year, race organizers also plan to host new programs and features to preserve the race’s Evergreen sustainability certification, an award for environmentally and socially sustainable events from the international Council for Responsible Sport.

The race earned a Silver award for sustainability in 2012 and a Gold award in 2014. In 2016, it received the Evergreen Award, the highest certification, which it held for the past two years.

This year, organizers aim to re-quality for the Evergreen Award by applying for 58 of the possible 61 credits needed for the responsible sport award.

“In order for any event to be sustainable, it has to be economically viable and also provide sustainability for the community,” said Cape Elizabeth resident Bruce Rayner, sustainability instructor for this year’s Beacon to Beacon.

After the race, organizers will document their sustainability efforts. The Council for Responsible Sport is expected to take nearly a month to review the work, according to Rayner.

Among the efforts will be Green Team volunteers sorting through recycling, landfill, and compost items, he said. In the past, these volunteers have collected nearly 6,000 returnable bottles and donated the proceeds to the race beneficiary, according to Rayner.

At the race finish line, there will be a water truck to encourage participants to refill bottles, instead of purchasing disposable bottles, and a completely solar energy-powered stage for announcements.

On Thursday, Aug. 1, the race medical team will present the Sports Medicine Symposium on health topics for runners. The symposium will take place in the Dana Center Auditorium at Maine Medical Center from 5-8 p.m.

The symposium, which is organized for runners, medical professionals, and the general public, will cover topics including the challenges of lifetime fitness, running with heart disease, and a personal narrative tackling being fit versus healthy.

“This is for people interested in sports medicine,” said Scarborough cardiologist Dr. Mylan Cohen, the medical co-director of the race and primary organizer of the symposium. “We often try to offer topics of interest to the general public, as well. That’s where we have an outstanding agenda this year.”

Besides Cohen, symposium speakers will include race founder Joan Benoit Samuelson, race director Dave McGillivray, and MaineHealth professionals Dr. Patrick Hohl and Dr. Scott Buchanan.

At the race, the medical tent will include a team of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, athletic trainers, EMTs, and massage therapists.

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