News Releases
ROAD RACE ANNOUNCES DONATIONS (April 3, 2024)
Fifteen charities will benefit from the efforts of the 11,060 runners who registered for last November’s 87th Manchester Road Race.
The Manchester Road Race Committee announced today that it will make charitable donations totaling $81,650 from the proceeds of the 2023 road race.
As it has done for more than seven decades, the committee will once again contribute to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Research to combat Muscular Dystrophy and other crippling childhood diseases has been a charitable objective of race organizers since 1951.
With the MRR’s growth in size and popularity, the race committee has been able to expand and diversify its philanthropic outreach. Other donation recipients this year include non-profit organizations that sponsor scholastic and youth running programs, operate a diaper bank, assist local residents whose homes need repairs, conduct an educational summer camp program, offer music and drama instruction to local children, print maps for area walking and running trails, and provide sports and recreational activities, and gifts at Christmas time, for young people in under-served communities.
In addition to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the road race committee will make donations this year to the following organizations: Blue Angels Foundation; CAST; Gentle Love Diaper Pantry; Manchester Adult and Continuing Education summer camp program; Manchester Elks Lodge; Manchester PAL; MARC; M.H.S. Track & Field; Manchester Running Company Track & Field; Manchester Pipe Band; Rebuilding Together Manchester; Rotary in Motion trail map project; and Shenipsit Striders.
The Transitional Living Center of Manchester, which provides a nurturing and supportive residence for homeless and displaced youth, will receive a special bequest from the MRR’s Honors Club Program. Each year, the road race designates a specific area charity to honor. Up to 100 entrants, who pay $100 instead of the regular entry fee, can sign up to run on behalf of the organization. All proceeds are donated to that charity. Last November, 86 runners ran the road race to benefit the Transitional Living Center.
“The Manchester Road Race has a very long and proud tradition of charitable giving,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We could not make these contributions without the tremendous support that we receive from our great runners, financial sponsors, volunteers, media partners, and the Town of Manchester, and we are very grateful to all of them.”
The 88th Manchester Road Race will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024). On-line registration for the event, which is regarded as one of America’s largest and best Turkey Day races, will open on September 1st.
ROAD RACE BLOOD DRIVE SETS ANOTHER RECORD (November 24, 2023)
Runners, volunteers and friends of the Manchester Road Race rolled up their sleeves to donate a record 372 pints of blood Friday at the 37th Ray Crothers Blood Drive.
The blood drive, which is sponsored by the Manchester Road Race Committee and the American Red Cross of Connecticut, has been held annually on the day after Thanksgiving since 1986.
The 372 pints of blood collected will benefit 1116 patients in need of blood, plasma and platelets, and set another single day collection record for the road race blood drive.
The prior record was 364 pints, which were collected at last year’s event. A total of 8,258 pints of blood have been donated at the MRR blood drive during the past 36 years.
“We were delighted with the turnout and are extremely pleased to partner in this life-saving effort with the Red Cross,” said Lance Morgan, a physician assistant and member of the MRR’s executive committee who coordinates the drive. “We are so thankful to our generous donors and financial sponsors.”
The blood drive is named in memory of Ray Crothers of Tolland, who won the Manchester Road Race in 1965 and competed in the race for 43 years prior to his death from cancer in 2008.
ECHN was the event’s principal financial sponsor. Additional support was provided by Eastern Connecticut Pathology Consultants, Highland Park Market and Fox 61.
MANCHESTER ROAD RACE ENTRIES EXCEED 11,000 RUNNERS (November 22, 2023)
Manchester Road Race officials announced this morning that a total of 11,060 runners have signed up to participate in the 87th edition of the holiday run.
Registrations for the iconic 4.748-mile Thanksgiving turkey trot closed last night at 11:59 p.m. No post entries will be accepted on race day.
Last year, 9,641 runners entered the MRR.
This year’s field is the largest since 2018, when 12,425 runners registered to run and 8,278 competitors finished the course. The 2018 MRR was run under arctic-like conditions with temperatures that dropped to 14 degrees at race time,
“We are very gratified to have our largest field in recent years, and to see the number of participants back at pre-pandemic levels,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It’s going to be a great road race."
Among the 11,060 entrants will be defending champions Conner Mantz and Weini Kelati. Mantz won last year’s race in the course record time of 21:04. Kelati won the women’s championship for the past two years and set the women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021.
The road race will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2023). It starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.
TOYOTA TUNDRA i-FORCE MAX TO SERVE AS OFFICIAL MRR PACE CAR (NOVEMBER 17, 2023)
The Manchester Road Race Committee has announced that the Official Pace Car of the 87th edition of the Thanksgiving Day Race will be the Toyota Tundra i-FORCE MAX provided by your Connecticut Toyota Dealers.
This will be the fourth straight year that a Toyota vehicle has led the way for runners on Manchester's just-under five-mile course on Thanksgiving morning.
Again this year the Connecticut Toyota Dealers will also have a display on Main Street in front of Bennett Academy where Race participants and spectators can check out the Pace Car and another Toyota vehicle before the Race start and after the last MRR walkers have turned the corner off of Main Street. Or they can visit one of the 16 Connecticut Toyota Dealers for a more leisurely and personalized experience.
The Toyota Tundra i-FORCE MAX is the top dog in the 2023 Tundra line and packs a hybrid power train with 437 horsepower at 5,200 rpm, and a staggering 583 lb.-ft. of torque at a low 2,400 rpm. Yet, this new powerhouse is also an efficiency maven, with up to EPA-estimated 20 MPG city/24 MPG highway/22 MPG combined fuel economy ratings, depending on model, grade and drive train.
The new i-FORCE MAX combines the twin-turbo V6 with a motor generator with a clutch located within the bell housing between the engine and 10-speed automatic transmission. The motor generator provides additional power through the transmission, while the engine start-up, EV driving, electric assist and energy regeneration are solely done via the parallel hybrid components. The system employs a proven and reliable 288V sealed Nickel-metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery located under the rear passenger seats.
MRR RELEASES INFORMATION ABOUT RACE DAY STREET CLOSURES (November 14, 2023)
The Manchester Road Race Committee announced information today about the street closures, parking restrictions and traffic disruptions that will occur when the annual holiday run is held on Thanksgiving Day.
The MRR is run on a 4.748 mile-long loop course through the town’s central streets and is expected to attract more than 30,000 spectators and a field of approximately 10,000 runners to Manchester’s downtown area. It will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23, 2023). The race starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St James Church.
Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, said that race organizers are cooperating with the Manchester Police Department, the Connecticut State Police and local officials to plan for the race and any related traffic issues. “The safety of our runners, spectators and the general public is our primary concern,” Carta said.
In preparation for the road race, Manchester Police have announced an on-street parking ban, from 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22, 2023 through 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 23, 2023, on the following streets:
- Linden Street from East Center to Locust Street;
- East Center Street from Main Street to Center Street; and
- Main Street from Center Street to Hartford Road. If necessary, vehicles will be towed.
Downtown Main Street will be closed to all traffic between Bissell Street and Maple Street at 5:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning to allow crews to erect fencing and ropes along the roadway. Main Street closures will be extended from East Center Street to Charter Oak Street starting at 5:30 a.m.
All local roads intersecting the road race course will be closed at 9:00 a.m. Vehicular traffic will not be permitted to enter or leave the interior of the road race course from 9:00 a.m., until the race has ended (approximately 11:30 a.m.). A map of the MRR course, which indicates the interior streets that will be affected by the closures, can be viewed on “Race Info & Rules” at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
Exit ramps on I-384 that abut the MRR race course will be closed from 8:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. These include Westbound Exit 3 (Charter Oak St.); Westbound Exit 4 (Highland St.); Eastbound Exit 3 Main Street and Eastbound Exit 4 (Wyllys St). No parking is permitted along the shoulders of I-384.
Normal traffic on the affected Manchester streets should resume at approximately 11:30 a.m.
“We want to alert everyone, especially the residents who live within the interior of the road race course, about the street closures so they can make their plans for the holiday,” Carta said. “If you live in that area and need to travel on Thanksgiving morning, please be sure to leave before the roads close to traffic at 9 a.m.”
Carta added that due to the high volume of traffic expected in Manchester on Thanksgiving morning, the race committee will once again offer free shuttle bus rides to and from the event. The buses will run from the Manchester Community College parking lot before the race and return there after the event concludes. More information about the shuttle service, including the times of operation, can be viewed under “Shuttle, Parking and Rest Rooms” at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
MANCHESTER ROAD RACE WILL BE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY (November 13, 2023)
If you can’t participate at the Manchester Road Race in person on Thanksgiving Day, you’ll still be able to run, watch or listen to it this year through the miracles of modern technology.
Road Race organizers are again offering a Virtual Manchester Road Race to those unable to attend the onsite event in person. Runners can download a GPS-enabled app onto their smartphones and run the iconic 4.748-mile distance at any location in the world.
The entry fee for the virtual road race is $30 and registrations end at 11:59 p.m. EST on November 21,2023. No prizes are awarded, but completion of the VMRR counts as an official MRR finish for longevity streak purposes. Registrations and more details are available @ www.manchesterroadrace.com.
Fans who can’t be in Manchester will also be able to watch the iconic holiday run on television. or listen to the race on the radio.
Fox 61 TV will air live coverage of the MRR from 9-11 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning with anchors Tim Lammers and Erika Arias joined by race analyst Ian Brooks. The road race can also be viewed through streaming on demand on the Fox 61+ app, which is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.
Brian Shactman of WTIC NewsTalk 1080 will host his morning radio program from the race course from 5:30-9:45 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. NewsTalk 1080 will also broadcast live coverage of the road race, including interviews with the winners, from 10-11 a.m. Jim Harvey, the MRR’s elite runner coordinator, and Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, will handle the call of the race.
THERE IS STILL ROOM AT THE STARTING LINE (November 9, 2023)
Although nearly 8000 runners have registered to compete in the 87th Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, there is still room at the starting line and time left to sign up.
Race officials are reminding potential participants in the iconic Turkey Day run that registrations will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 21st. No entries will be accepted on the day of the road race.
The race organizers also indicated that runners who register prior to 1 p.m. on November 18th will save five dollars. The registration fee increases from $37 to $42 on November 18th.
Online registration is available at www.manchesterroadrace.com. There will also be the following opportunities to register in-person:
- Saturday, November 18 from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. during the MRR Health & Fitness Expo at the Manchester High School cafeteria, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester;
- Monday, November 20 from 4 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Fleet Feet, 1003 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford;
- Tuesday, November 21 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Urban Lodge Brewery, 47 Purnell Place in Manchester.
The 87th Manchester Road Race will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2023). One of America’s oldest and most popular turkey trots, the race is run on a 4.748-mile loop course through the town’s central streets. It starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
Last year’s MRR attracted 9,641 registered runners. Conner Mantz of Mapleton, Utah won the race and set a course record of 21:04. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona captured her second straight women’s championship with a time of 23:39. Kelati holds the women’s course record of 22:55, which she set at the 2021 MRR. Both athletes have entered this year's road race.
HOFFMAN LEXUS NAMED A PRINCIPAL SPONSOR OF THE 2023 MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (November 7, 2023)
The Manchester Road Race has announced that Hoffman Lexus in East Hartford, CT will be a Principal Sponsor of the 2023 Thanksgiving Day event. Hoffman Lexus will join two other long-time sponsors at that level, ECHN and Pratt & Whitney, to help present this year's edition of the region's preeminent Turkey Day Race.
Hoffman Lexus teamed with the MRR last year to present the organization's Road Race Saturday, and will fill that role again this year. Plans call for Hoffman Lexus to feature the latest Lexus models, including the first-ever Lexus TX, an all-new luxury three-row SUV, and Lexus RZ, the first-ever Lexus battery electric vehicle, on display at Manchester High School during the Sports & Fitness Expo and Little Manchester Road Race on Road Race Saturday on November 18th, and along the Race course in Manchester at Bennett Academy and Highland Park Market on Thanksgiving Morning.
In announcing the news, MRR President Dr. Tris Carta lauded the East Hartford luxury vehicle dealership. “Hoffman Lexus is a perfect fit with the Manchester Road Race,” Carta explained. “Their family-owned and operated business has been providing quality products and services for Connecticut families since 1921, six years before the first Manchester Road Race!”
Hoffman East - President, Matthew Hoffman, agrees with Carta, and is excited for Road Race participants and fans to check out the company's Road Race display vehicles and visit the dealership before year-end to see how easy Hoffman makes the car-buying process. “As part of the Hoffman Auto Group, Hoffman Lexus delivers an experience encompassed in trust, whether you are buying a car with our exceptional sales team or receiving top-quality service from our experienced technician team,” Hoffman promises.
CONNER MANTZ TO RUN AT MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (November 6, 2023)
The Manchester Road Race Committee announced today that defending champion and course record holder Conner Mantz will compete here again this Thanksgiving
Mantz, who won two NCAA Division 1 cross country titles when he ran for Brigham Young University, rocketed around the 4.748-mile course and won the 2022 MRR in the time of 21:04. He knocked 12 seconds off the prior mark of 21:16 that Edward Cheserek set in 2018.
Also expected to be at the starting line will be last year’s runner-up, Morgan Beadlescomb. Beadlescomb, a former Michigan State All-American, shadowed Mantz across the finish stripe last November in 21:05.
Beadlescomb’s time is the second fastest ever run on the Manchester course. Last year’s elite field was so strong that the first five runners to finish all eclipsed Cheserek’s former record.
Mantz, who is 26 and lives in Mapleton, Utah, placed sixth last month at the Chicago Marathon with the personal record and Olympic standard qualifying time of 2:07:47. Beadlescomb, 25, ran a personal best time of 13:08.82 for 5000 meters at a meet in Los Angeles in May, and won the USATF national 5-K championship at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K in 13:44 on Nov. 4th.
“We are extremely pleased that last year’s top two finishers, Conner Mantz and Morgan Beadlescomb, are returning this year,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It is going to be another very exciting race,” he predicted.
ROAD RACE SATURDAY EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 18 (November 3, 2023)
Activities leading up to the 87th Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day will begin in earnest on November 18th when race organizers host “Road Race Saturday” at Manchester High School.
Events will include the popular Little Manchester Road Race on the M.H.S. track, and the MRR Health & Fitness Expo, which will be held in the school’s cafeteria. Manchester High School is located at 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
Hoffman Lexus is the Presenting Sponsor of Road Race Saturday, and will have several new Lexus vehicles on display.
The Little Manchester Road Race (LMRR) is a fun run for kids ages 12 and under, which features non-competitive races of different distances for children in various age groups. Entries are limited to the first 1000 youngsters who register at www.manchesterroadrace.com. Check-in for the LMRR will begin at 8:30 a.m. on November 18th in the high school cafeteria, and running events will start at 10 a.m. on the M.H.S. track. There will also be a precision skydiving demonstration, music, costumed characters, a fire truck display and other fun activities.
All participants in the LMRR will receive a medal. There is no charge, although runners are requested to bring two items of non-perishable food, which will be donated to the M.A.C.C Emergency Food Pantry to aid the effort to eliminate food insecurity.
Henkel of Rocky Hill is the Presenting Sponsor of the Little Manchester Road Race.
The MRR Health & Fitness Expo will be held in the M.H.S cafeteria on November 18 from 8:30 a.m. until 12 noon. Exhibits related to health, conditioning and training, goods and services from sponsors, and other subjects of interest to runners will be on display. MRR shirts will be available for purchase.
The Presenting Sponsor of the Health & Fitness Expo is Integrated Rehabilitation Services.
Walk-in registration for the 87th MRR and bib pickup and seeding for runners who have previously registered will also be held in the M.H.S. cafeteria from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on November 18th.
“We have a very full itinerary scheduled on Road Race Saturday, and it is going to be a lot of fun,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It promises to be the exciting start of a great week in Manchester, that will lead up to our road race on Thanksgiving Day and our Ray Crothers Blood Drive on the day after.”
The 87th Manchester Road Race, one of the nation's largest and most popular Turkey Day runs, has been designated a World Athletics Label Event by World Athletics, the governing body of the sport of track and field. The road race will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2023) at 10 a.m. on a 4.748-mile loop course through the town’s central streets. It starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
WEINI KELATI TO DEFEND MANCHESTER ROAD RACE TITLES (October 30, 2023)
Course record-holder Weini Kelati plans to return to Manchester this November to defend her back-to-back titles at the Thanksgiving Day run, the Manchester Road Race Committee announced today.
Kelati’s manager recently confirmed to race officials that the 26-year-old champion will be at the starting line when the 87th Manchester Road Race is held on Thanksgiving Day.
Kelati shredded the MRR record book in 2021 when she won the women’s championship in 22:55, slicing more than a minute off the prior mark of 23:57 held by Buze Diriba. She ran with the men’s leader pack for much of that race and finished in 18th place overall.
An 11-time All-American runner when she competed for the University of New Mexico, Kelati also won the MRR last year. Her time of 23:39 at the 2022 MRR rates as the second-fastest time run by a woman on the 4.748-mile Manchester course.
“Weini is an amazing athlete with exceptional grit, speed and endurance who has had two incredible performances at our road race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We are very excited that she is coming back to Manchester for the third straight year.”
Born in Eritrea, Kelati became a U.S. citizen in 2021 and now lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. She was the NCAA Division 1 champion in cross country and the 10,000 meters while in college. Kelati won the 2023 USATF 10K women’s championship in September with a time of 31:57, and earlier this year she ran a personal best time of 31:04 for the 10,000 meters.
MARATHON GREAT SARA HALL TO RUN AT MRR (October 19,2023)
One of the world’s top marathon runners will compete in the 87th Manchester Road Race.
Race officials announced today that Sara Hall, who placed fifth at the World Marathon Championships last year with a time of 2:22:10, has entered the Thanksgiving Day run. This will be her first appearance in Manchester.
Hall, 40, was the runner-up at the 2020 London Marathon in 2:22:01. Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:20:32, and she has also run the half-marathon in 1:07:15.
A seven-time All-American when she competed for Stanford University, Hall was formerly a steeplechase competitor before stepping up to the marathon distance. She won the gold medal in the steeplechase at the 2011 Pan American Games in Mexico.
Hall is married to retired Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall. Ryan, who also competed for Stanford, set the United States records for the marathon and half marathon. In 2017, the couple adopted four young sisters from Ethiopia. The family resides in Flagstaff, Arizona.
“Sara is a wonderful addition to this year’s race,” said Jim Harvey, the MRRs elite runner coordinator. “She is a very accomplished athlete and a great person.”
The 87th Manchester Road Race, which has been designated a World Athletics Label Event by World Athletics, the international governing body of the sport of track and field, will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov.23, 2023). The 4.748-mile-long road race is run on a loop course through Manchester’s central district that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
MRR PERENNIAL PERFORMERS TO REACH HISTORIC MILESTONES (October 11, 2023)
Several of the Manchester Road Race’s longest running “perennial performers” are expected to reach historic milestones this November.
Janit Romayko of East Hartford and Beth Shluger of Waterford have registered to run the course for the 50th time on Thanksgiving Day. Women were not permitted to officially enter the MRR until 1974.
“Their longevity records are extremely impressive,” said Dani Kennedy, MRR Registrar. “It takes an awful lot of persistence and dedication to run a race for half a century like they have.”
Amby Burfoot of Mystic and John Salcius of South Windsor are both expected to compete here for the 61st time this November. They share the record of most MRRs completed with 60 runs each.
Burfoot, a nine-time Manchester winner and former Boston Marathon champion, first entered the race in 1963 as a Fitch High School senior and has competed in Manchester every year since then. Salcius ran his first MRR in 1959 as a member of the Manchester High School cross country team. His 60 Thanksgiving Day races were not run consecutively, although he compiled an enviable record of appearing in 52 straight MRRs.
If Burfoot crosses the finish line as anticipated on Thanksgiving morning, his unbroken string of 61 straight Turkey Day runs here will set the MRR record for most consecutive runs, and may also be the longest consecutive streak in road racing history.
The Manchester Road Race designates men who have run the race 50 or more times and women who have competed in at least 40 races as “perennial performers,” and awards them distinctive red, white and blue race bibs. A longevity table listing the Manchester Road Race’s perennial performers can be found at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
“We are very proud of the accomplishments of all our perennial performers and deeply appreciate their loyalty to the Manchester Road Race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee.
MILITARY TO BE HONORED AT MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (October 6, 2023)
Members and veterans of the Armed Forces who are running in the 87th Manchester Road Race will once again be honored on Thanksgiving Day,
Local veterans’ organizations and the Manchester Road Race Committee will team up to co-sponsor a “Veterans’ Row” tribute for all active duty, reserve, and National Guard service members and veterans who enter the annual holiday run, race officials announced today.
A pre-race reception with light refreshments will be held from 8:15 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is located near the corner of Main Street and East Center Street in Manchester. All service members and vets will receive a MRR commemorative pin.
Service members and veterans competing in the race will also receive recognition when they pass by the Veterans’ Row “Path of Honor” on the race course near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Path of Honor will be lined with American flags, the POW/MIA flag, and the flags of all branches of the armed forces.
The Manchester Veterans Advisory Committee, American Legion Post 133 of South Windsor, American Legion Post 102 of Manchester, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2046 of Manchester, DAV Chapter 17 of Manchester, DAV Department of Connecticut and the Manchester Army and Navy Club are co-hosting the event with the race committee.
General Dynamics Electric Boat is the event’s Principal Sponsor. Additional financial support is provided by Horst Engineering, Pursuit Aerospace, Elks Lodge 1893, DAV Chapter 17, GEICO, Goodwin University and VFW POST 2046. Refreshments will be donated by Highland Park Market.
The Manchester Road Race has a long history of affiliation with veterans. In 1945, after a 10-year period when the event was not held due to the Great Depression and World War II, the road race was revived by returning veterans Earl Yost, Charlie Robbins and Fran Leary. The trio formed a committee to rekindle interest in the race, and convinced the local Army & Navy Club to co-sponsor it with the town Recreation Department.
The MRR, which has been held every year since 1945 (including in 2020 when Covid-19 forced race officials to stage it as a virtual event) has been won 26 times by 17 veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Olympian Johnny Kelley of Groton was an Army Veteran who won the race six times, and Manchester’s Joe McCluskey, an Olympic bronze medalist who served with the Navy in the South Pacific during WWII, was a four-time winner. Robbins, a Navy vet, won the road race in 1945 and 1946.
“Our road race is extremely grateful to every veteran,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “This is our way of saying thanks for their sacrifices and service.”
MANCHESTER ROAD RACE TO SPONSOR RAY CROTHERS BLOOD DRIVE (October 2, 2023)
On the day after it hosts New England’s largest Thanksgiving Day run, the Manchester Road Race Committee will join with the American Red Cross to sponsor one of Connecticut’s largest blood drives.
The 37th annual “Ray Crother’s Blood Drive,” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 24, 2023 at Manchester High School, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
The event, which in recent years has become one of the state’s largest single day blood collection efforts, is being held in conjunction with the American Red Cross of Connecticut.
All donors will receive a Manchester Road Race tee-shirt. Walk-in donations will be accepted. Appointments, which are encouraged, can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767, or online.
More information about the holiday blood drive, and a direct link to the Red Cross appointment website, can be found at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
Race officials started sponsoring the blood drive in 1986 and have held it annually since then on the day after the road race. The event is named for Ray Crothers, a popular MRR champion from Tolland. Crothers won the race in 1965, and competed in it for 43 years. He died from cancer in 2008.
According to Lance Morgan, a physician assistant and member of the MRR Executive Committee who coordinates the drive, 7,886 pints of blood have been donated since the event began. Last year, 364 pints, which benefitted 1092 patients in need of blood, plasma and platelets, were collected.
“We are hoping to surpass last year’s numbers and to see the total number of units collected since 1986 exceed 8000 pints, Morgan said.
“The Manchester Road Race is delighted to once again partner with the American Red Cross,” Morgan added. “We are extremely grateful to our generous donors and financial sponsors, and we’re urging everyone who possibly can to help save lives by giving blood on the day after Thanksgiving.”
The principal financial sponsor of the Ray Crothers Blood Drive is Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), a network of hospitals, outpatient healthcare centers and medical providers serving eastern Connecticut residents. Additional support is being provided by Eastern Connecticut Pathology Consultants, Highland Park Market and FOX61.
OLYMPIAN KIPYEGO NAMED MRR HONORARY CHAIRPERSON (September 25, 2023)
Sally Kipyego, an Olympic silver medalist and two-time Manchester Road Race champion, will return to Manchester this November as the road race’s honorary chairperson, it was announced today.
Kipyego won the Thanksgiving Day run in 2010 with a time of 24:06, and returned the following year to capture her second title in 24:22. A world-class performer in every distance event from 3000 meters to the marathon, she ran away from the women’s field during each of her Manchester appearances and held a winning margin of more than 40 seconds at both races.
The Kenyan-born runner, who became an American citizen in 2017, was the runner-up in the10,000 meters at the 2011 World Championships.
In 2012, Kipyego finished second behind Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia in the 10,000 meters finals at the London Olympic Games in 30:26.37, a personal best. In addition to her silver medal run in the 10,000 meters to, Kipyego just missed another podium appearance at the London Olympics when she placed fourth in the 5000 meters finals.
A 2009 graduate of Texas Tech University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Kipyego won a record nine individual NCAA running championships during her collegiate career, including three consecutive Division 1 cross country titles.
Kipyego finished second at the 2017 New York City Marathon, and represented the United States in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she placed 17th. Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:25:10.
According to Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, the race annually selects an honorary chairperson to recognize his or her outstanding contributions to the MRR, or the sport of running.
“Sally Kipyego is one of the greatest distance competitors in the world, and we are very pleased that she will be our honorary chairperson,” Carta said. “She made many friends here when she won the two championships, and we are all delighted to welcome her back to the road race this Thanksgiving.”
The 87th Manchester Road Race, which has been designated as a 2023 World Athletics Label Event, will be held on Thanksgiving Day (Nov.23, 2023) at 10 a.m. The iconic 4.748-mile run, one of America’s oldest and most popular Turkey Day road races, is held on a loop course through the town’s central streets.
The road race starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The event’s principal financial sponsors are ECHN, Hoffman Lexus and Pratt & Whitney.
ROAD RACE ENTRY FEES TO INCREASE OCTOBER 1st (September 18,2023)
Manchester Road Race officials are reminding potential entrants that the registration fees for the annual Thanksgiving Day run will increase on October 1st.
The entry fee is $32 for runners who sign up online by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on September 30. It increases to $37 on October 1st, and to $42 on November 18th. Registration closes on November 21st, and no entries will be accepted on race day.
Race organizers also indicated that all participants who sign up for the road race by October 9th will receive personalized race bibs embossed with their names.
“We hope that as many people as possible will take advantage of our early registration fee incentive and sign up before October 1st,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee.
The MRR, which is run on a 4.748-mile-long loop course through the town’s central streets, attracted 9,641 registered runners last Thanksgiving.
Race officials are also offering a virtual option for those who cannot be present in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day. Runners can use a GPS-equipped app on their smart phones to run the race remotely anywhere in the world. More details about the Virtual Manchester Road Race are also available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
The 87th Manchester Road Race will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2023. The race, which is one of the nation’s oldest and most popular turkey trots, starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.
Last year’s MRR was won by Conner Mantz of Mapleton, Utah, who set the course record of 21:04. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona won the women’s championship for the second straight year in 23:39. Kelati set the women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021.
REGISTRATION FOR LITTLE MANCHESTER ROAD RACE OPENS ON OCTOBER 1 (September 14, 2023)
Youngsters can enjoy the fun and excitement of the Manchester Road Race once again this year at their own special event on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Registrations for the popular Little Manchester Road Race, which features non-competitive “fun runs” for children ages 12 years and younger, will be accepted beginning on October 1st, the Manchester Road Race Committee announced today.
The Little Manchester Road Race, which traditionally marks the kickoff of race week activities in Manchester on “Road Race Saturday,” will be held on November 18, 2023 at 10 a.m. at the Manchester High School track. Manchester High School is located at 134 East Middle Turnpike, in Manchester.
Parents may register their children at www.manchesterroadrace.com. Entries are limited to the first 1000 children who sign up. There is no cost to register, although participants are requested to bring two items of non-perishable food for donation to the M.A.C.C. Community Emergency Food Pantry to assist with the effort to alleviate food insecurity.
In addition to running events of different distances for children in various age groups, the LMRR will offer music, costumed characters, a display of fire trucks and other vehicles, a performance by precision skydivers, and other fun activities. All participants will receive a medal.
“We love hosting the Little Manchester Road Race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “The kids really enjoy it, and it is a wonderful way to start the week before we hold our road race on Thanksgiving Day.”
“Because registrations are limited, we are suggesting that parents sign up their children as soon as possible,” Carta added.
The principal financial sponsor of the Little Manchester Road Race is Henkel of Rocky Hill, a company with a portfolio of consumer and industrial brands that includes Loctite adhesives, Dial soaps and Persil and Snuggle laundry products. Additional support is being provided by Fleet Feet of West Hartford and Waypoint Wealth Solutions.
MANCHESTER ROAD RACE ENTRIES RUNNING AT BRISK PACE (September 4, 2023)
It took Manchester Road Race officials less than 32 hours to receive the first 1000 entries for the popular Thanksgiving Day Run.
Registration for the annual Turkey Day road race opened at 5 a.m. on September 1st. MRR Registrar Dani Kennedy reported that the 1000th runner signed up at 11:32 a.m. on September 2nd. “We are doing incredibly well,” said Kennedy, who noted that it took about one week longer last year to attract that number of entrants.
The entry fee for the 4.748-mile-long event is $32 for runners who sign up online at www.manchesterroadrace.com by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on September 30th.
The entry fee increases to $37 on October 1st and to $42 on November 18th. Registration closes on November 21, 2023 and no entries will be accepted on race day.
The race committee is also offering a virtual road race option for runners who cannot participate in person on Thanksgiving Day. More details about the Virtual Manchester Road Race are also available on the event website
Last Thanksgiving, 9,641 runners registered for the MRR. Conner Mantz, a former NCAA cross country champion from Mapleton, Utah, won the race in the course record time of 21:04. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona, who set the women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021, captured her second straight MRR women’s championship in 23:39.
“We are looking forward to another exciting, world-class road race with a large field,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We’re urging everyone to register as soon as possible.”
World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, has designated the MRR a “World Athletics Label Event.” The MRR is one of only 238 road races in the world and 15 in the United States to receive the World Athletics Label, which recognizes an event’s anti-doping efforts and commitment to clean sport.
MRR “HONORS CLUB” WILL BENEFIT TLC FOUNDATION (September 2, 2023)
Adolescents in need of a stable home environment will benefit from the efforts of up to 120 runners participating in the 87th Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
The Manchester Road Race Committee announced today that the TLC Foundation, Inc, a Manchester non-profit organization, will be the beneficiary of the road race’s annual Honor’s Club Program.
Race officials set aside 120 bibs each year for entrants who elect to participate in the MRR Honors Club. These runners pay $100, instead of the traditional entry fee. All of the money is donated by the road race to a designated charitable or non-profit organization.
The TLC Foundation operates the DiYeso-Lewis House, a transitional living facility in Manchester, which offers a safe and nurturing residence to adolescents who cannot stay at home due to family disruption, parent-child conflict, or the lack of a suitable home environment. The TLC Foundation has been in operation since April, 1987 and has assisted 173 youths since then.
“Our race is very pleased to support the great work done by the TLC Foundation,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We are also extremely grateful to the generous Honors Club members, who will donate and run to benefit this very worthy cause.”
Entrants who register for this year’s honors club will receive several perks, including a special number bib and the ability to wait for the start of the race in the basement of St. James Church, where indoor plumbing and light refreshments will be available. “More importantly, our honors club members can take great satisfaction knowing that they are directly helping the young people assisted by the TLC Foundation,” Carta added.
Runners who wish to participate in this year’s Honors Club, or learn more about it, can do so at the MRR website www.manchesterroadrace.com.
The 87th Manchester Road Race, one of the nation’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will be run at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23, 2023). The race is run on a 4.748-mile loop course through Manchester’s central streets and starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
The Manchester Road Race was recently included by World Athletics, the governing body for the sport of track and field, on its calendar of 2023 World Athletics Label Events. The MRR is one of only 238 races in the world, and 15 in the United States, to receive that designation.
ROAD RACE REGISTRATION OPENS SEPTEMBER 1st (August 15, 2023)
Registration for the 87th Manchester Road Race will open on September 1st, race organizers announced today.
The entry fee for the iconic, 4.748-mile-long Thanksgiving Day run is $32 for runners who sign up online at www.manchesterroadrace.com by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on September 30th.
The entry fee increases to $37 on October 1st and to $42 on November 18th.
The race committee is again also offering a virtual road race option for runners who cannot participate in person on Thanksgiving Day. More details about the Virtual Manchester Road Race are available on the event website.
Last Thanksgiving, the Manchester Road Race attracted 9,641 registered runners. Conner Mantz, a former NCAA cross country champion from Mapleton, Utah, won the race in the course record time of 21:04. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona, who set the women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021, captured her second straight MRR women’s championship in 23:39.
“We are looking forward to another exciting, world-class road race with a large field this Thanksgiving,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday, and we’re urging everyone to register as soon as possible.”
World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, has included the MRR on its 2023 calendar of World Athletics Label Events. The MRR is one of only 238 road races in the world and 15 in the United States to receive the World Athletics Label designation, which recognizes an event’s anti-doping efforts and commitment to clean sport.
The 87th Manchester Road Race will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 23, 2023). The road race is run on a loop course through the town’s central streets. It starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.
More than 500 volunteers of the Manchester Road Race Committee help to organize the annual run, which is one of the nation’s largest and most popular turkey trots.
LANCE MORGAN WINS MCCLUSKEY AWARD (June 22, 2023)
Lance Morgan, a long-time volunteer with the Manchester Road Race Committee, will receive the 2023 “Joe McCluskey Award” from the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame.
Morgan, a physician assistant with Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Surgery in Manchester, has coordinated the road race’s highly successful “Ray Crothers Memorial Blood Drive” for many years. The effort, held in conjunction with the American Red Cross of Connecticut, has become one of the largest single-day blood collection efforts in the state.
Last November, 364 pints of blood, which benefitted 1092 patients in need of blood, plasma, and platelets, were donated at Manchester High School on the day after Thanksgiving.
Morgan also serves as a member of the Manchester Road Race Committee’s board of directors.
The Manchester Sports Hall of Fame presents the McCluskey Award annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the Manchester Road Race.
Morgan will be honored at the Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony dinner, which will be held on November 4th at 6:00 p.m. at Georgina’s Restaurant in Bolton. Tickets for the event are available at the Park Hill Joyce Flower Shop, 36 Oak Street in Manchester (860-649-0791).
MANCHESTER ROAD RACE EARNS WORLD ATHLETICS LABEL (June 12, 2023)
The Manchester Road Race has received worldwide recognition.
World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of track and field which was formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation, has included Manchester’s 4.748-mile Thanksgiving Day run as one of only 238 road races in the world listed on its 2023 World Athletic Label Road Race calendar.
The World Athletics Label designation is available to all officially sanctioned road races that have taken place for at least two consecutive years prior to 2023 with an anti-doping international measurement certificate in place.
According to a World Athletics press release, “Through choosing to have a World Athletics Label, race organizers show a tangible commitment to clean sport by funding a dedicated road running integrity programme, managed by the Athletics Integrity Unit.”
The Manchester Road Race joins 237 other marathons, half-marathons and road races on six continents and in 53 countries that will be listed this year as World Athletics Label events.
“The World Athletics designation of the MRR as a Label Program Race brings status and global recognition that our race is truly one of the world’s best road races” said Jim Harvey, the elite runner coordinator for the Manchester Road Race. “It will greatly enhance our reputation as we move forward.”
“The great, hard-working athletes who come to the Manchester Road Race inspire us with their achievements” said Matt Peak, an MRR Committee member who has coordinated drug testing at the event for several years. “Our partnership with World Athletics allows us to uphold the integrity of the sport by deterring cheaters who would take away from that inspiration.”
“We are extremely proud to earn a World Athletics Label,” added Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “This designation proves what we have known for a long time---that our road race is a world-class event that attracts some of the best athletes on the road racing circuit and is known for its inclusivity and fairness.”
Doctor Carta also had praise for Harvey and Peak. “Their efforts for a number of years have enabled us to achieve the high-caliber level of competition and integrity at the Manchester Road Race and to earn this respected international status,” Carta said.
CONNECTICUT SPORTS MEDIA ALLIANCE TO HONOR WRIXON (May 8, 2023)
Former Manchester Road Race champion Dr. Leslie Wrixon will receive the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance’s President’s Award for 2023 at the organization’s 81st annual Gold Key Dinner in October.
Wrixon won both the overall women’s division championship and the scholastic title at the MRR on Thanksgiving Day in 1982 while she was a 17-year-old senior at Glastonbury High School.
She is the only athlete in the history of Manchester’s Turkey Day run to win an open division championship while in high school, and her winning time of 27:01 that day is still an age group record in the women’s 14-18 bracket.
Wrixon, now a clinical psychologist with a practice in Glastonbury, won multiple state championships in cross country and track for Glastonbury High School, and went on to compete in both sports at Boston College
Tickets for the Gold Key Dinner are available by contacting CSMA President Tim Jensen at 860-394-5091, or by email at tim.jensen@patch.com.
REDMAN NAMED MRR’S DIRECTOR OF RACE OPERATIONS (April 26, 2023)
A former decathlon competitor and long-time local high school football and track coach will oversee race day activities at the Manchester Road Race this November.
Race officials announced today that Thayer Redman, 53, has been named the Director of Race Operations for the annual Thanksgiving Day run. He succeeds Jim Balcome, who served as the MRR’s Race Director for the past 43 years.
Redman, who has been a physical education teacher at Manchester High School (MHS) since 1995, worked alongside Balcome as the assistant race director for more than a decade.
Redman recently stepped down after 28 years as the head track coach at Manchester High School. In 2011, Redman was honored as the Connecticut and New England Track Coach of the Year and was one of eight finalists for the National Track Coach of the Year Award.
He was also an assistant high school football coach for many years at MHS and at RHAM High School in Hebron.
A graduate of the University of Maine, Redman was a standout athlete on the Black Bears’ track team, competing in the hurdles, long jump, decathlon, and sprint relay events. He also played for two years on the UMaine football team.
“Thayer brings a great wealth of experience and enthusiasm to our road race“, said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We are so pleased that he has agreed to take over the reins from Jim Balcome on race day.”
Redman, who was raised in Maine, moved to Connecticut in the mid-1990s after teaching on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona. His wife, Susan Moriarty Redman, is a Manchester native and she introduced him to the MRR in 1994.
“I have been to every race since then, either cheering on my students, running with my family or volunteering with clean-up and registration,” Redman said. “When Jim Balcome asked me to join the race committee and subsequently become his assistant, I jumped at it. I believe the Manchester Road Race is one of the best sporting events anywhere.”
Redman and his wife live in Hebron and have two children, Cal, who is a member of the Stony Brook University Football Team and Piper, who attends the University of Maine.
Redman said that one of his immediate priorities will be continuing the MRR’s reputation as an inclusive and “runner friendly” event. “We have some of the best runners in the world competing as well as weekend joggers,” he said. “It’s a wonderful tradition that allows everyone to be part of the best day in Manchester.”
