News Releases
MRR TEAMS UP WITH RED CROSS FOR ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL BLOOD DRIVE (November 30, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee and the American Red Cross of Connecticut teamed up to hold another successful blood drive Friday.
A total of 376 units of blood were donated during the day-long “Ray Crothers Blood Drive” held at Manchester High School. That’s a record for pints collected at the MRR event, surpassing the prior standard of 372 units that were donated last year.
The road race committee has been partnering with the Red Cross to stage the blood drive each year since 1986, and a total of 8,634 pints of blood have been collected since then. The event is held annually on the Friday after the Thanksgiving Day Manchester Road Race is run, and is named after Ray Crothers, a long-time participant and former MRR champion who died from cancer in 2008.
“We are extremely thankful for the large turnout and the exceptional generosity of everyone who donated,” said Lance P. Morgan, a physician assistant and MRR executive committee member who coordinated the effort. “Their efforts, and those of the Red Cross, the financial sponsors, and our other benefactors, will help to save many lives.
Morgan noted that the 376 pints of blood collected Friday will benefit 1,128 patients in Connecticut who need transfusions of blood, plasma and platelets.
TOYOTA TACOMA TO SERVE AS MRR OFFICIAL PACE CAR (November 25, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee has announced that the Official Pace Car of the 88th edition of the Thanksgiving Day Race will be the Toyota Tacoma provided by your Connecticut Toyota Dealers.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that a Toyota vehicle has led the way for runners on Manchester's just-under five-mile course on Thanksgiving morning. The Toyota Tacoma will pace a field expected to exceed 12,000 registered runners during the iconic Turkey Day run.
Connecticut Toyota Dealers will also host a display on Main Street, in front of Bennett Academy, where race participants and spectators can view the Official Pace Car—the Toyota Tacoma—as well as the Toyota Land Cruiser. These vehicles will be on display before the race begins and after the final walkers have turned the corner off of Main Street. For those interested in a closer, more personalized look at the vehicles, all 16 Connecticut Toyota Dealerships welcome visitors.
Registration closes completely at 11:59 p.m. EST tomorrow (Tuesday, November 26th) and no entries will be accepted thereafter. As of 3 a.m. Monday morning, 11,809 runners have already signed up to run in the world-famous event. Last year, 11,060 participants registered for the MRR, which has been designated as a World Athletics Label Road Race by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of track and field.
MRR officials are again informing the public about parking restrictions and street closures that will occur on the day of the race. All local roads intersecting the race course will be closed at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day and will not reopen to vehicular traffic until after the road race ends at approximately 11:30 a.m.
ROAD RACE COMMITTEE ISSUES BLOOD DRIVE REMINDER (November 20, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee is reminding all of its runners, spectators and friends that they can help to save many lives on the day after the world-famous Thanksgiving Day run is held.
Race organizers are teaming up again with the American Red Cross of Connecticut to stage the 38th annual “Ray Crothers Blood Drive” on Friday, November 29, 2024 from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at Manchester High School, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
The event, one of Connecticut’s largest single day blood collection efforts, is named in memory of the late Ray Crothers of Tolland, who won the MRR in 1965 and ran in it for 43 years before he died of cancer in 2008.
A total of 8,258 pints of blood have been collected since the MRR initiated the annual event in 1986. Last year, 372 pints of blood---which benefitted 1,116 patients in need of blood, plasma and platelets---were donated. Lance Morgan, a physician assistant and race executive committee member who oversees the drive, is hoping for even greater success this year.
“Thanks to our terrific donors, volunteers, and sponsors, we’re going to help reduce the critical shortage of transfusable blood in our state," he said.
Morgan noted that the Red Cross will be offering donors at this year’s drive a “Power Red Machine” option that will enable them to maximize the benefit a single unit of their blood can do. During a “Power Red” donation, an automated process separates the donor’s red blood cells from the other blood components. and then safely and comfortably returns the plasma and platelets to the donor. “Power Red” donors give more red blood cells (enough to benefit two patients) than they would through a regular whole blood donation.
All donors will receive Manchester Road Race tee shirts. There will be a raffle of a television and other items during the morning, and all donors who give blood between 1-3:30 p.m. will receive $10 gift cards.
Walk-in donations will be accepted, and appointments, which are encouraged, can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767. A direct link to the Red Cross appointment website can be found at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
ECHN and Eastern Connecticut Connecticut Pathology Consultants are the presenting sponsors of the MRR’s “Ray Crothers Blood Drive. Additional support is being provided by Fox 61, and Highland Park Market.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO REGISTER FOR THE MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (November 18, 2024)
Time is running out to sign up for the 88th edition of the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
Registration for the iconic, 4.737-mile race through Manchester’s central streets will close completely in just eight days---at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 26th. No entries will be accepted thereafter.
The entry fee is $37 until 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 23rd, when it increases to $42.
Runners may sign up for the race 24 hours a day online at www.manchesterroadrace.com. The Manchester Road Race Committee has also scheduled several walk-in registration and bib distribution events which will be held before the deadline on November 26th. The dates, times and locations of these events are posted on the MRR website.
Last year, 11,060 runners registered for the race, which is one of America’s oldest and most popular turkey trots. As of 2 a.m. this morning, race officials have received 10,161 entries for the 2024 MRR. Some of the world's best long-distance competitors are included in the field.
“We are urging everyone who wants to run in the race to officially register and get a bib,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “By doing so, you’ll have your finish and time officially recorded, and, more importantly, you’ll be helping the wonderful charities and non-profit organizations that our race supports.”
Olympian Weini Kelati, who has won the women’s race for the past three years, is returning to defend her title. Kelati holds the MRR women’s course record of 22:55, which she set in 2021. Annie Rodenfels, who finished second here last year with a time of 23:59, and Florencia Borelli, an Olympic marathon runner from Argentina who was fifth at the 2023 MRR, have also entered.
Former champions Ben Flanagan (2021) and Sam Chelanga (2013) will be returning to Manchester for the men’s competition this Thanksgiving. They will be joined by Edwin Kurgat, a Kenyan Olympian who placed seventh in the 5,000 meters at last summer’s Paris Games, Andrew Colley, who finished fourth here two years ago with a time of 21:07, and Patrick Dever, an Olympic runner from Great Britain who was fifth at the 2023 MRR in 21:18.
The MRR men's course record of 21:04 was set by Olympian Conner Mantz in 2022. Mantz is not competing in this year's road race.
ROAD RACE STREET CLOSURES AND PARKING RESTRICTIONS ANNOUNCED (November 14, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee issued an announcement today informing local residents about parking restrictions, street closures, traffic disruptions and areas of central Manchester that will be inaccessible to public travel on Thanksgiving morning when the iconic holiday run is held.
The annual road race, one of America’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will start at 10:00 am on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024). It will be run for the 88th time on a 4.737-mile loop course over central Manchester streets that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. The street closures and parking restrictions will occur before the race begins and continue until after it ends.
The MRR is expected to attract more than 11,000 runners and as many as 30,000 spectators to the downtown Manchester area on Thanksgiving morning. As of early this morning, 9589 runners have already signed up for this year's race.
Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, indicated that race organizers are cooperating with the Manchester Police Department, the Connecticut State Police and local officials to plan for the race and all 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, the Manchester Police Department has announced that no on-street parking will be allowed on East Center Street from Lenox Street to Center Street during the overnight period from 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, through 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 28, 2024. There will also be no parking permitted on Main Street from Center Street to Hartford Road during the same period of 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27th through 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. 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. The 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 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Vehicular traffic will not be permitted to enter or leave the interior of the road race course from 9 a.m. until the race has ended (at 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.
Although private vehicular traffic will not be able to enter or exit the interior of the racecourse while the event is being held, Town officials have extensive plans in place to provide fire, police and emergency medical services during the race to residents who reside in the affected area.
Exit ramps on I-384 that abut the MRR racecourse will be closed from 8:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. These include Westbound Exit 4 (Charter Oak St.); Westbound Exit 5 (Highland Street); Eastbound Exit 4 (Main Street) and Eastbound Exit 5 (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 racecourse, 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 Connecticut Community College at Manchester (formerly Manchester Community College) parking lot before the race and return there after the event concludes. More information about the free shuttle service, including the schedule of operation, can be obtained on “Shuttle, Parking and Rest Rooms” at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
ANOTHER GREAT FIELD EXPECTED AT 88TH MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (November 11, 2024)
Runners clad in turkey suits and pilgrim costumes will join some of the world’s best athletes in a field expected to exceed 11,000 competitors at the 88th Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
The annual 4.737-mile holiday run through Manchester’s central streets, which is regarded as one of America’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will start at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning (Nov. 28th) on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St James Church.
Large crowds of spectators are expected to view the race, which is one of only 22 in the United States, and 298 in the world, designated as a World Athletics Label Road Race by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of track and field.
Defending champion and Olympian Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona has entered the race.
Kelati has won the MRR women’s title for the past three years, and a fourth victory this Thanksgiving will set the record for most consecutive wins by a female competitor. A 13-time All American runner at the University of New Mexico who finished eighth last summer in the 10,000 meters finals at the Paris Olympic Games, Kelati set the MRR women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021 during her first Manchester appearance.
Kelati won the women’s race here last November with a time of 23:21 and finished 19th in the overall competition. She will be joined in the elite field this Thanksgiving by Annie Rodenfels, the 2023 runner-up, and 2019 winner and marathon great Edna Kiplagat.
Former champions Ben Flanagan (2021) and Sam Chelanga (2013), Kenyan Olympian Edwin Kurgat, who placed seventh in the 5000 meters finals at the Paris Olympics, and Andrew Colley, the fourth place finisher here in 2022 with a time of 21:O7, are expected to lead the men’s elite field.
As of early this morning, more than 9000 runners have already registered for this year's race. More details about the road race, and online registration, are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
Race officials are reminding runners that registration will close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and that no entries will be accepted thereafter.
The event will be broadcast live on television by Fox 61 and on radio by WTIC Newstalk 1080.
"ROAD RACE SATURDAY" EVENTS WILL KICKOFF MRR FESTIVITIES (November 7, 2024)
Five days before they welcome thousands of runners and spectators on Thanksgiving morning, members of the Manchester Road Race Committee will be hosting guests at two special “Road Race Saturday” events.
The committee will hold the Little Manchester Road Race for children and the MRR Health & Fitness Expo on Saturday, Nov. 23rd. Both events will be held at Manchester High School, which is located at 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
“Road Race Saturday” is regarded as the traditional kickoff of the pre-race festivities that lead up to the running of the iconic 4.737-mile Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day. The Presenting Sponsor of Road Race Saturday is Hoffman Lexus, and plans call for them to feature the latest Lexus models on display at Manchester High School during the events.
The Little Manchester Road Race is a non-competitive fun run for children12 years old and under. It features races of varying distances for children of different ages. There will also be costumed characters, music, a skydiving demonstration, a fire truck display and other fun activities.
The LMRR is limited to the first 1000 children who register online. While, at this time, the 1000 runner capacity has been reached, vacancies may arise. Parents are welcome to periodically check the LMRR registration site to see if openings become available.
Registered runners are asked to sign in at the MHS cafeteria starting at 8:30 a.m. on November 23rd. The running events will begin at 10 a.m. on the high school track.
All LMRR participants will receive medals and tee shirts. Entrants are requested to bring at least two non-perishable food items for donation to the M.A.C.C. Emergency Food Pantry. Henkel-North America of Rocky Hill is the LMRR’s Presenting Sponsor, and Klaus Larsen Roofing is sponsoring the children's activities at the event.
The MRR Health & Fitness Expo will be held in the M.H.S. cafeteria on Nov. 23rd from 8:30 a.m. until 12 noon. It is open to the public free of charge. Exhibits related to health, conditioning, running gear and apparel, and other subjects of interest to runners will be on display. MRR tee shirts will also be available for purchase. The Presenting Sponsor of the Health & Fitness Expo is Integrated Rehabilitation Services.
Walk-in registration for the 88th MRR, and bib pickup for runners who have elected to receive their bibs in person, will also take place on “Road Race Saturday” in the M.H.S. cafeteria from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.
“We are really looking forward to Road Race Saturday,” said Dr. Tris Carta of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “It is the start of a wonderful week in Manchester that culminates with our big road race on Thanksgiving morning and the Ray Crothers Blood Drive on the day afterwards.”
BEADLESCOMB WITHDRAWS FROM MANCHESTER ROAD RACE (November 5, 2024)
Morgan Beadlescomb, the 2023 Manchester Road Race champion, has withdrawn from this year’s Thanksgiving Day run.
Beadlescomb had committed to compete in Manchester several weeks ago, and his entry was announced by race organizers in a news release distributed on Monday morning. He notified the Manchester Road Race Committee later on Monday about his decision not to compete in this year’s event.
The 26-year-old Beadlescomb ran in USATF 5-Kilometer Championship in New York City on Saturday and finished in 10th place. He won that race in 2023.
“We’ve been informed that Morgan consulted with his coach after Saturday’s performance at the national 5-K race, and they decided that he would not be able to compete at the required level to give a good showing in Manchester,” said Dr, Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race. "We’ll certainly miss having him with us this Thanksgiving, and we hope that he’ll be back here in the near future.”
Beadlescomb, an All-American runner at Michigan State University, won the 2023 MRR in a close race with runner-up Conner Mantz. A year earlier, he finished a close second here behind Mantz, who set the MRR course record of 21:04. Beadlescomb recorded 21:05, the second fastest time ever run on the Manchester course.
NOVEMBER DATES SET FOR MRR IN-PERSON REGISTRATION (October 30, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee has scheduled several dates in November when walk-in registration and bib distribution for this year’s race will be held.
Registered runners who have opted to pick up their bibs in person can do so on these dates.
MRR officials are also reminding everyone that registration for the annual Thanksgiving Day run will close completely at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. No entries for the road race will be accepted thereafter.
The dates and locations of the upcoming registration/bib distribution events are as follows:
- Walk-in registration and bib distribution on Saturday, November 23, 2024 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Manchester High School, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester;
- Walk-in registration and bib distribution on Sunday, November 24, 2024 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Marathon Sports, 63 Hebron Avenue in Glastonbury;
- Walk-in registration and bib distribution on Monday, November 25, 2024 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Fleet Feet, 1003 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford;
- Walk-in registration and bib distribution on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 from 5 pm. to 8 p.m. at the Urban Lodge Brewing Company, 47 Purnell Place in Manchester. This will be the last chance for runners to register for the race in person, and all entries will close completely at 11:59 p.m. that evening when on-line registration ends.
Bib distribution ONLY will occur on Wednesday November 27, 2024 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cone Gymnasium of the Bennet Academy, 1151 Main Street in Manchester. This will be the final opportunity for entrants who have elected to pick up their bibs in person to do so. There will not be bib distribution on race day this year.
WEINI KELATI TO SEEK FOURTH STRAIGHT MRR WIN (October 28, 2024)
Olympian Weini Kelati will seek her fourth straight victory at the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day, it was announced today.
The 27-year-old Kelati, who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, has won the MRR women’s championship for the past three years in a row and holds the women’s course record of 22:55, which she set during her initial Manchester appearance in 2021.
Kelati’s other two winning efforts, 23:21 at last year’s MRR, and 23:39 in 2022, are also the second and third fastest times ever recorded by a female competitor on the Manchester loop.
In addition to winning the women’s title last Thanksgiving, Kelati placed 19th overall. She finished 18th in the race’s open division during her record-setting run here in 2021.
A fourth victory this November will give Kelati the MRR record for most consecutive wins by a woman and place her in some very prestigious company. Olympic runner Amy Rudolph won the women’s race five times (in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000 and 2002) and Olympian Judi St. Hilaire had four wins (in 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1992).
A 13-time All-American runner at the University of New Mexico, Kelati earned a spot on the U.S Olympic team in June with a thrilling last-lap victory in the 10,000 meters trials at Eugene, Oregon. She placed eighth and was the top U.S. finisher in the 10,000 meters finals at the Paris Olympic Games with a time of 30:49.98.
Earlier this year, Kelati set an American record when she won the 2024 Houston Half Marathon in 1:06.25. She also recorded her personal best time of 30:33.32 in the 10,000 meters last March.
“We are extremely pleased that Weini Kelati is returning this November to defend her title and seek a fourth straight win at our race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “She is an amazing athlete who generates a lot of spectator interest and excitement every time she appears in Manchester.”
TEMPORARY PLASTIC FENCING WILL BE PLACED AT FIRST TURN OF MRR RACE COURSE THIS YEAR (October 24, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee is advising runners and spectators that flexible plastic fencing will be positioned at the corner of Main and Charter Oak Streets on the morning of the Thanksgiving Day run in order to simulate street width conditions that would exist if a permanent traffic roundabout is constructed at that location in the future.
The corner of Main and Charter Oak Street is located approximately one-half mile from the road race’s start/finish line on Main Street. It is the first turn that thousands of runners will make as they compete in the road race, which is run annually each Thanksgiving morning on a 4.737-mile loop course through central Manchester.
The flexible fencing will be held by road race volunteers and can be moved in order to safely accommodate the flow of runners from Main Street onto Charter Oak Street. It will be positioned there prior to the start of the race on Thanksgiving morning and taken down immediately after the last runner makes the turn.
Race officials also indicated that they plan to videotape the runners as they proceed through the location during this year’s race.
As part of its Main Street redevelopment project, The Town of Manchester plans to construct traffic safety roundabouts at the intersections of Main and Charter Oak Street and East Center and Main Streets
Road Race and town officials are cooperating in this effort in order to determine if the street width at the Main and Charter Oak Streets turn will be sufficient to accommodate the large flow of runners at this location if a traffic roundabout of the size proposed is placed there in the future. The temporary flexible fencing will be positioned at the site in a manner that would replicate the space that will be available there for the road racers once the permanent roundabout is installed. The temporary fence will allow the MRR and the Town to assess the corner without impacting this year’s race.
“We are working closely with the Town of Manchester to ensure that the proposed Main Street reconstruction will not adversely affect the road race, and we sincerely appreciate their cooperation,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Committee. “By positioning the temporary fencing at Main and Charter Oak Streets this year, we will be better able to determine how runners will navigate the turn there at future races if a roundabout is installed. Both the town and our committee totally agree that the safety of our runners is the number one concern.”
Carta added that the race committee does not plan to monitor the flow of runners from East Center Street onto Main Street this year. “The field of runners is pretty well spread out by the time they reach the final turn onto Main Street,” Carta said.
AGELESS EDNA KIPLAGAT TO RUN IN THE ROAD RACE (October 21, 2024)
One of the world’s most phenomenal marathon competitors will be returning to run in the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
MRR officials announced today that Edna Kiplagat, a two-time Boston Marathon champion who has also won major titles at the New York City, Los Angeles, and London Marathons, has joined the elite field at this year’s Thanksgiving Day run.
Kiplagat won the women’s championship at the 2019 MRR at the age of 40 in the time of 24:30. She is the oldest athlete---male or female---ever to win the MRR.
Earlier this year, Kiplagat, now 44, placed third at the Boston Marathon in 2:23:21. The Kenyan-born runner, who lives in Colorado with her husband and five children, was the World Marathon Champion in 2011 and 2013. Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:19.50 and she has run the half-marathon in 1:07.52.
“Edna is an amazing athlete who has compiled an inspirational record in the sport of distance running, and we are so happy that she is returning to our race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee.
In other road race news, MRR officials are reminding runners who can’t be in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day that they can still participate in the event---from anywhere in the world.
A Virtual Manchester Road Race option is once again being offered to those unable to attend the onsite event on Turkey Day. Runners can download a GPS-enabled app onto their smartphones and run the iconic 4.737-mile distance at any location on the globe.
Race organizers sponsored the first Virtual Manchester Road Race in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the onsite event. That year, 1749 runners---who ran at sites that ranged from Connecticut to China--- competed in the virtual race and were credited with an official MRR finish.
“The virtual race in 2020 kept the Manchester Road Race going during the pandemic and enabled the race committee to donate $40,000 to charity that year,” Carta said, “It also enabled our long-time runners to maintain their longevity streaks.”
Runners who wish to participate in this year’s Virtual Manchester Road Race can register at www.manchesterroadrace.com. The entry fee is $30. No prizes will be awarded, but VMRR finishers will have their times recorded, and their participation will count as an official MRR finish for longevity streak purposes.
The GPS-enabled app will permit entrants to view an image of the actual MRR course on their smartphones as they run the 4.737-mile distance. The virtual race can be completed at any time between 6 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28, 2024) and 6 p.m. EST on Friday (Nov 29, 2024).
“It’s the next best thing to running the race in person,” added Carta, who noted that he and many other volunteers who work at the Thanksgiving Day run participate in the virtual race.
MRR ROYALTY TO BE CROWNED ON HIGHLAND STREET (October 14, 2024)
Road Race royalty will be crowned once again at the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
Race officials will award $1000 incentive bonuses and the designation of “King” or “Queen of the Hill’ to the first male and female runners who ascend the race’s long Highland Street hill and cross the broad blue stripe that is painted on the road there near the statue of four-time MRR champion Joe McCluskey.
In order to be crowned king or queen of the hill and pocket the prizes, the runners must also place within the top 10 overall finishers in the men’s or women’s divisions.
“It’s basically a race within the race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “Our elite runners and spectators love it.”
Olympian Weini Kelati, a three-time MRR women’s champion, has won the Queen of the Hill competition for the past three years in a row. Olympic runner Conner Mantz, who finished second to Morgan Beadlescomb at last year’s road race, was the 2024 King of the Hill.
The MRR started awarding $1000 stipends to its fastest hill climbers in 2014. The King and Queen of the Hill competition is sponsored by the Urban Lodge Brewing Company of Manchester.
In other road race news, the race committee was recently notified that the MRR has been designated as a World Athletics Label Road Race for the second straight year by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of track and field.
The MRR is one of 22 road races in the United States and 298 throughout the world to receive this prestigious recognition in 2024. World Athletics awards its “labels” annually to leading road races around the globe that satisfy a number of requirements, including compliance with rigorous anti-doping testing standards.
VETS AND ARMED FORCES MEMBERS TO BE HONORED AT 88th MRR (October 7, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee will pay homage to the men and women who defend America when the annual Thanksgiving Day run is held in November.
The committee announced today that it is collaborating with local veterans’ organizations to stage its seventh “Veterans’ Row” tribute on the morning of the race. The event is open to all veterans and Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve military personnel who have registered to run in this year’s road race.
The veterans and service members will be honored at a pre-race reception that will be held from 8:15 am - 9:30 am on Thanksgiving Day at the Vietnam War Memorial, which is located near the race course at the corner of Main and East Center Street in Manchester. They will receive camo hats with the MRR logo and commemorative pins. Light refreshments will be served.
During the race, veterans and members of the Armed Forces will also be saluted and cheered as they pass by a “Path of Honor” on Main Street that will be lined with the flags of all six military branches.
“The Manchester Road Race has a long and proud connection to the local veterans’ community, and we are very pleased to co-sponsor Veterans’ Row again this Thanksgiving,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee.
Carta explained that three local World War II veterans---Earl Yost. Charlie Robbins and Fran Leary---helped to revive the road race in 1945, following a 10-year hiatus when it was not held. The trio also convinced the Manchester Army & Navy Club to co-sponsor the event with the town recreation department.
Additionally, seventeen MRR champions, who won the road race a combined total of 26 times, were veterans of military service, Carta said. Among them were Olympians Johnny Kelley and Joe McCluskey, who both won the race multiple times.
The Manchester Veterans Advisory Committee, American Legion Post 113 of South Windsor, American Legion Post 102 of Manchester, Veterans of Foreign Wars Anderson-Shea Post 2046 of Manchester, Charles Varca Chapter 17 Disabled American Veterans, the Army & Navy Club and The Manchester Elks Lodge 1893 are co-hosting the event with the road race committee.
The presenting sponsor of the MRR Veterans’ Row is Pratt & Whitney. Additional financial support is provided by Pursuit Aerospace, Horst Engineering, Manchester Elks Lodge 1893, V.F.W Anderson-Shea Post 2046, Disabled American Veterans Department of Connecticut, Goodwin University, Charles Varca Chapter 17 Disabled American Veterans, GJ Agency and the Manchester Army & Navy Club.
ROAD RACE TO SPONSOR ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE (September 26, 2024)
Members of the Manchester Road Race Committee will be rolling up their sleeves once again this November to help the American Red Cross of Connecticut reduce the critical shortage of transfusable blood in this state.
The race committee announced today that it will hold its 38th annual “Ray Crothers Blood Drive” on Friday, November 29, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at Manchester High School, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
Race officials have been sponsoring the blood drive since 1986. A total of 8,258 pints of blood have been collected since then.
Held on the day after thousands of turkey trotters run through Manchester’s streets, the event is named in memory of the late Ray Crothers. Crothers, a Tolland resident who died of cancer in 2008, won the MRR in 1965 and competed in the Thanksgiving Day run for 43 years.
All donors will receive a Manchester Road Race tee shirt. Walk-in donations will be accepted. Appointments are encouraged and can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767, or on-line. A direct link to the Red Cross appointment website is available at https://www.manchesterroadrace.com.
Last year, 372 pints of blood---which benefitted 1,116 patients in need of blood, plasma and platelets---were collected at the road race blood drive. This was an MRR record for most pints of blood collected at the event.
“We are hoping to do even better this November,” said Lance Morgan, a physician assistant and MRR executive committee member, who coordinates the drive. “There is a critical need for blood, especially around the holiday season, so we are urging everyone who possibly can to join us on the day after Thanksgiving.”
ECHN is once again the Presenting Sponsor of the road race blood drive. Additional support is also being provided by Eastern Connecticut Pathology Consultants and Highland Park Market.
ROAD RACE ENTRY FEES WILL INCREASE ON OCTOBER 1ST (September 19, 2024)
Manchester Road Race officials are reminding runners that they will be able to save some money by signing up for the iconic Thanksgiving Day run prior to October 1st.
The $32 entry fee increases to $37 at 11:59 p.m. EST on September 30th and rises to $42 at 4 p.m. EST on November 23rd.
On-line registration for the 88th edition of the MRR, one of America’s largest and most popular Turkey Day races, is available 24 hours a day at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
The Manchester Road Race Committee will also hold walk-in registration and bib distribution on the following dates:
- Saturday, November 23rd, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Manchester High School cafeteria, 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester;
- Sunday, November 24th, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Marathon Sports, 63 Hebron Avenue in Glastonbury:
- Monday, November 25th, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Fleet Feet, 1003 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford; and
- Tuesday, November 26th, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Urban Lodge Brewery, 47 Purnell Place in Manchester.
Registration will close completely at 11:59 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 26th. No entries for the road race will be accepted after that deadline.
There will be bib distribution only on Wednesday, November 27 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cone Gym of the Bennet Academy, 1151 Main Street. This will be the last opportunity for entrants who have elected to pick up their bibs in person to do so, race organizers said.
There will NOT be bib pickup this year on Thanksgiving morning at the Cone Gymnasium.
The 88th Manchester Road Race, which is run on a 4.737-mile loop course through Manchester’s central streets, will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024). The race starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.
Last Thanksgiving, 11,060 runners registered for the event. To date (as of 3 a.m. on September 19, 2024) more than 2500 entrants have already signed up for this year's road race.
MRR MOURNS PASSING OF BOB MORAN (September 18, 2024)
Bob Moran prepares to start the MRRBob Moran, the Manchester Road Race’s official starter since 1989, passed away on September 17 at the age of 72.
Bob was a longtime and highly popular volunteer at the road race, where he’d fire the starter’s pistol each Thanksgiving Day promptly at 10 a.m. to send thousands of runners charging down Main Street. A veteran track official, he also assisted for decades at area scholastic track meets.
“I called him the fastest runner at our race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, who recalled how Moran had to sprint to the side of Main Street after he fired the gun each year in order to avoid the surge of runners.
In 2016, Moran, who was a standout quarter-miler at East Hartford High School and Central Connecticut State University, received the Joe McCluskey Award from the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame for his devoted service to the MRR.
“Bob always had a smile and a joke, and we are extremely grateful for his many decades of wonderful contributions to our race,” Dr. Carta added. “He will be terribly missed.”
REGISTRATION FOR LITTLE MANCHESTER ROAD RACE TO OPEN OCTOBER 1st (September 12, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race Committee is reminding parents that registration for the popular Little Manchester Road Race will open October 1st.
The event, which offers non-competitive “fun runs” for children 12 years old and younger, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 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 on-line at www.manchesterroadrace.com. There is no cost to enter, although participants are requested to bring two items of non-perishable food for donation to the M.A.C.C. Emergency Food Pantry.
The race committee is urging parents to sign up their children as soon as possible. Entries are limited to the first 1000 runners who register.
In addition to running events of different distances for children in various age groups, the LMRR will feature music, costumed characters, a display of fire trucks and other vehicles, a skydiving exhibition and other fun activities. All runners will receive a medal and a tee shirt.
“The Little Manchester Road Race is a wonderful activity for kids, and we are extremely grateful to our sponsors and volunteers who make it possible,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “Because space is limited, we hope that parents will register their children as soon as possible.
As it has since the event’s inception in 2010, Henkel North America in Rocky Hill is serving as the Presenting Sponsor of the Little Manchester Road Race. Additional financial support is being provided by Fleet Feet of West Hartford and Waypoint Wealth Solutions of Manchester.
The LMRR is one of several events being held during the week before the world-famous Manchester Road Race. The 88th edition of the MRR, which attracts thousands of runners and is held on a loop course through Manchester’s central streets, will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28, 2024.
MRR TO HONOR OLYMPIAN MARK CARROLL (September 4, 2024)
Former Olympian Mark Carroll, a two-time Manchester Road Race champion and member of its storied “Irish Connection,” will be reconnecting with the race this November.
Race organizers announced today that Carroll will serve as the honorary chairperson of the 88th Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
Carroll, who grew up in Cork, Ireland and won All-American honors six times at Providence College, won the MRR in 1998 and 2000.
One of the event’s most prolific superior performers, Carroll had nine top-25 finishes at the Turkey Day race between 1996 and 2010, including second-place runs in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
He posted his fastest time on the Manchester course (21:28) when he finished one second behind winner David Makori at the 1999 MRR.
Carroll competed for Ireland in the 5000 meters at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and still holds the Irish national record of 7:30.56 for 3000 meters. Inducted last year into the Athletics Ireland Hall of Fame, he was one several great runners from Ireland (Including John Treacy, Eamonn Coghlan and John Doherty) who starred at the Manchester Road Race and were known collectively as the “Irish Connection.”
Carroll, 52, is currently the head coach of the Boston Athletic Association’s High-Performance Team of elite runners. He previously served as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at Drake University and as the Head Cross Country Coach at Auburn University.
The Manchester Road Race Committee annually honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the road race or the sport of distance running by designating him or her as the event’s honorary chairperson.
“Mark Carroll is exceptionally deserving of this selection,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “He compiled an awesome record of consistently great performances at our race, and he continues to make wonderful contributions to the sport as a coach and mentor.” “We are so proud that he will be back with us in Manchester this Thanksgiving.”
“The Manchester Road Race has a special place in my heart,” Carroll said. “I want to thank the Manchester Road Race for this honor and for giving me the opportunity to compete in the best Thanksgiving Day race in America,” he added. “I am so looking forward to experiencing the incredible race day energy again.”
Carta said that Carroll will appear at the MRR’s annual pre-race media conference and will attend the race on Thanksgiving morning.
ROAD RACE REGISTRATION STARTS SEPTEMBER 1ST (August 16, 2024)
Registration for the 88th Manchester Road Race will begin on September 1st, the Manchester Road Race Committee announced today.
The world-famous race, one of America’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024) at 10 a.m. It is run on a 4.737-mile loop course through Manchester’s central streets that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
The entry fee is $32 for runners who sign up on-line prior to 12 midnight EST on October 1st. The entry fee increases thereafter to $37 on October 1st and to $42 on November 23rd.
Race officials also announced today that due to rising postage and logistical costs, the MRR will no longer be able to mail bibs to runners free of charge. Entrants who wish to receive their bibs through the postal service will be assessed an additional postage and handling fee when they register.
The race committee has scheduled a number of times and dates when bibs can be picked up in person at no additional cost. Details about the new postage and handling fee, and the schedule of in-person bib pickup dates will be available when registration opens on Sept. 1.
The Manchester Road Race attracted 11,060 registered runners last Thanksgiving. They ranged in athletic ability from Olympians and national champions to joggers dressed in turkey suits and Pilgrim costumes.
Morgan Beadlescomb of Ann Arbor, Michigan won last year’s event with a time of 21:12. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona captured the women’s championship for the third consecutive year in 23:21.
Race officials are once again also offering a Virtual Manchester Road Race option. Participants can download a GPS-enabled app to their smartphones and have their times recorded as they run the MRR course distance at any location in the world.
The entry fee for the virtual run is $30, and on-line registration also begins on September 1st. More details about the Virtual Manchester Road Race are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.
“We are eagerly looking forward to Thanksgiving Day and another fantastic road race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We anticipate that we’re going to have another large field that will include some of the best distance runners in the world, and we are urging everyone to register as early as possible.”
Approximately 400 volunteers from the Manchester Road Race Committee organize the annual Thanksgiving Day run, with support from the Town of Manchester. The event’s principal financial sponsors are Pratt & Whitney, ECHN and Hoffman Lexus.
MRR “HONORS CLUB” RUNNERS WILL BENEFIT LUTZ CHILDREN’S MUSEUM THIS YEAR (August 10, 2024)
A popular local children’s museum will benefit from the efforts of a generous group of runners when the 88th Manchester Road Race is held on Thanksgiving Day.
The Manchester Road Race Committee announced today that the non-profit Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester will be the beneficiary this November of the road race’s annual “Honors 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, and all of the money is donated by the road race committee to a designated charitable or non-profit organization in the community.
Established in 1953, the Lutz Children’s Museum is a multifaceted museum which offers children the opportunity to explore culture, history and natural sciences through internal and external exhibits, programs and experiences. The museum is located at 247 South Main Street in Manchester.
“The Lutz Children’s Museum has been doing great work for the kids in our community for more than seven decades,” said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “Our race is very pleased to offer this assistance, and we are extremely grateful to the generous Honors Club members who donate their time and money each year to run in support of worthy community causes like this.”
Entrants who register for the honors club will receive several perks, which include a special 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.
Carta said that entrants can sign up to participate in this year’s Honors Club when registration opens at 5 a.m. EST on September 1st.
SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE LENGTH OF MRR RACE COURSE ANNOUNCED (August 8, 2024)
The Manchester Road Race course has shrunk a little bit.
Race Officials announced today that a recent remeasurement of the loop course through central Manchester, which is run every Thanksgiving Day by thousands of entrants, revealed it to be 4.737-miles long.
The course was last measured in 1986 and was found then to have a distance of 4.748-miles.
“Repaving done along the race route over the years, and road alterations at the corner of Main and Charter Oak Streets when a drug store was built there several years ago, may likely have resulted in the slightly shorter length,” Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, said.
Carta said that remeasurement of the course was commissioned in conjunction with the committee’s efforts to have the road race certified by USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking.
Pete Volkmar, an official course measurer with USATF, World Athletics, and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, oversaw the measurement and confirmed the 4.737-mile distance.
A three-person team riding bicycles measured the race course on June 28th. Following guidelines published by USATF, the team members used the same type of equipment and procedures that were employed when the course was measured 38 years ago.
Carta said that the road race’s start-finish line will remain at its long-time location on Main Street in front of St. James Church, and that the race course will look the same as it always has to runners. “With the exception of repositioned mile markers and split clocks, there will be no perceptible changes,” he added.
Carta noted that although the course length has now been determined to be fifty-nine feet, eleven and seven sixteenth inches shorter, existing course records will not be affected. “The MRR’s records are course records, and are not based on distances,” he said. “Additionally, we have no way of knowing exactly when these changes to the course occurred.”
The current MRR course record of 21:04 was set in 2022 by Conner Mantz. Weini Kelati set the women’s standard of 22:55 in 2021.
The 88th Manchester Road Race, one of the nation’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024). On-line registration for the event, which attracted 11,060 runners last year, will begin at 5 a.m. EST on September 1st at www.manchesterroadrace.com. More details about the opening of registration will be released next week.
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.
