Sports

81st Manchester Road Race Tops $70K in Donations

​Donations of more than $70,000 were recently made by the Manchester Road Race Committee.

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MANCHESTER, CT — Donations totaling $75,076 were recently made to 15 charities by the Manchester Road Race Committee from the proceeds of last November’s event.

Race officials earmarked the biggest contribution — $20,000 — for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Research to find a cure for the crippling disease has been a charitable objective of the race’s organizers since the early 1950s.

The Manchester Area Conference of Churches, which operates a number of local humanitarian and social service programs, was awarded $18,400. Of that sum, $8,400 was generated by the road race’s new “Honors Club” program.

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A $10,000 bequest was given to boost the athletic and recreational programs of the Manchester Police Activities League.

Other donations include:

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  • Wickham Park, $5,050
  • Manchester Community Emergency Response Team, $4,000)
  • Manchester High School Track (for the state junior high school championships), $4,000
  • Manchester Running Club, $3,500
  • Bolton Boosters, $2,500
  • Manchester Historical Society Museum, $2,100
  • Rebuilding Together of Manchester, $2,000
  • Manchester Elks Club, $1,426
  • Manchester Garden Club, $1,000
  • Tails of Joy, $600
The race also sent $250 checks to Concern Worldwide US and the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, which are the favorite charities of brothers John and Ray Treacy, who served as the honorary co-chairmen of last year’s road race.

“Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, runners, volunteers and fans, the Manchester Road Race is able to provide financial support each year to organizations like these which do so much good,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “We are sincerely grateful for the tremendous community support that makes these donations possible.

The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748-mile run through the town’s central streets that is held annually on Thanksgiving Day at 10 a.m. The race starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
This year’s 82nd running of the event is expected to attract a large field that will include some of the world’s best male and female distance competitors.

For more information about the race, and for online registration (available starting Sept. 1), see www.manchesterroadrace.com.

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