Manchester Road Race Giving Out $68,000 In Donations

MANCHESTER, CT — Manchester Road Race officials on Thursday announced the event's charitable contributions from the 2019 event.

A dozen charities and non-profit organizations will be benefitting from the 2019 Manchester Road Race and the donations a total of $68,139 from the proceeds from last November's Turkey Day run.

Here is a summary:

• The MRR will donate $20,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The research efforts to find a cure for Muscular Dystrophy have been a charitable objective of road race organizers since the early 1950s.
• Grants of $10,000 each will be made to the Manchester Police Activities League and the Manchester Area Conference of Churches. Manchester PAL offers athletic, recreational and enrichment programs to the town’s youth. MACC provides food and other assistance programs to underserved residents.
• Rebuilding Together of Manchester, an organization that that helps to repair and restore the homes of individuals with financial needs or physical challenges, will get a check for $8,100. This donation was made possible by the race's 81 "Honors Club" runners who each paid $100 when they entered last year's road race.

Other groups who will be receiving donations from the road race committee include Community Health Resources ($5,239); MARC ($5,000); Footwear with Care ($3,000); Community Child Guidance Clinic ($2,000); MRC Track & Field Services ($2,000); Coventry Lake Rowing ($1,300); Manchester High School Performing Arts Technical Crew ($1,000) and the Manchester High School Project Graduation ($500).

"All of these organizations do such terrific work, and we are delighted that we can financially assist them," said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "We are also deeply grateful to our wonderful sponsors, athletes, volunteers and spectators. Their generous support enables us to offer a world-class road race and to make these donations each year."

The 4.748-mile Manchester Road Race has been run through Manchester's central streets on Thanksgiving Day morning for 84 years.

The committee released the folloiwng statrement on Wednesday regarding future plans and the current coronavirus environment:

"The Manchester Road Race Committee is monitoring ongoing developments in the Covid-19 Pandemic. The committee will continue to review and be guided by the recommendations of national, state and local health officials and leaders before making a determination about the status of this year's road race, which is scheduled for November 26, 2020. The media and public will be notified as soon as it is possible for the committee to provide further information about this year’s event."