Manchester Road Race Registration Set To Begin Next Month

MANCHESTER, CT — Registration for the 86th Manchester Road Race will open on Sept. 1, race officials announced Monday.

The annual 4.748-mile run through Manchester's central streets is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Nov. 24, 2022. The MRR is one of the nation’s premier turkey trots, and has become a holiday tradition in Connecticut that attracts thousands of runners and spectators each year.

Online registration and more details about the road race will be available at www.manchesterroadrace.com starting Sept. 1.

The entry fee is $32 for runners who register by September 30th. All participants who sign up prior to Oct. 1 will receive a personalized bib with their names printed on it.

The entry fee increases to $37 on Oct. 1, and to $42 on Nov. 19th at 3 p.m. In addition to the on-line registration, walk-in entries will be accepted at the MRR Sports Expo, on Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Manchester High School.

Registration will close on Nov. 22, at 11:59 p.m. Post entries will not be accepted on race day, officials said.

For the third straight year, race officials are also offering a virtual road race option which will allow runners to download a smart phone app and participate in the MRR from any location in the world. Information about the virtual MRR is also available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

"We are eagerly looking forward to holding another fun, exciting and safe race," said Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "Our volunteers are already hard at work to ensure that it's going to be another world-class event, and we're urging everyone to register as early as possible."

Last year, 8,776 runners and walkers registered for the road race, which is held on a loop course that starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church. Canadian runner Ben Flanagan was the men's champion with a time of 21.23. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, AZ, shattered the women's course record with a time of 22:55.

Carta also announced Monday that the MRR has retained Race Roster, a subsidiary of Asics, to assist the committee with on-line registration, merchandise distribution and webpage services.

"We are very excited about working with Race Roster to maintain and enhance the quality of our road race, and especially the services we can offer to all our runners," he said.

The Manchester Road Race began on Thanksgiving Day in 1927 with a field of 12 runners and has been staged 85 times since then. It is organized each year by the more than 500 volunteers who comprise the Manchester Road Race Committee, with support from the Town of Manchester. The road race's principal financial sponsors are ECHN and Pratt & Whitney.