Manchester Road Race Saturday Program Announced

MANCHESTER, CT – Once again this year, the Manchester Road Race Committee will be presenting its “Road Race Saturday” program.

This year's event is slated for Nov. 18, the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

This year there will be more than ever going on as other organizations, merchants, and restaurants join in the festivities.

Making its debut last year, Road Race Saturday combines the organization's pre-Race activities such as the Little Manchester Road Race, the Sports and Fitness Expo, and associated events, into a single, free and family-friendly extravaganza in Downtown Manchester.

Manchester Road Race officials said the event was so well-received last year that it's been expanded via a partnership with the Downtown Manchester Special Services District to include activities and participating merchants and restaurants up and down the Town's Main Street business district.

The Road Race Committee has also announced a new presenting sponsor for the day – Delta Dental of Connecticut.

Based in Glastonbury, Delta Dental of Connecticut, Inc. is a newly licensed insurer affiliated with Delta Dental of New Jersey, a dental service corporation that provides dental benefits to approximately 1.6 million people in New Jersey and Connecticut through group contracts with commercial, school board, and government entities and self-funded dental benefit programs for individuals in New Jersey and Connecticut. Nationwide, Delta Dental Plans Association provides dental coverage to more than 56 million people.

Road Race Saturday is slated to begin at 7:30 a.m. with warm-ups for the popular Silk City Striders “Know Your Pace” Race, which begins at 8.

The Sports & Fitness Expo opens at 8:30 a.m. in the Cone Gym at Bennet Academy, 1115 Main St. The Expo features sports and wellness information booths, demonstrations, giveaways and raffles.

There are also Road Race registration and packet pickupd for the 81st running of the annual Thanksgiving Day run, MRR tee shirt and apparel sale, and check-in for the Little Manchester Road Race.

The Expo continues until 1 p.m. and admission is free.

At 9:45 a.m., \the action shifts two blocks south to the Bennet Academy soccer field at Main and Charter Oak Streets for bagpipe music, a precision skydiving team exhibition, and the Little Manchester Road Race.

More than 1,000 area runners ages 12 and younger will participate in the Little MRR, and there will be gifts, snacks, and ribboned medals for every pre-registered entrant.

Activities along Main Street will begin at 10 a.m. and include costumed characters, face painting, a scavenger hunt, and luncheon specials from many of the Downtown restaurants.

Additional sponsorship for Road Race Saturday includes Expo presenting sponsor Integrated Rehabilitation Services and Little Manchester Road Race presenting sponsor Henkel, which has supported the event since its inception eight years ago.

Other companies lending sponsoring support for the day's activities include Stop & Shop, Fleet Feet Sports of West Hartford, ECHN, and PhotoFlight Aerial Media.

The 81st Manchester Road Race will be run on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) at 10 am. The Race starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.

More details about the Race and on-line registration are available at the MRR web site, www.ManchesterRoadRace.com.

Photo Credit: MRR