Manchester Road Race's Ray Crothers Blood Drive Now In Its 36th Year

MANCHESTER, CT — The Manchester Road Race Committee will sponsor its 36th annual Ray Crothers Blood Drive the day after Thanksgiving.

The drive is slated for 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 at Manchester High School, 134 East Middle Turnpike. The Road Race is scheduled for its traditional Thanksgiving morning start time on Main Street in Manchester. It draws about 10,000 runners annually ranging from Olympians and other world-class runners to a pack of favorites in assorted costumes.

The Crothers event, which in recent years has become one of the state's largest single-day blood collection efforts, is being staged in conjunction with the American Red Cross of Connecticut.

All donors will receive a Manchester Road Race T-shirt.

Walk-in donations will be accepted. Appointments, which are encouraged, can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767, or arranged online. More information about the blood drive, and a direct link to the Red Cross appointment website, can be found at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

Race officials began sponsoring the blood drive in 1986 and have conducted it annually since then on the day after the road race. The event is named after Crothers, a popular MRR champion from Tolland. Crothers won the race in 1965 and competed in it for 43 years. He died from cancer in 2008.

According to Lance Morgan, an area physician's assistant and member of the MRR Executive Committee who coordinates the blood drive, 7,522 pints of blood have been donated since the event began. Last year, 335 pints, which benefitted 1,005 patients in need of blood, plasma and platelets, were collected, he said.

"The Manchester Road Race is delighted to partner with the American Red Cross once again this year," Morgan said. "We are urging everyone who possibly can to give blood on the day after Thanksgiving and help us to save lives."

Financial support for the Ray Crothers Blood Drive is provided by ECHN, Eastern Connecticut Pathology Consultants and Highland Park Market.