Marathon Champ Commits To Manchester Road Race

MANCHESTER, CT — One of the world's top marathon competitors will be returning to run in the Manchester Road Race this Thanksgiving Day.

Road race officials announced Monday that Edna Kiplagat, a two-time Boston Marathon champion who has also won major marathon titles in New York City, Los Angeles and London, has joined the elite field at this year's Thanksgiving Day run.

Kiplagat won the women's championship at the 2019 MRR at the age of 40 with a time of 24:30. She is the oldest athlete — male or female — ever to win the MRR.

Earlier this year, Kiplagat, now 44, placed third at the Boston Marathon in 2:23:21. The Kenyan-born runner, who lives in Colorado with her husband and five children, was the World Marathon Champion in 2011 and 2013. Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:19.50 and she has run the half-marathon in 1:07.52.

Kiplagat also had a third-place finish at the 2021 MRR. Her time that year — 24:03 — was her fastest performance on the Manchester loop and set an age group record in the women's 40-44 division.

"Edna is an amazing athlete who has compiled an inspirational record in the sport of distance running, and we are so happy that she is returning to our race," said Dr. Tris Carta, the president of the Manchester Road Race Committee.

This week, MRR officials are reminding runners who can’t be in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day that they can still participate in the event from anywhere in the world. A Virtual Manchester Road Race option is once again being offered to those unable to attend the onsite event on Turkey Day. Runners can download a GPS-enabled app onto their smartphones and run the iconic 4.737-mile distance at any location on the globe.

Race organizers sponsored the first Virtual Manchester Road Race in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the onsite event. That year, 1,749 runners — who ran at sites that ranged from Connecticut to China — competed in the virtual race and were credited with an official MRR finish.

"The virtual race in 2020 kept the Manchester Road Race going during the pandemic and enabled the race committee to donate $40,000 to charity that year," Carta said, "It also enabled our long-time runners to maintain their longevity streaks."

Runners who wish to participate in this year’s Virtual Manchester Road Race can register at www.manchesterroadrace.com. The entry fee is $30. No prizes will be awarded, but VMRR finishers will have their times recorded, and their participation will count as an official MRR finish for longevity streak purposes.

The GPS-enabled app will permit entrants to view an image of the actual MRR course on their smartphones as they run the 4.737-mile distance. The virtual race can be completed at any time between 6 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28, 2024) and 6 p.m. EST on Friday (Nov 29, 2024).

"It's the next best thing to running the race in person,” added Carta, who noted that he and many other volunteers who work at the Thanksgiving Day run participate in the virtual race.

The 88th Manchester Road Race, which has been designated a World Athletics Label Road Race, will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 2, 2024). One of America’s largest and most popular Turkey Trots, the road race is run on a loop course through central Manchester that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.

Last Thanksgiving, 11,060 runners signed up to compete in the MRR. As of early Monday morning, 6,229 runners have already registered for this year's race.

Online registration and more details about the MRR, and its virtual option, are available 24 hours a day at www.manchesterroadrace.com .