Men's Record-Holder To Defend Title At Manchester Road Race

MANCHESTER, CT — The Manchester Road Race Committee Monday announced that defending champion and course record-holder Conner Mantz will compete here again this Thanksgiving.

Mantz, who won two NCAA Division I cross country titles when he ran for Brigham Young University, pushed a pack around most of the 4.748-mile course before winning the 2022 MRR in 21:04. That knocked 12 seconds off the prior mark of 21:16 set by Edward Cheserek in 2018.

Also expected to be at the starting line will be last year's runner-up, Morgan Beadlescomb. Beadlescomb, a former Michigan State All-American, shadowed Mantz across the finish stripe last November with a time of 21:05.

Beadlescomb's time is the second fastest ever run on the Manchester course. Last year's elite field was so strong that the first five runners to finish all eclipsed Cheserek’s former record.

Mantz, who is 26 and lives in Mapleton, Utah, placed sixth last month at the Chicago Marathon with the personal record and Olympic standard qualifying time of 2:07:47.

Beadlescomb, 25, ran a personal best time of 13:08.82 for 5,000 meters at a meet in Los Angeles in May, and won the USATF national 5K championship in 13:44 on Nov. 4.

"We are extremely pleased that last year's top two finishers, Conner Mantz and Morgan Beadlescomb, are returning this year," said Dr. Tris Carta, the president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "It is going to be another very exciting race."

The 87th Manchester Road Race, which has been recognized as a 2023 World Athletics Label Event, will be held on Thanksgiving Day (Nov.23) at 10 a.m. It starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church. The road race is organized by 500 volunteers from the Manchester Road Race Committee, with support from the town of Manchester. The event's principal financial sponsors are ECHN, Hoffman Lexus, and Pratt & Whitney.

More details, and online registration, are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.