Opening Date Set For Registration For 87th Manchester Road Race

MANCHESTER, CT — Registration for the 87th Manchester Road Race will open Sept. 1. The entry fee for the iconic, 4.748-mile Thanksgiving Day run is $32 for runners who sign up online at www.manchesterroadrace.com by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on Sept. 30. The entry fee increases to $37 on Oct. 1 and to $42 on Nov. 18.

The race committee is again also offering a virtual road race option for runners who cannot participate in person on Thanksgiving Day. More details about the Virtual Manchester Road Race are available on the event website.

Last Thanksgiving, the race attracted 9,641 registered runners. Conner Mantz, a former NCAA cross country champion from Mapleton, Utah, won in a course-record time of 21:04. Weini Kelati of Flagstaff, Arizona, who set the women’s course record of 22:55 in 2021, captured her second straight women’s championship in 23:39.

"We are looking forward to another exciting, world-class road race with a large field this Thanksgiving," said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. "It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday, and we’re urging everyone to register as soon as possible."

World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, has included the race on its 2023 calendar of World Athletics Label Events. Manchester is one of only 238 road races in the world and 15 in the United States to receive the World Athletics Label designation, which recognizes an event’s anti-doping efforts and commitment to clean sport.

The 87th edition of the race will begin at 10 a.m. on Nov. 23. It is run on a loop course through the town’s central streets, starting and finishing on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. Additional information is available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

More than 500 volunteers of the Manchester Road Race Committee help to organize the annual run, which is one of the nation’s largest and most popular turkey trots.