The Pageantry Of The Manchester Road Race, 2022 Style [PHOTOS]

MANCHESTER, CT — Roughly 10,000 registered participants took to the streets of Manchester Thursday morning for the 86th running of the nation's oldest 5-mile road race. Okay, it's only 4.748 miles, but you get the idea...

A few of the runners were of elite, world-class, even Olympic status; you may find that story here. Instead, this piece focuses on the majority of the field - ordinary citizens, some just jogging or walking - and a great number were there simply for the pageantry and spectacle that has become synonymous with the Thanksgiving tradition.

At the top of the grueling hill on Highland Street, just before the left turn and steep downhill course of Porter Street, a musician was playing on one side of the road and a DJ was set up across the street. Once the leaders passed, the next 40 minutes looked like a cross between Halloween and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

From Santas to superheroes, from blue men to the Blues Brothers, from tiaras to turkeys (plenty to choose from), from a British flag-clad guitarist to a UConn sweatshirt-wearing tuba player (yes, he hauled that thing around and played it as he ran), from service dogs to hot dogs (with mustard) - a cacophony of costumes passed by at varying speeds, none of whom seemed to care who was leading the pack or if a course record would be broken (it was).

This photo gallery does not encompass every bit of bizarre attire, but it gives a representative idea of the spectacle of Thanksgiving morning in Manchester.