Running Legend Amy Rudolph Named Manchester Road Race Chairperson

MANCHESTER, CT — Olympian Amy Rudolph, the most successful female competitor in the history of the Manchester Road Race, will serve as the honorary chairperson of this year’s Thanksgiving Day event.

The announcement was made Monday evening.

Rudolph ran in the road race 14 times between 1995 and 2010. She won a record five championships, placed second five times, was third twice, and had two other top-15 finishes during that period.

Rudolph won the 1995 Manchester Road race at age 22, in her first attempt, with a time of 24:24.

She posted her fastest time on the course — 24:23 — seven years later when she finished second at the 2001 road race.

Rudolph was a 10-time All-American and two-time national champion at Providence College and was the first woman to place among the top 25 overall finishers in Manchester. She came in 24th overall when she claimed her fourth woman’s title on Main Street in 2000. A field of 11,561 registered runners entered the race that year.

In 2002, when she won in Manchester for the fifth time, Rudolph finished 22nd overall. That is the highest overall placement achieved to date by a female athlete at the MRR.

“Amy has a remarkable record of consistently excellent performances at our race,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “She has a huge number of fans and friends in Manchester, and we are extremely pleased that she has agreed to serve as our honorary chairperson this year.”

Rudolph placed 10th in the 5,000 meters at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Earlier that year, the Kane, PA, native set an American record of 14:56.04 for the 5.000.

She was the U.S.A Track & Field indoor champion at 3,000 meters in 1997 and 2002, and in the outdoor 10,000 meters in 2006. She also competed in the 5,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Rudolph retired from professional running in 2011. She is married to Irish Olympian and 3,000-meter national record holder Mark Carroll, who won the MRR in 1998 and 2000. The couple live in Des Moines, Iowa, where Carroll is the director of track and cross country operations for Drake University. Rudolph was recently appointed the associate head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Iowa State University.

Amy and Mark, who married in 2005, are both expected to attend this year’s road race and some of the other race-week events.

“Manchester has a special place in our hearts,” Rudolph said. “I am honored and excited about serving as the honorary chairperson. The people in the community and the atmosphere on race day make it a very special road race.”

The 82nd annual Manchester Road Race will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 22, 2018). The race starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church. Runners can register electronically, and receive more information about the event, on-line at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

Olympic Silver Medalist Paul Chelimo of Colorado Springs, Colorado won the 2017 MRR with a time of 21:32. Buze Diriba of Ethiopia set a course record last year when she won the women’s championship in 23:57.

Photo Credit: MRR Committee

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