Manchester Running Company would like to encourage all participants and others to donate new or “gently worn” shoes on March 24 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Simply drop off your shoes in the Soles4Souls bin at the race to help us meet our goal of at least 75 pairs of donated shoes by the end of the day. The 2011 event saw 60 pairs of shoes donated.

Manchester Running Company will also be accepting donations for Soles4Souls at the Finally Spring 5k! All shoe and monetary donations are tax deductible.

“We can use the shoes taking up space in your closet to change the world one pair at a time,” said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls.  ”We need our partners in Manchester to ‘STEP UP’ and get behind our call to action.  It’s one of the most simple yet profound gifts you can make, because it will greatly improve someone’s life in the most difficult of times,” he said.

“We have a goal of donating at least $5,000 through the Finally Spring 5k!, be it through shoe donations or monetary gifts” said Patrick Byrne, MRC’s Director.  ”We look forward to seeing just how generous the running community can be through our initiatives and hopefully the 20 pairs we donate will only be a small part of the donation to Soles4Souls.”

Manchester Running Company will also take shoe donations for the week leading up to the Finally Spring 5k! and interested donors may email manchesterrunningcompany@gmail.com.

Despite the fact that we weren’t able to reach out to the youth with Thursday Nights Under the Lights – Summer Track & Field Series, we did make it out to many summer events including the JI Summer Series and Bolton Summer XC Series. Don’t worry we will be back with our Track & Field Series in 2012!

2011 allowed us to co-sponsor the JI Track Meet’s Alumni Mile in May, a sponsorship we are truly proud of as it gives those alum who are out of college the rare treat of a competitive mile on the track.

Labor Day weekend allowed us the opportunity to host the only “other” road race in Manchester, with the Life Without Limits 5k. This was truly a special event as it benefited United Cerebral Palsy of Hartford and we had our first celebrity appearance at an MRC event. Team Hoyt graced us with their presence at the event which was a huge crowd pleaser and it was an honor to meet the Hoyt’s.

Many of our club runners challenged themselves in 2011 with a marathon for the first time and fared very well, we also had numerous PR’s in the half-marathon, Carrie Corbett won her age group at the Hartford Half, and Jake Gurzler kept up his winning ways at several local road races.  Most of us also ran the Manchester Road Race, which of course remains the greatest running event on earth.

2012 is looking to be a great year with the fourth rendition of the Finally Spring 5k! and Rockville Bank Kids Run as we have new sponsor commitments already, great prizes to give away, and of course the socks, who could forget the socks! Register today as we are on pace for socks to be gone by Jan. 20th (first 100 registered). As already mentioned, 2012 will see the return of our Track Series, the Spring Street Mile (with a freshly paved course), and perhaps even a triathlon.

Have a great holiday season!

Pat & Tyler
(neither of us are pictured in case you were wondering)

In no particular order (the numbers just make it easier to read)…

15. At any time of year, to anyone in or around Manchester you can refer to the Manchester Road Race as just “the road race”. We love this because during the conversation no one has to ask which race you are talking about, the event is so popular that it can be referred to in the most generic terms and locals know exactly what the conversation is about.  P.S. it is NOT a “turkey trot”, don’t call it that, it’s offensive.

14. Everyone starts at the same time. You see so many races now that feature a different race for the elites or a different start time. We love the fact that everyone has a chance in Manchester, it’s true racing, man0-a-mano…if you want to get to the front you’re going to have to work for it. The winners get a few grand for taking first, they earn it in Manchester.

13. The course is a complete mystery. Not the actual course we all know where it goes, but to this day (this will be my 18th running) I have not spoken to anyone who knows how to truly master this course. Do you run a hard first mile to get out well only to suffer up the hill? Do you go out slow and run the hill hard? Can I recover on the downhill? So many questions and I have tried running this race with a different strategy 9 times and still haven’t come up with the answer.

12. The elite fields. Manchester has seen some of the greatest runners come down Main St. Not only Olympic Champions but also some of the most popular runners as well. Frank Shorter, Joan Samuelson, a bunch of Kenyans and Ethiopians whose names I can’t spell without looking up, Alan Webb, Marty Fagan, Sally Kipyego, Emilie Mondor, Amby Burfoot, and tons of others!

11. The crowds. This is the only non-marathon I have ever run where the crowds are out and loud throughout the whole course.

10. Waiting for the start. This might be the only day of the year we enjoy waiting in a long line. We try to get there about 15 minutes early just to see all the people lined up for the start. If you are fast enough to get a seed card it’s a little bonus as well, especially when you are younger, it’s almost like being an elite, then the gun goes off and you realize you aren’t very special after all.

9. Tradition and no compromise. We have a friend, we’ll call him Nick Au Yeung, he went to grad school in Oregon and each and every year he comes back for the road race. Obviously he likes his family and appreciates seeing his friends but if there’s one thing he’ll never miss on Thanksgiving, it’s the road race. We love this attitude, no matter how far away a spouse’s family lives, many of us will sacrifice just about anything to be there on Main St. for the race.

8. The history. I bought the book about the Manchester Road Race for the history of it and the fact that you can see all the pictures of this race over the last 75 years, it’s really pretty awesome to be a part of. Just an editor’s personal note here: As far as the book itself goes, don’t expect great literature, a novel, or really even great journalism, it’s not designed for that, the pictures are really what makes it worth buying.

9. The course again. The fact that it is a loop, and just one loop makes it special. You don’t have to cross over the same road twice, you don’t have to run point to point and worry about how to get to the start or finish. Mentally, it makes for an enjoyable race. Sure you have to go up the hill, but you start and finish in the same spot so you must have to go down hill at some point. Speaking of which…

8. The hill. The hill on Highland St. doesn’t have a name, this is why we love it, no one has come up with a catchy slogan like “heartbreak hill” or anything like that – we’ll make sure it stays that way. The hill itself, she is a cruel mistress, and not the part that everyone thinks is so bad either; if we all took a left just after Highland Park Market on to Wyllis we would think much differently of this hill. But alas, we are to continue on and the real punch comes just after the Market where you have to give one last surge after the 2-mile mark. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is where you tell yourself every year “I forgot about this part”.

7. Bagpipes. You heard me. They are all over the course and if an old man in a kilt playing some crazy tunes on the old bag pipes doesn’t get you going, well you need to check your pulse.

6. The people who don’t know about the road race. Okay so this is maybe our least favorite thing but it is worth mentioning. You seriously live in Manchester and don’t know about the road race!? This baffles us. A police sergeant who we work closely with at the Finally Spring 5k! likes to tell us a story; he handles the intersection of Highland St. and Porter on race morning, he makes sure traffic doesn’t get through for the safety of everyone. Well anyway he tells us every year there is always someone who doesn’t know the race is going on and yells at him “I need to get the turkey in the oven now! I’ve never heard of this race, why are they doing it today, what a stupid idea!” and he just smiles and says back to them “75 years ma’am, 75 years we’ve been running this race on this course”.

5. The finish. Apparently we weren’t done talking about the course. ”Like the lure of the siren’s song, never what it seems to be, yet who among us can resist?” – had to throw a Seinfeld quote in there. Those who have run it several times before know that we are to wait to unleash our finishing sprint, wait until the road goes uphill once again. One of our favorite things is watching runners sprint down the hill off the turn from Center St. only to be caught and out of breath with a few hundred strides to go. Be careful runners, don’t go too early, it is a long road to the finish!

4. No frills and still a sell out. This is what we like about the participants in the road race! We are blue collar, we make sure it sells out even if “all” we get is the experience. There are no goodie bags, no coddling, no special bag checks, just the bare essentials. The Road Race Committee does an amazing job with just those essentials too! We are glad they don’t give out a goodie bag full of coupons.

3. Hoping that someone from Manchester will one day win this race. We can dream can’t we!?

2. Wind, rain, snow, sleet, sun. I’ll admit some years have been downright miserable, I think 2006 was about 34 degrees and pouring rain, other times it has snowed, and then there are sunny days! No matter the weather we are out there every year.

1. ”This is Thanksgiving in Manchester!”  We have been campaigning with the state senate to make this the offical start of Thanksgiving, starting in 2012 Thanksgiving won’t offically begin until these words are spoken.

We’ll see you on Thursday!

The Sports & Fitness Expo gives Road Race participants and the public a chance to view local sports and fitness related businesses, register for the Manchester Road Race, buy Road Race T-Shirts and much more.

Manchester Running Company will feature numerous products for sale from Brooks and Inov-8.  We will also have FREE giveaways and chances for you to win great gear and apparel from Brooks and Manchester Running Company! (Our booth will be the one with everyone gathered around).   You can view some of what we will be offering at our online store.  Stop by our booth – you won’t be disappointed!

All youth participating in the Little Manchester Road Race will receive a free Brooks Run Happy Poster while supplies last.

At our booth, you will also have the opportunity to register for the Fourth Annual Finally Spring 5k! which will take place on March 24, 2012 and will feature a youth one-mile race.  A reminder, the first 100 registrants do receive free running socks and they will go fast. At our current pace they may be gone by the end of the calendar year so don’t wait to sign up!

See you at the Expo!

Following several spring marathon finishes for club members ranging from Houston to Las Vegas to Boston the MRC club runners are ready to dive into the shorter distances. Many runners will kick off the season on Saturday, May 7th at the First Annual Mill Pond 5k in Somers followed by the Ken Grogan Alumni Mile sponsored by Manchester Running Company at the JI Invitational in Manchester on May 21st.

Patrick Byrne and Rich Connors will try to defend their first and third place showings at the 24th Annual Memorial Mile in East Hartford on Memorial Day.  There are numerous other events taking place throughout the summer including two cross country series’ in the area, one in Bolton and another at Wickham Park in Manchester; check back here in mid May for more details!

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, Thursday Nights Under the Lights Track & Field Series will not take place in 2011 as construction on the MHS Track will prevent use by the public. We look forward to returning in 2012!

Additionally the Road Race Committee has added five age divisions and several qualifying opportunities.  B-Tag timing will also be used in this year’s edition making it easier for all registered runners to receive an accurate place and time.  All information about the Manchester Road Race is available here!

Aside from the Thanksgiving Day Race, Manchester Running Company will also be fielding a team for the Mayor’s Cup in Boston on October 24th. The Mayor’s Cup is a highly competitive cross country race featuring some of the best club teams in the region.  It is also one of the few chances club teams get to compete in an XC meet against other clubs.  MRC is still looking for runners (particularly on the women’s side) and it is open to all ages!  If you or someone you know is interested please send us an email and we’d be happy to have you join our team!

October 19, 2009

At the Baystate Marathon held on Sunday Morning in Lowell, both Meade and Mertens ran just over 3:24 as both went well under the 3:40 standard needed to qualify for Boston.  Mertens was officially clocked in 3:24:17 while Meade was just back at 3:24:25.  Despite the miserable weather conditions, both were in good spirits after the race and Meade commented “I love these [marathons]!” via text message.

Drew Best has also been representing the MRC singlet well and continuing a string of great success along the roads.  The defending Providence Marathon Champion and Finally Spring 5k! champ returned to winning ways on October 4th at the Covered Bridges 10k in Conway, Mass. as he ran away from the field in 35:01 for the win.  He followed that performance up with another victory on Saturday (Oct. 18) in Hadley, Mass. taking the 5k for Farmland title in 15:58.

Several members of the Manchester Running Company team are now gearing up for the Manchester Road Race which is just over a month away.

You too can be a part of the MRC Racing Team by joining here!

Post where you ran on June 3rd here!