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!

The Manchester Road Race Committee will also be hosting several other events including the Sports & Fitness Expo which Manchester Running Company will once again be a part of. The Expo takes place on Saturday, November 19, 2011 in Cone Gym at Benett Academy from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. MRC will be displaying new merchandise and giving out free prizes and posters to all Little Manchester Road Race participants.

The Manchester Road Race is celebrating the 75th anniversary of this Manchester tradition with a newly published book: The Manchester Road Race: A Seventy-Five Year Celebration. You can pick up your copy at Manchester Town Hall and other locations.

MANCHESTER, Conn., — Manchester Running Company is pleased to announce the second running of the Spring Street Mile and the first running of the Life Without Limits 5k will be held at Globe Hollow Reservoir in Manchester on September 3rd! Proceeds from both events will benefit United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Hartford.

Registration for both of the events will take place online here, or you may register the morning of the event beginning at 7:00 a.m. at Globe Hollow on Spring Street in Manchester. The events are open to all ages and abilities. The 5k will take off at 9:00 a.m. followed by a youth mile at 10:00 a.m., a women’s mile at 10:15, and the final event of the day, the men’s mile will take place at 10:30 a.m. The 5k will start and finish at Globe Hollow while the mile races will start on Spring St at Tam Rd. and finish at Globe Hollow.

The events have numerous sponsors including Manchester Running Company acting as race directors and prize money sponsors of the Spring Street Mile. Other sponsors include First Niagara Bank, Harvey & Lewis Opticians, BrownRudnick, Walgreens, KISS 95.7, Print Works, Theatre Works, Cardio Express, and NatureCrops.

Water and refreshments will be provided to all runners and t-shirts are available to the first 100 registered participants.

The top three runners in the 5k will receive plaques along with age group prizes while those in the Women’s and Men’s Mile will earn prize money for a top three finish. Time bonuses will also be awarded for a sub 4:00 men’s mile winner and a sub 4:30 women’s mile winner.

Questions and concerns can be directed to manchesterrunningcompany@gmail.com

Gurzler, expecting a payout of $500 for the winner, trained for the 8Furlongs Classic for the last few months and was ready to go come early Sunday morning. Gurzler was in contention from the gun and with just over 400 meters to go made his move and held on for victory over the 1-mile course in 4:19.60. Gurzler took home the first place prize which was reduced to just $150 for unknown, and unannounced, reasons. The race was directed and hosted by 8Furlongs Racing, a new event company with close ties to FleetFeet of West Hartford.

While disappointed in the prize money, Gurzler was pleased to get his second win in 2011 after a pair of second-place finishes on the local scene.

Friend of MRC, Dani Kennedy was second place in the women’s field of 14 as she crossed the line in a time of 6:12.6, dominating the master’s division by a full minute.

For full results click here

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!

MANCHESTER, Conn. (February 27, 2010) – Manchester Running Company is pleased to announce Rockville Bank will be the title sponsor of the One-Mile Kids Run at the Finally Spring 5k! on March 19, 2011 at Howard/Porter Reservoir in Manchester.

The Rockville Bank Kids Run will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Ferguson St. adjacent to Highland Park School. The one-mile course starts on Ferguson St. before heading into the Howard/Porter Reservoir Recreation area and finishing again on Ferguson St. for a one-mile loop.  You can view a course map here.

The cost of the race is $10.00 for youth and is open to all elementary school aged children.  For all Manchester residents, one-third of the proceeds will be donated to the PTA of the school in which the child attends while all remaining proceeds benefit Public Allies of Connecticut.

The first 50 registrants in the Rockville Bank Kids Run will receive a race t-shirt while all participants will receive a custom made Brooks “Run Happy” Poster.  Registration for the event takes place online here and race-day registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 9:15 a.m.

The first annual Rockville Bank Kids Run will be followed by the Third Annual Finally Spring 5k! to benefit Public Allies of CT and Soles4Souls. The 5k race and walk will be held at 10:00 a.m. and cost to participate is $20.00 for runners and $15.0o for walkers. Registration will take place online here, mail-in registration forms, or race day. Race day registration for the 5k ends at 9:45 a.m.

For additional information please contact Manchester Running Company at manchesterrunningcompany@gmail.com

10. It’s the first weekend in spring! Okay so technically this year’s event is just before the start of spring but it will certainly be much warmer than it is today on Jan. 22nd.  The snow will be off the ground, the sun will be shining and we’ll have a great crowd! Disclaimer: we can’t exactly promise sunshine but the last two years it has been north of 50 degrees and the sun has been out.

9. Keep that New Year’s Resolution! We know a lot of you out there made a new year’s resolution to run your first 5k in 2011.  Not only will you be able to say you completed your resolution by March, but this race will motivate you to do another one in 2011 (or maybe even more than one). If you pace yourself you’ll have a great time at this race!

8. New Running Socks! Believe us when we say our running socks are VERY popular.  The looks on participants’ faces when they realize how great these socks are is fabulous – these aren’t cheap run-of-the-mill socks (they retail at about $9.95 so you’re getting a great product).  You don’t want to miss out because you will be jealous – ONLY THE FIRST 100 REGISTRANTS RECEIVE SOCKS! This year they are black with green lettering, very stylish.

7. The most inexpensive option around. Through Feb. 15th, we only charge you $15.00 to register for the race and only $8.00 for youth.  This is literally half the cost of some 5k’s around – who wants to pay that much for a 5k?!? Even if you don’t register before Feb. 15th it’s still just $20.00 on race day. Between food, prizes, water and experience, we promise you’ll get your money’s worth.

Photo by Bill Shea

6. Youth Race. So maybe you don’t have kids, but you can’t deny it’s cute to watch the younger kids run.  We are constantly promoting youth running and introducing local youth to the sport of running and track & field.  The 2011 race will feature our first youth one-mile fun run.  Every participant will get a FREE custom made poster by Brooks! As an additional incentive, for each participant from a Manchester elementary school, MRC will donate 1/3rd of the proceeds back to their school!

5. Great Course! The Finally Spring 5k! course takes place in one of Manchester’s best kept running/recreation secrets.  Howard/Porter Reservoir offers beautiful scenery, great running trails, along with a flat loop around the reservoir that is great for training and racing.

4. Volunteers and Logistics. Our volunteers are some of the best we know! Helpful, informative, and friendly, the volunteers come from Public Allies so you know they are there to help and benefit the cause.  We have volunteers out on the course for directions and even more volunteers helping with any injuries, incidents, or problems you have before, during, or after the event.

3. Food and Other Goodies! Great Harvest provides us with a delicious breakfast spread for all our participants, Aquafina will be there to hydrate you after, NatureCrops has provided each participant with a granola bar, and we are still working to get even more SWAG for each participant!

2. Get Your Exercise and Competition Fix. There is no denying exercise will make you feel great for the rest of the day! It gives you a sense of accomplishment and you can tell your friends all about it.  For the more competitive side, we have some high quality competition and we are offering prize money in 2011.

1. ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT CHARITY! Public Allies of Connecticut has been our primary beneficiary for the last two years and will once again receive all proceeds from this event. In 2010 we added a shoe drive to benefit Soles4Souls and were able to give away 70 pairs of shoes to charity.  Come out and join us on March 19, 2011 for a great cause!!

Carrie Corbett came off a great 10k PR in August at the Beach to Beacon 10k, crossing the line in 38:02 to place 5th in her age division. On Saturday (Oct. 9th) she ran the Hartford Half-Marathon in 1:27:56 to finish fourth in her age group!

Jake Gurzler has continued to be a force on the local running scene, earning a second-place finish at the Somers Great Escape 5k on September 18th as he crossed the line in just 15:45.  Gurzler followed that performance up with a third-place showing at the Cider Mill 5k in Tolland on Oct. 2nd in a time of 16:00.  (We are proud of Jake despite the fact that he continues to wear ridiculous looking yellow running shorts).

Ashley (Reichelt) Gurzler picked up a second-place finish in the women’s division of the Cider Mill 5k as she covered the course in 18:51, just 10 seconds off the women’s winner.  Patrick Byrne also made an appearance at the Cider Mill and grabbed 9th overall in a time of 17:34.

Matt Anderson and Kevin Beals toed the line at the Bolton Run to Read 5k and dominated the field taking first and second, respectively.  Anderson was clocked in 17:50 while Beals ran 18:02.  Friend of MRC, Matt Conyers also ran the ING Hartford Marathon on Oct. 9th and finished just over 3:15:00.

Father-Son combination Alan and Mike McCall competed in the Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival on Sept. 26th.  Team McCall repeated at second place for Men’s Relay Teams and was fourth overall. With a new exchange dividing the 26.2-mile course at exactly half-way this time, the father/son duo split the difference in beating their 2009 performance by eight minutes.

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!

MRC Runners Second at Ragnar

Foxboro, Mass., (June 26, 2010) — Manchester Running Company took second place at the 193-mile New England Ragnar Relay over Memorial Day weekend.  The race traveled the roads of southern New England from New Haven, Conn. to Foxboro, Mass.

“MRC Runners” completed the course in a time of just over 22 hours, an average of 6:55 pace for legs ranging from three to nine miles.  The team consisted of 11 men and one woman; led by team captain Kevin Beals and included Matt Anderson, Ryan Miller, Josh Miller, Brian Miller, Matt Conyers, Mike McCall, Alan McCall, Brian McClelland, Matt Coraccio, David Krinjak, Lanham Marks-Hamilton and John Longo.