Only three athletes have ever run the Manchester Road Race course in a time under 21 minutes during the past 89 years. One of them will be returning here this November for the 90th edition of the race.
Officials from the Manchester Road Race presented by Hartford HealthCare announced today that former champion Morgan Beadlescomb has entered the 4.737-mile Thanksgiving Day Run.
Beadlescomb, 29, won the race in 2023 with a time of 21:12.
Last year, Beadlescomb broke the 21:00 minute barrier here with a third-place finish behind Edwin Kurgat, who blazed to a course record win in 20:54, and runner-up David Mullarkey, who was clocked in 20 58.
Beadlescomb crossed the line in 20:59, the third fastest time ever recorded on the Manchester loop. As the first United States finisher at the 2025 road race, he also won the right to represent the MRR at its “twin” race, the Great Manchester Run in the United Kingdom. The former Michigan State University star finished fourth at the 10-K event in Manchester, England last May in 27:45.
This will be Beadlescomb's third appearance in the Silk City. A resident of Loveland, Colorado, he finished second here on Thanksgiving Day in 2022 with a time of 21:05. Olympian Conner Mantz won that race in 21:04.
Beadlescomb turned the tables the following year when he edged Mantz at the tape by a second. Shortly after the 2023 race, Beadlescomb dropped to one knee near the finish line and proposed to his girlfriend, Lexi Heger.
“Morgan has a wonderful history at our race and we are really pleased that he’ll be competing here again this Thanksgiving,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee.
The Manchester Road Race presented by Hartford HealthCare will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 26, 2026) at 10 a.m. The race starts and finishes on Main Street in Manchester, in front of St. James Church.