The Manchester Road Race Committee will welcome runners and fans at two special “Road Race Saturday” events on the weekend before the starter’s gun sounds at its world-famous Thanksgiving Day run.
Organizers of the Manchester Road Race presented by Hartford HealthCare will hold their Health & Fitness Expo and “Little Manchester Road Race” on Saturday, November 21, 2026. Both events will take place at Manchester High School, which is located at 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.
“Road Race Saturday” marks the traditional beginning of activities in Manchester that precede the annual Turkey Day race. Thousands of runners are expected to flood the town’s central streets when the annual road race is held for the 90th year this Thanksgiving (November 26, 2026).
The Health &Fitness Expo will feature exhibits and displays related to a wide range of topics of interest to runners, including training, athletic gear, and sports medicine. Manchester Road Race shirts and apparel will also be on sale. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon in the M.H.S. cafeteria.
In-person registration and bib pickup for the road race will also be available that day in the high school cafeteria from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
The Little Manchester Road Race will be held on the Manchester High School track at 10 a.m. It will feature fun runs of various distances for children ages 12 and younger, plus a display of emergency vehicles, a skydiving exhibition, face painting, music and costumed characters.
All runners will receive a medal and a knit cap.
The LMRR is limited to the first 1000 participants who register online at www.manchesterroadrace.com starting November 1st. Children who have registered for the race should sign in at the Health & Fitness Expo in the high school cafeteria starting at 8:30 a.m.
There is no entry fee, but children are requested to bring two non-perishable food items for donation to the MACC Charities emergency food pantry. Please check expiration dates on the food items to ensure freshness.
Parents of children who have entered the Little Manchester Road Race but are subsequently unable to attend are requested to email the race and cancel the registration. This will free up an opening for another child.
Hoffman Lexus is once again the Presenting Sponsor of Road Race Saturday. Henkel Corporation of Rocky Hill is the Presenting Sponsor of the Little Manchester Road Race. The Presenting Sponsor of the Health & Fitness Expo is Windsor Federal Bank. Fleet Feet of West Hartford is the activities sponsor for Road Race Saturday.
The road race will be held at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 26, 2026). It is run on a 4.737-mile loop course that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
On-line registration for the race and more details about its Road Race Saturday events are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com. Hartford HealthCare is the Presenting Sponsor of the Manchester Road Race. The Principal Sponsors of this year’s race include Pratt & Whitney, Hoffman Lexus and Orthopedic Associates of Hartford.