2023 Manchester Road Race winner returns for 90th Thanksgiving Day event

MANCHESTER – A former Manchester Road Race winner will be returning this Thanksgiving Day to compete in the race’s 2026 event.

Officials from the Manchester Road Race Committee said in a news release that “only three athletes have ever run the Manchester Road Race course in a time under 21 minutes during the past 89 years.”

Morgan Beadlescomb, 29, of Loveland, Colo., won the 2023 race with a time of 21:12, according to the race’s website. Shortly after the race, he proposed to his girlfriend Lexi Heger near the finish line, the release said.

“Morgan has a wonderful history at our race and we are really pleased that he’ll be competing here again this Thanksgiving,” said Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee.

At the 2025 race, Beadlescomb broke the 21-minute barrier with a third-place finish behind Edwin Kurgat, who won with a time of 20:54, followed by David Mullarkey with a time of 20:58, according to the committee’s news release. Beadlescomb crossed the line with a time of 20:59.

That same year, Beadlescomb won the right to represent the Manchester Road Race at its “twin” race, the Great Manchester Run in the United Kingdom, according to the release. With a time of 27:45, he finished fourth in the 10K event in Manchester, England, last May.

In 2022, Beadlescomb finished second place at the Manchester Road Race with a time of 21:05.

Presented by Hartford HealthCare and organized by more than 400 volunteers, the 2026 Manchester Road Race will be held Thanksgiving Day at 10 a.m. The annual race will be held on a 4.737-mile loop through the central streets of Manchester, starting and finishing on Main Street in front of St. James Church.

Registration is available online for $37 until Nov. 1, when the admission fee will increase to $40, and then to $42 on Nov. 21.

Participants unable to make it to Manchester on Thanksgiving Day can sign up for the race’s virtual option, said Danie Kennedy, registrar and executive board member of the Manchester Road Race Committee. Kennedy said participants can register for the online option for $30 and download the race app to track their progress.

All registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 24, Kennedy said.

Main Street will close at 5:30 a.m. the day of the race and remain closed until 11:30 a.m., according to the event’s website. All roads intersecting the racecourse as well as exit ramps from Interstate 384 will be closed at 9 a.m., with normal traffic resuming after 11:30 a.m., the website said.

All proceeds from this year’s race will be split between Rebuilding Together of Manchester and Habitat for Humanity of North Central Connecticut.

For more information, visit the Manchester Road Race website.

This story includes prior Hearst Media Connecticut reporting.

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This article originally published at 2023 Manchester Road Race winner returns for 90th Thanksgiving Day event.