MANCHESTER - Every year brings goofballs and die-hards, the elite, and the not-so-elite. In Manchester, the holidays explode each Thanksgiving morning with a shotgun start.
In 1927, a dozen runners decided to stretch their legs before sitting down at the table. The captain of the high school cross country team led the way. There were 9 runners in the original race.
There have been some hurdles. The race went into hiatus during The Great Depression and WWII until 1945.
The first woman ran in 1961, but a woman's entrance wasn't officially recorded until 1974.
The Manchester Road Race is a tradition 78 years old and 78 years strong.
