MANCHESTER--For many Connecticut families, the Thanksgiving Day Manchester Road Race is a longstanding tradition.
But one family of runners from Newington takes the tradition to another level.
The Lynch family has been running the race, which is now in its 79th year, for decades. Timothy Lynch was the first in his family to cross the finish line, but that was 34 years ago, in 1981!
By the late '80s his four siblings had joined him on the track. Now more than two dozen of their family members run, including Timothy's 13-year-old daughter Frankie, making it a family affair that begins very early every year.
"There's a huge tree, oak or maple, but a very large tree, and we've met there since the beginning," Timothy said.
And the excitement carries on all night.
The rest of the day the family discussed, "how you did in Manchester, and who beat who, and, you know, it's always a lot of fun," Timothy Lynch said. "It could be a lot of razzing for the rest of the year."
This year the race kicks off in front of St. James Catholic Church in Manchester.
