EAST GRANBY – As the Manchester Road Race gets closer, a group of four runners is gearing up, and carrying extra weight.
Dave Bouchard is a retired Marine captain from East Granby who has run the Manchester Road Race the past seven years.
In addition to being a part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition, Bouchard also runs an entire 26.2 miles right before the Road Race.
It is a 31 mile trek that Bouchard tackles each year, with a 45 pound ruck sack on his back.
“The entire goal of all of this is to inspire others to do something more than they thought they could do,” Bouchard said.
For the first time Captain Bouchard, who now works for Travelers Insurance, is being joined by three friends on his mega ruck and run.
All members of Amped Fitness in East Granby, Karri Moran, Melissa Koneski, and Taylor Kemp plan to hit the road in East Granby at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning to head to Manchester – all with ruck sacks on their back.
Moran, a school teacher in Winsted said, “my dad is a Vietnam veteran and I teach kids and I tell them you have to get out of your comfort zone if you want to grow, so why not practice what you preach.”
Bouchard, who carries a giant American Flag as he runs added, “this is a way to bring awareness to all of those men and women serving in the armed forces.”
