MANCHESTER, Conn. — Olympic silver medalist and two-time Manchester Road Race (MRR) champion Sally Kipyego will serve as the race's honorary chairperson this year.
The race annually selects an honorary chairperson to recognize their outstanding contributions to the MRR or the sport of running.
Kipyego won the MRR in 2010 with a time of 24:06 and then returned the next year to win her second title in 24:22.
Kipyego was born in Kenya and became an American citizen in 2017. In 2009, she graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in nursing. During her collegiate career, Kipyego won a record nine individual NCAA running championships, including three consecutive Division 1 cross-country titles.
Race organizers say Kipyego is a world-class performer in every distance event from 3,000 meters to the marathon. Kipyego sped away from the women's field during each of her road race appearances and held a winning margin of more than 40 seconds at both races.
She was the runner-up in the 10,000 meters at the 2011 World Championships.
While at the 2012 London Olympics, Kipyego finished second behind Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia in the 10,000-meter finals with a time of 30:26:37, which was a personal best.
Kipyego just missed another podium appearance at the London Olympics when she placed fourth in the 5,000-meter finals.
Kipyego finished second at the 2017 New York City Marathon and represented the United States in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where she placed 17th.
Her personal best time for the 26.2-mile event is 2:25:10.
“Sally Kipyego is one of the greatest distance competitors in the world, and we are very pleased that she will be our honorary chairperson,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee. “She made many friends here when she won the two championships, and we are all delighted to welcome her back to the road race this Thanksgiving.”
The 87th Manchester Road Race, which has been designated as a 2023 World Athletics Label Event, will be held on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. The iconic 4.748-mile run, one of America’s oldest and most popular Turkey Day road races, is held on a loop course through the town’s central streets.
To learn more about the race and register, head to their website.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.