Running Roster For Paris Olympics Full Of Manchester Road Race Alums

MANCHESTER, CT — Several elite athletes who have competed in the Manchester Road Race will be representing their countries in the Paris Olympics.

In all, a total of 14 who have competed in a recent Manchester Road Race will compete in Paris and nine of them have qualified in the marathon. Of the six athletes selected for the USA marathon team, four have been featured in the MRR.

"The Manchester Road Race should feel proud to have played a small part in helping the athletes achieve their goals," said Jim Harvey, the longtime coordinator for the elite field in Manchester.

Harvey is scheduled to travel to Paris on July 31 to support the runners.

Here is the MRR alumni roster for Paris, including personal records:

• Conner Mantz, USA, Marathon (PR 2:07:47 Chicago, 2023, US Marathon Trials Champion)
• Leonard Korir, USA, Marathon (PR 2:07:56 Amsterdam, 2019)
• Fiona O'Keeffe, USA, Marathon (PR 2:22:10 Orlando, 2024, US Marathon Trials Champion)
• Emily Sisson, USA, Marathon (PR 2:18:29 Chicago, 2022, US Record)
• Weini Kelati, USA ,10,0000 meters (PR 30:33:82 San Juan Capistrano, 2024, US Trials Campion, three-time MRR champ)
• Eilish McColgan, Great Britain, 10,000 meters (PR 30:00:86 San Juan Capistrano, 2023)
• Calli Thackery, Great Britain, Marathon (PR 2:22:17 Valley Cottage NY, 2023)
• Patrick Dever, Great Britain, 5,000 and 10,000 meters (PR 13:04:05 Boston, 2024, 27:08:81 San Juan Capistrano, 2024)
• Cam Levins, Canada, Marathon (PR 2:05:36 Toyko, 2023, North American record)
• Rory Linkletter, Canada, Marathon (PR 2:08:01 Sevilla Spain, 2024)
• Ben Flanagan, Canada, 5,000 meters (PR 13:04:62 Boston, 2024)

Harvey said the roster shows just how big Manchester is each Thanksgiving morning.

"It is a testament to the organizing committee that the vision and leadership they provide attract such high-quality elite athletes to the Manchester Road Race," he said. "Athletes are attracted by the history, tradition and superb organization combined with a very warm personal touch which puts them at ease to enjoy the event. The prize money has increased in recent years, which makes it attractive to the top competitors who are full-time professional athletes. In the small world of elite distance runners the word is out that Manchester is great place to compete."

Running legend Amby Burfoot said it's all part of the mission to make the MRR a well-rounded event that honors its roots along with progress. And he knows running. The Wesleyan University graduate won the race a record nine times during the decade between 1968 and 1977. Seven of those victories (1971-1977) came in successive years, which is also a MRR record. Burfoot is an editor emeritus at Runner's World magazine and an author of a number of books about the sport of distance running. He lives in Mystic.

"I ran my first Manchester Road Race in 1964, and it had a national class field already then," he said. "Since the late '70s, the field has been truly world class — Olympian. The race organizers have held true to a vision that embraces both elite athletes and local runners in turkey costumes. The Manchester Road Race is inclusive in all the best meanings of that term. Manchester has much to be proud of."