The grand tradition continues as the Manchester Road Race made its way down Main Street to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday.
“Look at all the people here. How could you not be happy?” Lisa Stevenson of Vernon asked.
More than 35,000 people participated in today’s race that dates back to 1927, making it one the oldest and largest Thanksgiving runs.
“We feel amazing,” Bryan Galeba of Manchester stated.
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But for some, the race is more than just a fun holiday tradition. It feels like home.
“I have to come and do this race or it’s not going to be Thanksgiving,” Harvey Goldstein of Bloomfield said.
90-year-old Harvey Goldstein has been racing in the Manchester Road Race for fifty years and what started off small has become a big family affair spanning multiple generations.
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“It’s such a good place to come to start off Thanksgiving. I have so many family here. We start here and then we go out to dinner, and there’s about forty-two of us and it’s the greatest day of the year,” explained Goldstein.
But at 90 years old, what’s his secret?
“You have goals in life and one of my goals was to do this race at 90 years old,” noted Goldstein.
And his next goal?
“I have a great grandchild coming in a couple of months and I think wouldn’t that be great if I could last for another six or seven years? Maybe I can get four generations to do this,” added Goldstein.
The first place winner for this year was Connor Mantz. He came in at twenty-one minutes and four seconds, beating a record set more than four years ago..
