SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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NOVEMBER 27, 2009
Thanksgiving Traditions...

Driving into work this morning I was trying to think about what to blog about. But, all I could think of was how full I still am.

 

I love Thanksgiving. It’s probably my favorite holiday. I grew up in Manchester, so the Manchester Road Race has always been a part of my Thanksgiving celebration. I’ve never missed a year either watching it, running it, or walking it. In fact, when I was little I thought everyone went to a road race on Thanksgiving morning. It still blows my mind that some of my friends, who have lived in Manchester all their lives, have never gone down the race. What do they do all morning?!?

 

During dinner last night my family was talking about the race, and one of my cousins said that women weren’t allowed to run in the Manchester Road Race until 1974. I couldn’t believe it, especially considering the race began in 1927. Long story short, I just looked it up on the official Manchester road race website, and it’s true! In 1961 three women ran the race ‘unofficially,’ and thus began a 13 year battle to allow women to officially enter. It took a letter from the 1973 Manchester Girls Cross Country Team and a number of protesters to finally have a road race with women officially included. Click on the link below for the full story:

 

http://www.manchesterroadrace.com/About-MRR/Women-In-The-MRR.asp

 

I looked a bit around this morning to try and find out how many women were in the race yesterday, but I couldn’t find a statistic. I know there were over 12,000 registered participants and A LOT more unregistered. I ran/walked the race yesterday with my sister, and can tell you there were a lot of women and girls, (and dogs, and strollers)! So, among other things, I am thankful to those first brave ladies for fighting for equality in Manchester!

 


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Comments

Noreen said, on Nov. 27 at 10:59AM
5307 women finished the race yesterday!The oldest one, age 89, was Betty Hutchinson of Concord, NH. She ran the race in 76 minutes! It looks like the youngest girl to finish the race on her own is 7 years old. Both old Noreen (62 mins.)& Ed (finished the race, along with Eddie (80 mins), age 6 and Katie (63mins), age 11. Their dad race in 38 minutes. Whay fun!!

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CarolK said, on Nov. 27 at 4:26PM
Wow! I didn't know much about The Manchester Road Race and really enjoyed reading about it and the history of women being allowed to run the race. With over 12,000 runners, women certainly have a strong presence today, 5307 strong! This blog's musing gave me lots to ponder. Megan and I both mentioned that the topic made us think of the new book on our shelves called Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Chrispopher McDougall. It's the story of Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon, Mexico, some of the greatest endurance and distance runners ever. And who could read this and not think of women's rights and all the stories our library owns detailing the lives of strong women. Story for another day. Congrats to our volunteer Noreen and her racing family! She said whay fun, I say Way to Go!

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Megan Q. said, on Dec. 2 at 8:37AM
Noreen requested that I let everyone know that I did NOT finish the race. I stopped at the 3 mile mark to party. She also told me I could look up any race results and statistics (like how many women ran this Thanksgiving) right on the Manchester Road Race website. So, thank you Noreen for that info, and for keeping me honest on the blog! :)

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CarolK said, on Dec. 2 at 6:02PM
Well, if I were running, I might have stopped to party too! :)! Thanks for the information Noreen.

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