Manchester Road Race Issues 'Critical' Blood, Food Donation Pleas

MANCHESTER, CT — The Manchester Road Race Committee is urging everyone who is running, walking, volunteering or watching at this year's race to "help reduce the critical blood shortage in Connecticut and save lives" by donating a pint of blood on the day after Thanksgiving.

MRR officials issued a reminder Tuesday morning that the annual Ray Crothers Blood Drive is slated for Friday, Nov. 28, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Manchester High School.

The school is located at 134 East Middle Turnpike in Manchester.

Appointments are suggested and can be made by calling 1-800-733-2767 or online at WWW.ManchesterRoadRace.com Walk-in donors will also be welcomed.

Every person who gives blood will receive a Manchester Road Race T-shirt and a pair of socks donated by the American Red Cross. The event will also feature a raffle and refreshments.

The MRR began sponsoring the blood drive in partnership with the American Red Cross of Connecticut in 1986. It has been held annually on the day after Thanksgiving since then. The event was subsequently named in memory of popular MRR champion Ray Crothers of Tolland, who died of cancer in 2008. A Central Connecticut State University track and cross-country star, Crothers won the race in 1965 and competed in it for more than four decades.

According to Lance Morgan, a local physician assistant and MRR board member who oversees the drive, a total of 8,634 pints of blood have been collected since the event began. Last year, 376 pints of blood — which benefitted 1128 patients in need of whole blood, plasma and plasma — were donated.

"We are shooting for 400 pints this year," Morgan said. "Last year’s donations were the most we've ever collected at our drive, and we’re hoping to do even better this time."

Hartford HealthCare and Eastern Connecticut Pathology Consultants are the Presenting Sponsors for the Ray Crothers Blood Drive. Additional support is being provided by Highland Park Market and Fox 61.

On the day before the blood drive, MRR officials will stage the 89th edition of Manchester's iconic holiday run. The road race, which is run on a 4.737-mile loop course through Manchester’s central streets, starts at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27) on Main Street in front of St. James Church.

Eliminating food insecurity in Connecticut is the charitable objective of this year’s MRR, and the blood drive site at Manchester High School will also be a collection point for donations of nonperishable food items, which will be donated to the MACC Charities emergency pantry. Everyone is invited to bring donations of nonperishable items to Manchester High School during the hours when the blood drive is held on Nov. 28.

More details about the Ray Crothers Blood Drive and the Manchester Road Race are available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.