Thanksgiving Day Running History
The Berwick Marathon – Run For The Diamonds – Berwick, PA
9 Miles( including a hill climb from 2 to 3.5 miles)
The Race Started in 1908
11-22-56 Browning Ross wins his 10th Berwick Marathon this streak includes an incredible 7 in a row. This his last win was over Rudy Mendez-NYPC in an epic battle with a time of 46:39.
11-23-45 John A. Kelley wins his 4th straight Berwick Marathon in 49:16 ahead of Forrest Efaw.
11-27-41 Lou Gregory-Millrose AA won his third Berwick Marathon in 48:25 in defeating John A. Kelley. There were 22 starters.
11-28-29 The only African American to ever win at the Berwick Marathon was Gus Moore running 49:42 in beating Penn State’s Dick Detwiler in adverse weather conditions. There were 31 starters.
11-28-40 Ellison “Tarzan†Brown the Narragansett Indian wins Berwick Marathon in 50:35 in beating Les Pawson in snowy conditions.
11-28-46 Harris Browning Ross a 22 year old Villanova Freshman wins Berwick Marathon in a record time 48:35 in beating Canadian Walt Fedorick.
11-30-22 Ville Ritola – Finland wins his second straight Berwick Marathon in record setting time 47:56 in beating African American R. Earl Johnson who was just 3 seconds off the old course record. There were 8 starters.
Thanksgiving Day Running History
Manchester Road Race – Manchester, CT
4.7 Miles
The race started in 1927
11-22-45 Charlie Robbins wins at Manchester as the race returns after a hiatus since 1934. There were 8 starters and Robbins winning time of 26:19 is a performance he nearly duplicated 25 years later.
11-22-62 John J. Kelley-BAA records his 6th win at the Manchester Road Race in 24:30 and beat Len Ehler and Larry Damon.
11-23-61 Julia Chase, Chris McKenzie, and Diane Lechausse make running history as the first women to compete in a road race in the United States. This seminal event happen at the annual Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving.
11-24-32 Joe McCluskey wins his 3rd consecutive Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day.
11-24-77 Amby Burfoot wins his 9th Manchester Road Race and his 7th consecutive win.
11-25-48 Ted Vogel wins at Manchester and just misses Joe McCluskey’s record with a time of 25:03 in beating Fred Schoeffler of Tufts.
11-27-47 Joe McCluskey returned to the winners circle after 15 years since winning in record time 25:02 over Bob Knowles.
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