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Canada’s Rory Linkletter fourth in sprint finish at historic Manchester Road Race

In the women's race, American Weini Kelati won her third consecutive Thanksgiving Day title

Rory Linkletter Photo by: Kevin Morris
November 23, 2023
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After finishing as the top Canadian marathoner at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in August, Rory Linkletter returned to the roads on U.S. Thanksgiving to compete at the historic Manchester Road Race in Connecticut. Linkletter was in contention for the win until the final moments of the 7.6-kilometre race, ultimately finishing fourth, in 21:17.

Linkletter finished five seconds behind the champion, American middle-distance runner Morgan Beadlescomb, who patiently awaited his time to kick in the final 200 metres; Beadlescomb took the win in 21:12. Linkletter’s former university teammate, Conner Mantz, crossed the finish line in second place, in 21:15, and Isai Rodriguez of Ringwood, Okla., rounded out the podium, finishing one second ahead of Linkletter for third.

Beadlescomb, who trains with Canada’s Ben Flanagan and Very Nice Track Club in Michigan, has been dominant on the roads in 2023, winning a U.S. national title in the road 5K. Beadlescomb not only secured the win on Thursday morning, but also secured a ring, proposing to his girlfriend Lexi Heger moments after his victory. (She reportedly said yes.)

On the women’s side, U.S. distance runner Weini Kelati won her third consecutive Manchester Road Race, with a massive win by 39 seconds. Kelati is only the second woman to win the race three years in a row, joining Olympian Amy Rudolph, who accomplished the feat in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

U.S. 5K road champion Annie Rodenfels finished second behind Kelati; third across the line was the top American at the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Emily Durgin, in 24:05, only four weeks after she ran the Olympic standard in a fifth-overall performance in Toronto.

The Manchester Road Race is one of the oldest races in the U.S., holding a unique distance of 4.75 miles (7.6 km) and taking place annually on U.S. Thanksgiving, every year since 1927. (The 2020 edition of the race was held virtually.)

Linkletter says he ran the Manchester Road Race as a test of fitness and as a tune-up for an indoor one-mile race in Boston on Dec. 2. According to his new YouTube channel, Linkletter is looking to improve his mile personal best of 4:02.41, and is inching toward that sub-four-minute mark. His new channel also gives fans a sneak peek behind his workouts, training, and what it’s like to be a pro marathoner living at altitude in Flagstaff, Ariz.

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