Two years ago, he got engaged at the finish. Now, this pro chases another Manchester Road Race win

MANCHESTER – Two years ago, before Morgan Beadlescomb won the Manchester Road Race and proposed to his girlfriend at the finish line, he and his mother and sister went into a liquor store on Main Street to get a bottle of wine so they could celebrate after the race.

His mother told the person behind the counter about her son running the race and the proposal.

“He told me, ‘If you win, I’ll give you a bottle of champagne,’” Beadlescomb said Tuesday. “I guess maybe I hustled him because he didn’t know I was a pro. I was like, ‘All right.’”

Beadlescomb beat defending champion and course record holder Conner Mantz that year, then he got down on his knee on the lawn of St. James Church and asked Lexi Heger to marry him. She said yes.

Beadlescomb, 27, of East Lansing, Mich., is back to run the 89th edition of the 7.373-mile race on Thanksgiving. He’s also going to see if he can get his bottle of champagne, since when he returned to the liquor store in 2023, it was closed for the holiday, and he didn’t run last year.

“I’m going to go collect,” he said. “Maybe see if I can get another one.”

Last year’s men’s winner Andrew Colley, 34, of Blowing Rock, N.C. is also back, as is third-place finisher Edwin Kergat.

Weini Kelati, the four-time women’s winner, has also returned for the race, which starts at 10 a.m. on Main Street in Manchester. About 12,000 runners and walkers are expected on race day.

Beadlescomb is in good shape. Colley, who ran what (for him) was a disappointing 2:09 personal best at the Chicago Marathon in mid-October, also feels good.

“I’m in pretty good shape,” Colley said. “We’ve been doing some shorter workouts and my legs feel good. I’m ready to roll.”

Beadlescomb and Mantz, an Olympian who broke the American marathon record (2:04:43) at Chicago, ran a memorable race in 2023, where Beadlescomb outkicked him at the end. Beadlescomb was supposed to come last year but said he was “dinged up” and not ready to compete against the world class field at Manchester.

Colley, who will run for the fourth time at Manchester Thursday, was patient last year when Kurgat, an Olympian from Kenya who finished seventh in the 5,000 meters in Paris in 2024, kicked too early and ended up third.

“It’s easy to do,” Beadlescomb said. “You pass four miles and you’re like, ‘Oh the race is almost over.’ You just got to hang on.

“The last two hills (on Main Street) are killer. You have to run down. Some people just don’t run down hill well and you go immediately into an uphill. It’s easy for your legs to come off.”

Beadlescomb got married to Lexi two months ago. Last time, she rode on the press truck. This year, she’ll be running.

“She wanted to see it from that point of view, which is great, I love it,” he said. “I grew up doing turkey trots. I like these holiday runs, it’s a great community thing.”