Manchester Road Race: Course record holder Braun says he’s in good shape

  Aaron Braun, who tied the course record at the Manchester Road Race last year, said Wednesday night at the pre-race pasta dinner that he’s in better shape than last year but he’s not sure if he will be able to break the record this year because the weather might not be conducive to that.

  It’s supposed to be a little chilly and windy for the 77th annual race, which starts at 10 a.m. on Main St. in Manchester. Braun, who finished his first MRR in 21:19.37, tying the course record, thought the wind might be a problem but if he’s in better shape, who knows?

  Haron Lagat, the Kenyan from Texas who won in 2009 and finished second twice, would like to win again. He’s in good shape, too. Glastonbury native Donn Cabral, who is now living in Clinton, N.J., is recovering from a bout this summer of Lyme disease and is feeling better but hasn’t really raced since the the USA outdoor track championships in June. But Cabral, who went to the Olympics in the steeplechase last year, would love to win the race he’s been running since he was a youngster. He finished third last year.

Olympic marathoner Desiree Davila shows off her bib Wednesday night at the pasta dinner. She will run her first Manchester Road Race Thursday. (Kate Barry / November 27, 2013)

  Olympic marathoner Desiree Davila, who almost won the women’s race at the Boston Marathon in 2011 but was outkicked on Boylston St., will make her Manchester debut. The last “short” distance road race she ran was the Bix 7-miler in Iowa this summer and she finished 10th and first American.

  Davila, 30, dropped out of the Olympic Marathon in London with what turned out to be a stress fracture in her right femur. She is still coming back from that injury and ran 2:29 at Berlin in September. A little off her 2:22 in Boston in 2011, but she seemed very positive about it.

  “I’m kind of just getting back into things,” Davila said. “This is like my first real fitness test. I think I’m in good shape.”

  Last year’s runner-up Lisa Uhl is also returning to run.