What's Manchester and the University of Manchester like (academics, athletics, dorms, nightlife, campus...)?

I live in the USA and am seriously considering applying there for a major in anthropology or archaeology (or really any humanity, to be honest). Also, is there a cross country (distance running) team? I've looked at their site and couldn't find anything about one, but it seemed odd because it's such a huge school. And what's Manchester like as a city?