Peter Watson has been quite busy this spring coaching the successful Greenwich High School girls track and field team, but Memorial Day presented him with an opportunity to compete in a running event – the Jim Fixx Memorial Day 5K Run.

A popular event, the Jim Fixx Memorial Day Run celebrated its 60th anniversary today and Watson spent the race running mostly on his own.

Ahead from practically the start, Watson was the Jim Fixx Memorial Day Run overall winner, finishing the 5K race in a highly impressive time of 16 minutes, 33.5 seconds. The race began on Greenwich Avenue, with the 163 competitors running down the avenue, and concluded on the track at Havemeyer Park. The course covered 3.1 miles.

The race marked Watson’s second appearance at the Jim Fixx Memorial Day 5K run, which used to be a 5-mile race.

“Both times I’ve raced it’s been the 5K, I love the downhill start,” Watson said. “You don’t know who is going to be there once it flattens out. There can be people going out hard and you are just trying to keep them in contact in case any of them do manage to try to pull away, so you’re there.”

James Grasso of New York, N.Y., an Old Greenwich native, finished second overall with a time of 18:30.8 and Erin Captain of Greenwich placed third in 18:54.9. Captain was also the race’s female champion.

Watson led early on and added on to his advantage once he proceeded to run in Bruce Park, which included a good portion of the race.

“There was one person that took it out a bit harder than me, so I was just trying to stay in contact with him,” Watson noted. “Once it flattened out, I was able to catch him and put in a little bit of a surge and was able to have the lead from mile one until the end.”

Hajime Agresta from Cos Cob placed fourth overall (19:02.4), while Greenwich resident Anja Mubuuke was fifth (19:03.7). Though it was cloudy and a bit rainy, the competitors didn’t complain, as it made for solid running weather.

“It’s a great course,” Watson said. “There was a rainy start, so the weather turned out nice for running, given that it was hot the last few days. It’s a great tradition that we have here in Greenwich and I’m happy to compete in it. I’m busy coaching the Greenwich track team, so I’m trying to get in a few races myself.”

Grasso, the runner-up, was glad to be back at the Jim Fixx Memorial Day Run.

“It was really fun, I ran it 12 years ago and almost won, so I tried to come back after 12 years to see what I could do,” Grasso said. “It was really enjoyable. The 5K is fun as well, it’s still equally challenging with the hills. You kind of have to climb up Railroad Avenue. It’s a really enjoyable course, great scene – a really fun day.”

Captain, the woman’s champion, kept a strong pace throughout the race.

“It was really wet in the beginning, we were not expecting to get soaked before we started,” Captain said. “It was a little slippery, but that made for a fun day. My two daughters and their friend did it for the first time, so it was nice to run as a family. It was harder when it was a five-mile race, but it’s still difficult to finish with the hill. I’ll do it again.”

Mubuuke also had a stellar start on her way to an overall fifth-place finish. She was the second female finisher.

“My goal today was to run hard and it was fun,” Mubuuke said. “I love the course, the downhill is a nice, easy warm-up and them coming back uphill, not so easy. It was a great, well-marked race and I loved it. It was fantastic.”

Brenton Arnaboldi (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 19:10.9), Chip Murray (Charlottesville, Va., 19:18.9), Emily Spradling (Hartsdale, N.Y., 19:38.5), William Bludgus (Stamford, 20:14.2) and Malina Santee (Chappaqua, N.Y., 20:16.6) rounded out the top-10 finishers at today’s 60th Jim Fixx Memorial Day Run.

Arnaboldi was the male 30-34 year-old winner and Santee earned the female 13-19 year-old title at the race. Lee Brenner from Stamford was the male 13-19 year-old age division winner and Darien’s John Tarantino earned top honors in the male 45-49 year-old division.

Chelsea Ellis of Greenwich had the best time in the female 35-39 year-old class, while William Bludgus from Stamford posted the top male time in the 40-44 age group (20:14.2. Matthew Cross (New Canaan, 60-60 age group, 21:54.8), Devon Falvey (Darien, 35-39, 21:43.6), Danielle King-Watkins (Colchester, 22:20.7, 40-44) and Randy Zaritsky (Stamford, male 55-59) were among some of the other numerous age group winners at the event, which also included a Kids Fun Run.

Devin Mehra, a 2012 Brunswick School graduate and Greenwich native competed in his first Jim Fixx Run as a junior at Brunswick in 2011. He currently lives in Houston, Texas, but is his home town and decided to once again, run in the race, which he has competed in for more than a decade.

“It’s such a cool race, being able to run down Greenwich Avenue,” Mehra said. “You only get this opportunity once a year. The first time I ran this I thought it was a 5K and I was only halfway through the race and realized it was five miles.”

“I think the adjustment is much better,” he noted. “It’s hard to find 5-mile races, 5K races are more inclusive and more people run it. It’s cool to see people all ages.”

As always the event was perfectly coordinated and organized by Don Mohr, Recreation Supervisor of Greenwich Parks and Recreation. The Jim Fixx Run was sponsored by Greenwich Concours D’Elegance, Greenwich Old Timers Athletic Association, and DES – Empowering Growth and Learning.

The Greenwich Road Runners, Greenwich Police, American Red Cross, Greenwich Emergency Medical Services, Greenwich Parks & Recreation, Greenwich Public Works, and the Wallace Senior Center all provided support for the event. The Road Runners had 21 volunteers in many areas of the race.

Below are the compete results of the Jim Fixx 5K Memorial Day Run