As every Gazette readers know, the Chilmark Road Race just celebrated its 36th year. The Gazette has been a big part of the race’s success with reporter after reporter writing wonderful pre-race and post-race stories along with magnificent accompanying photos from Alison Shaw, Peter Simon, Mark Lovewell, and others.

A pair of first-timers picked up the coveted lobsters from Larsen’s at the 36th annual Chilmark Road Race.

Conor Dooney, 23, of Dublin, Ireland, crossed the finish line in 16:05:31, nearly half a minute ahead of second-place runner Corey Kunz, 32, of Hoboken, N.J., who finished in 16:30:66. Mr. Dooney raced for the Yale University cross-country team and currently competes for his home club of Backfridge in Dublin. The first three runners finished with sub-17 minute times.

Hugh Weisman’s daughter Jennifer Sullivan was 13 years old when the first Chilmark Road Race was held in 1978. On Saturday, Mr. Weisman’s grandchildren, 15 and 18 years old, will run the same course.

“It’s become a big family tradition for a lot of people, and year after year people come back just for this week,” Mr. Weisman.

It is unknown what the winner of this year’s Chilmark Road Race — Hugh Parker of New York city with a time of 16:07:29 — did to prepare for the race. He ran fast and shirtless in the morning downpour, crossing the tape nearly 30 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, David Melly of Newton, and the women’s winner Nnenna Lynch, also of New York city, who finished with a time of 19:21.27. Perhaps Hugh woke early, stretched and ran eight or nine miles just to warm up. He looked that fit and that youthful on Saturday morning.

Wearing a bright orange top and neon green running shoes, David Melly was easy to spot along Middle Road on Saturday morning. Then again, it wouldn’t have been difficult to find Mr. Melly at nearly any point during the 2011 Chilmark Road Race, as the 18-year old from Newton blew away the field. His winning time of 16:22 was more than a minute faster than the time of runner-up Jake Quagiaroli of Fishers, Ind., who crossed the finish line in 17:28.

In the beginning, there were 254 runners toiling up and over the hills of Middle Road.

As 1,500 runners anxiously milled about the starting line on Middle Road Saturday Morning, West Tisbury selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter brandished a streamer-topped car antenna, holding it up to the sky.

“In case I need to wave down a med-flight,” he told curious fellow runners in the 34th Chilmark Road Race.

The sweat-soaked Mr. Manter had already run the course that morning in preparation for a half-marathon in Lowell and was beginning to feel the miles.

“Stay in front of me and you’ll be all right,” he said.

The Chilmark Road Race is about much more than speed. How many contests pit septuagenarians against seven-year-olds? How often do you see Crocs on the starting line? Where else do people doing a 20-minute mile get such an enthusiastic round of cheers?

When Hugh Weisman organized the first annual Chilmark Road Race some 32 years ago, he wasn’t exactly sure how many people would show up. Mr. Weisman, an avid runner who at the time was offering a clinic at the Chilmark Community Center, estimated beforehand that 200 runners might show up.

Maybe more, maybe less.

But he never imagined that the little race, stretching over five kilometers along Middle Road, would grow to become the phenomenon it is now.

Susan Wilson is a runner. She runs everywhere she goes — Egypt, France, Viet Nam, England, her home in Princeton, N.J. and Chilmark. They’re all good places to accelerate her body past a walk. In fact, at 78, she was the fastest female in her age category in Chilmark Road Race last Saturday. She has won that honor 11 times, in her 60s and her 70s.