I ran the Chilmark Road Race again this year, and like every year, I made the same joke at the start: “I don’t care how I do, as long as I’m not carried from the finish line to the first aid tent.

David Melly, 21, of Newton won the Chilmark Road Race with a time of 15:43.31. Sheridan Wilbur, 17, of North Smithfield, R.I., won first place for the women with a time of 18:24.55.

On Saturday morning, a total of 1,600 people will run the Chilmark Road Race. On Friday and Sunday, kids and adults will take part in the Alex Cohen Memorial Basketball Marathon at the community center.

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.