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Anatolie Vartosu has won some big races in his career, including the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas some 10 years ago. But that doesn't stop the Stamford runner from competing in smaller local events, including Saturday's Riverside Run 3-miler. And no wonder: Vartosu won the race, sponsored by the Riverside School PTA, for the second year in a row. He clocked 16:40, almost two minutes ahead of the second-place runner.
"I think this is one of the most beautiful courses in the area," he said after crossing the finish line. "The hill before two miles is a tough challenge, but it's a great race."
Until he crested the hill climbing up from the Sound and the Willomere neighborhood, Vartosu had the company of Peter Hohmeister, the 2009 winner. But shortly thereafter Hohmeister took a wrong turn and eventually just jogged back to the finish at the school. "I don't know why I went the wrong way," he said. "I just had an inclination to go right instead of left."
Vartosu bested one of the biggest fields in the 28-year history of the race, as nearly 500 runners competed in the main event. "It was a perfect day to run," said Vartosu, recalling last year's drizzle that turned into a thunderstorm just as the last runners finished. Vartosu hopes his winning ways in Greenwich continue later this month when he'll run the Jim Fixx Memorial Day 5 miler, an event he has won several times as well.
Did you run the Riverside Run? Will you race in the Jim Fixx Memorial Day Race?
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