Joey Conrod went to Fairfield Hills on September 25 not knowing if he would make it a typical run or sign up for the Run 4 Hunger & Health 5K. Just 17:22 after the race began Conrod knew he had made the right decision. That is because that is when Conrod finished the 5K course — fastest among 148 finishers.

It was the Sandy Hook runner’s first race victory.

“I run here everyday. It’s my home course I feel like,” Conrod said.

Conrod was followed closely by Sandy Hook’s Justin Halmose in 17:28. Newtown’s Philip Tisi was third in 18:47. The top female, Sandy Hook’s Taylor Smith, came in fourth overall in a time of 19:06.

“It feels good. I was trying to keep up with the other three that were really, really fast,” said Smith, adding that she makes it into a game for herself to try to keep up with those ahead of her.

Rounding out the top ten were Bethel’s Andrew Steinbeiser in 19:25, Monroe’s Cody Gotthardt in 20:15, Newtown’s Robert Hughes in 20:50, Fairfield’s John Thomas in 20:58, Trumbull’s Bobby Chen in 21:02, and Stratford’s Peter Roberts in 21:09.

Participants were treated to cool weather for the run. The Run 4 Hunger & Health was hosted by the Newtown Knights of Columbus and benefited the FAITH Food Pantry and Newtown Youth & Family Services.

Complete results may be found at empiretiming.com.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.