Sharon's 8th Annual Father Bullock 5K Road Race Won in Front of His Parish

A 5K in memory of a former Sharon pastor was decided in front of his parish Sunday night.

With the finish line in sight, Sharon resident Dr. Eric Greenspan passed Sharon High School sophomore Paul Fleming near , and won the 8th Annual Father Bullock Memorial Charity Road Race and Fundraising Event.

Greenspan finished in 17:10, according to coolrunning.com. Fleming was literally one step behind him, at 17:11.

"He was way ahead of me. I wasn't really close to him until about a mile to go," said Greenspan, a chiropractor who offered a free postural and gait analysis in the after the race.

"Then, I luckily caught up to him. But, he ran a great race, wire to wire."

Fleming said he ran the Bullock race for the first time. He runs cross-country and track for Sharon High.

"I looked back and I saw him coming kind of quickly, so I tried to sprint," he said.

"Coming up the hill, I thought I was losing him. But at the last second, he really pushed by me."

The 5K drew 225 runners, 50 walkers and 35 kids, race committee member Stephen Warren said. The event featured a kids race, a 5K run and a two-mile walk.

The event proceeds will support Facing History and Ourselves and other nonprofit organizations that were important to Father Bullock.

Before the race, with the runners at the starting line, Father Scott Euvrard, Our Lady of Sorrows' current pastor, said that those gathered "recall and recommit ourselves to his (Bullock's) commitment to community, community that both celebrates and transcends the diversity among us."

After the race, awards went to the top three finishers in these categories: male/female: overall, under 19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-over; first Sharon resident (male and female); and course records.

Sharon High sophomore Adam Selsman finished third overall at 17:40. Selsman and Fleming are cross-country and track teammates at Sharon High.

The top three female finishers were: Sharon resident Alexandra Purdue-Smith, sixth overall, 19:34; South Easton resident Lisa Motta, seventh overall, 20:20; and Sharon resident Rachel Wasserman, 14th overall, 21:23, according to coolrunning.com.

A complete list of the top finishers in each age group is here.

Organizers raffled off a signed New England Patriots Rob Gronkowski jersey.

Anyone running in both the Bullock race and Sunday morning's Halfway Cafe 5K Road Race to benefit Cops for Kids With Cancer, at the Halfway Cafe at the Village Shoppes in Canton, got a free raffle ticket by bringing their Halfway Cafe number to the Sharon race.

Greenspan was among those running in both races, Warren said.