Watson ran the men's short race at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, placing 36th out of 139 finishers. Just months later, he ran the 5000 meters at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, running a time of 13:45.53 (min:sec) in the preliminary round, and then running a time of 13:53.49 in the final round, placing 14th out of 16 competitors, a few seconds behind high school teammate Sean Graham who also did not qualify for the Olympics. He then ran the men's short race at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, this time placing 57th of 126 finishers. At the 2008 Olympic Trials, he ran the 3000-m steeplechase, but did not make it past the preliminary round. Finally, Watson ran the marathon at the 2012 Olympic Trials, running a time of 2:15:29.