It was lucky she did, as she held her lead from start to finish to win the handicap mile race at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday. Runners have staggered start times based on their ability as they compete for the trophy, which has been contested since the 1930s. Parsons (34), a sprinter from the Caversham club, was the first to leave the start line and flew round the first lap, completing a whole lap by the time the next runner began.
"I set a good pace, but then I felt myself slowly dying so I was lucky I was able to keep the lead," Parsons said.
"I knew I had to start off fast because I’m not really a long distance runner, I’m more of a sprinter.
"So I thought ‘get a lead and then hold on to it’.‘‘[I’m] surprised I won, actually, I had no idea what to expect."
While the field began to close up towards the end, Parsons’ head start proved too much for the others. Perhaps her ability deserved more credit from the outset, as she held on for a comfortable win in 7min 3.64sec, with fellow Caversham runner Julie Edmonds finishing second in 7min 15.19sec.
A teacher aide at Kaikorai Valley College, Parsons took up athletics last season and decided to run with the Caversham harriers over the winter.
"I’d thought about [doing athletics] for quite a while, but I was always too worried.
"I didn’t know how I’d go — I thought I wouldn’t be good enough to run. But something inside me just made me give it a go and I’m glad I did."
It was that urge to give it a go that saw Parsons enter Saturday’s race, drawing on her harriers experience.
"I just wanted to give it a go because I didn’t do it last year.
"After everyone had run I thought to myself ‘I wish I had done it’. So I thought I’d give it a go this year."
Drew Cairney, of Hill City-University, ran the fastest time of the race, finishing in 4min 43.93sec, which translated into a sixth-place 7min 18.93sec in the handicapped run. He was one of four runners to finish within a second of each other.
