Published by the DAILY
RECORD of Morris County, New Jersey
On Sunday, January 25,
2015
Parks receives President’s Award at USATF New Jersey Banquet
“And the winner of the W60 Age Division, Jane Parks, of
Morristown who finished in . . . . . ,“
fill in the blanks.
She is a force to be reckoned with and there isn’t a woman
who is in her age division who is happy to see her at the starting line. When they see Jane Parks they know they are racing
for second place.
Not only that, while one might expect an elite runner to
slow down, Parks seems to keep improving.
Her race times generally range above 86% PLP to 87% which usually puts
her at the head of the list of masters women in the age grading. In at least two races in 2014 she went over
87%; the Cherry Blossom 10K in April in Newark where she hit 88.04% for her
45:09; in November at the Ashenfelter 8K in Glen Ridge where she finished in
36:12 for an 88.32% PLP.
As she has done for the past twenty-one years, Parks was
awarded first place in her division in the New Balance Grand Prix at the USATF
New Jersey annual Awards Banquet in Edison this past Saturday.
As a racer, Parks is well known, but only her closer friends
know that being a top New Jersey runner is not the only facet of the sport
where she excels. She wears many hats;
she is the chair of the USATF New Jersey Long Distance Running Women’s
committee and a Trustee of the New Jersey Board. She is a reliable staff member for On Your
Mark Productions (OYMP) and is often the race director at OYMP events.
Parks is probably the most active road race course measurer
in the state, and her work doesn’t end at the state line. She also measures courses in Connecticut and
is that state’s official course certifier.
She has measured courses in Houston and Boston, on Riker’s Island, and
in the middle of the night she has measured the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge
course.
Parks is a regular delegate to USATF national meetings and
is on the Long Distance Running Technical Council. She is also an international course
certifier.
On Saturday night when USATF President Ed Neighbour began to
describe the person who was receiving the President’s Award, it may not have
been apparent to everyone in the room.
He began by saying, “The person who is receiving the President’s Award
is someone who probably measured the course that you ran on when you raced this
year.”
Parks immediately knew that she was the one, although it may
have taken others a little while to recognize her contributions to the sport –
her race directing, her volunteerism by being on the Board of Trustees, and
being on the Long Distance Running Committee.
By the time Neighbour said her name it was clear who he was talking
about.
“I’m presenting the President’s Award this year to Jane
Parks,” he said, and there was loud and
enthusiastic applause as she walked to the podium.
Olivia Baker wins 600 meter, Mary Cain gets fourth
Applause was customary throughout the evening, but one announcement had nothing to do with the award winners in the room. New Jersey’s standout high school runner Olivia Baker of Columbia High School, now a freshman at Stanford beat Mary Cain at the University of Washing preview meet in Seattle last Saturday. Baker won the 600 meter race in 1:29.42. Cain finished fourth in 1:30.03. Baker’s achievement was announced at the banquet to cheers from the five hundred attendees who have followed her career.
##
A calendar of USATF sanctioned events can be found at www.usatfnj.org or at www.raceforum.com for running and tri and
biathlon events.
Contact Madeline Bost at madelinebost@verizon.net.
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