Quit? Parrish The Thought Ferris Senior Rediscovers Enjoyment In Running
In the hot afternoon sun at the Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma last spring, Kristen Parrish was beaten physically and mentally.
Though the Ferris middle distance runner vowed to come back, there was reason to doubt.
But on a warm afternoon at Shadle Park, and again on a cool, wet afternoon at Ferris, Parrish has proven she’s back.
The Saxons senior, her strong finishing kick built on the track, has run for victories in the first two Greater Spokane League cross country meets of the season.
Wednesday, she put on a sprint in the final quarter-mile to edge teammate Jennifer Smith during a big win over third-ranked University. Ferris, ranked fifth, is sure to move up in the poll.
Parrish said her secret is simple.
“It’s probably just because I went into it with a good attitude,” she said. “I decided to relieve a lot of the pressure and just go out and work hard and keep up with the front pack and see where I go.
“I didn’t put any expectations on myself for the season. It was kind of nice to start out with a clean slate.”
A state champion in the 800 meters as a sophomore, Parrish’s junior year crumbled under nagging injuries and pressure, both internal and external. She kept fighting, and at state turned in the fastest qualifying time. But when the gun sounded to start the finals the next day, she was spent.
Parrish was a badly-beaten fourth and admitted she was burned out. She vowed, however, “there’s a point you come back. I’m strong enough physically and mentally. I’ll show them next year.”
The burnout was deep. Parrish considered skipping cross country to play soccer and attended a summer soccer camp. Injuries had always made cross country more of an ordeal than a fun run.
She ran anyway and built a strong friendship with Smith, the Saxons’ No. 1 runner. Now she couldn’t be happier concentrating her efforts on track and cross country.
“I love the two sports but they’re totally different,” Parrish said. “I like getting on the road, seeing different scenery. Cross country is more of a team-building sport because you run with a pack of girls or an individual of equal ability.
“In track you mainly focus on yourself, running intervals. Cross country is almost more relaxing, not as much tension.”Her addition to the cross country team didn’t go unnoticed. The Saxons received votes in the preseason coaches’ poll and had moved up to fifth heading into yesterday’s important meet with third-ranked University.
“She’s in great shape,” Ferris coach Wayne Gilman said. “She should run well as long as she stays healthy. That race (at Shadle) was on her type of course. It was flat with good footing. In the last 400 meters, she took off and finished strong. If it’s close at the finish, if she still has fuel left, she’s going to win.”
That comes from her work on the track. As a sophomore, Parrish was the state leader in the 400 but was disqualified at state for stepping out of her lane in the preliminaries. Her competitive fire showed, though, when she used the disqualification for motivation in the 800 final.
It also may have led to her downfall her junior year.
“I had a lot of personal matters that affected me being focused, the emotional, or mental, aspect,” Parrish said. “The key to being successful in running is not only you’re in good shape but you’re enjoying it, not caring what anyone thinks.
“A lot of it was in my head about the pressures around me. There were probably some expectations, but most of all it was within myself, feeling like I had to win state, feeling like I had to win this race, feeling like I had to run this time.”
Parrish hopes a successful cross country season combined with her history of success on the track leads to a college scholarship, hopefully with an early signing, but whatever happens, she is prepared.
“In a way, I’m kind of glad (last year) it turned out that way,” she said. “I think it made me a stronger person, not giving up when the going gets tough. That carries on in all life situations.”
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