As they made their way to the starting line of the Boston University (BU) indoor track, Pria Parker tuned out the screams and cheers of the hundreds of athletes, coaches, and fans gathered in the stands and infield.
As the official loaded the starting pistol, Parker turned their attention to their breathing and briefly rehearsed their race plan: get out hard, ride with the pack, hit their splits, and kick. “Runners take your mark.”. Inhale. “Set.”. Exhale.
As the blank fired, Parker exploded, letting one Big Foot-socked foot fall confidently in front of the other.
For four minutes and 57.94 seconds, one mantra ran through their head: “Make. It. My. Day.”
“On the last lap, I saw the time and I knew that if I went under like 38 seconds I’d be able to break five,” Parker said. “It sounded easy enough. So I did the last lap and it worked out. It was very exciting.”
Parker’s time made them the first Smith College athlete to clock a sub-five minute indoor mile. One year earlier, they also made program history, breaking a 37-year-old school record in the mile at the same BU Terrier Classic meet with a time of 5:05.67.
With the record in their name already, Parker narrowed their focus to shaving off the last 5.67 seconds this season.
“’I’ve been trying to break five since I was 15 years old,” they said. Each season, they worked to cut down time but this year was the first time Parker said they truly believed it was possible.
After talking to their coaches at the beginning of the season about their goals, Parker began steadily increasing their weekly mileage and the intensity of their workouts.
As the days leadrning up to the Boston Terrier Invitational waned, Parker and their coaches were optimistic that their hard work and consistency would pay off.
“My coaches told me, ‘You’re ready to do this; your fitness level is there. The times you’ve been hitting in the workouts will translate to a sub-five minute mile,’” Parker said.
Now all that was left to do was hit the splits in Boston.
Despite the assurance Parker had that they were physically capable of breaking the five- minute ceiling, they said they went into the race not feeling totally100% confident.
“At first I was kind of like, ‘Iit’s not my day. I don’t know if this is the day I’m going to do it,’” they said.
But once the starting pistol had sounded, Parker locked in, executing each step of the race plan. At the completion of every lap, their coach, Courtney Jaworski, read out their splits, ensuring Parker that they were on track to achieving their career-long goal.
“On the penultimate lap, I knew they were on track to go sub five,” said Jaworski, the director of track & field and cross country. “ I kind of did some mental math and knew that they were going to be under, which is really exciting.”
One week earlier, Parker broke the school’s 1000- meter indoor record at Tufts University with a time of 2:57.27, which Jaworski said was an indicator that they were “in awesome shape to do what they did at the Terrier Invitational.”
As Parker continues to break records and make program history, Jaworski said their perspective is also beginning to shift.
“When you look at our sport, it’s not just general skill acquisition, but it’s also becoming a stronger runner through physiological adaptations,” Jaworski said. “Pria is doing a wonderful job and is starting to view themselves as one of the nation’s best runners.”
In addition to their mile record, Parker also holds the school record for the indoor 1000 meters,m —- in which they areshe is ranked second nationally for Division III3 —- the indoor and outdoor 800 metersm, and is a member of the outdoor 4×800-metem relay team that holds the school record with a time of 9:37.81.
As the season progresses, Parker is working towards training for the NCAA National Championship, where they hope to be a strong competitor and continue building on the wave of momentum they have created.
“I really appreciate getting to train with people who care so much about each other, about everyone’s goals,” Parker said. “I feel very supported and am thankful for my coaches for believing in me and for assuring me that I’m capable of meeting my goals. It’s nice to have that reassurance.”
