During the same indoor 5000m race on January 27th in which Nike-sponsored Woody Kincaid set a new American record, CRR Sam Parsons put down a big initial marker in his 2023 campaign by smashing his previous best time by some nine seconds! Parsons ran a new personal best of 13:12.78 in the John Thomas Terrier Classic Men’s 5000 Run at Boston University’s indoor facility.

Running under Adidas sponsorship, Parsons finished in 7th place out of a whopping 81 finishers, a full 21 seconds behind Kincaid’s record setting 12:51.61. Kincaid’s was not the only national record set that night, as Parsons set a new German national record with his stellar performance! (CRR Christine Parsons is German, and her son has been competing for Germany internationally for several years.)

The BU venue wasn’t a world-class track in the late 1970s when CRR Bruce Weber ran on the previous flat asphalt 10-lap-to-the-mile track in what was then called the Commonwealth Armory.

Parsons’ dad, CRR George Parsons, is now looking forward to seeing his son compete at the Millrose Games on February 11th in the Armory in New York City. The meet will be broadcast on NBC and streamed on FloTrack and Apple TV.

Creek Road Runners are proud.